Four: Let's create value for the fans — let them bring in coolers and blankets, let's lower the parking fee and Ticketmaster surcharge when the ticket price is lower because a younger audience does not have as much money. Let's take into consideration the cost of a beer and popcorn.

Five: Let's work together to give the fan something, say "thank you" when it's over and bring them back. Let's allow the artist to communicate with those fans through the e-mail addresses collected by Ticketmaster, the promoter and the venue. Let's find a way to have our audience walk out the door wanting to come back.

....Our audience is off doing something else and we need to find innovators to address that.

Last year, 55 million people walked through the gates of state fairs and 126 million (almost half the population) went to the Top 25 amusement parks in North America. Casinos, theatres, water parks, family shows and sports all continue to attract huge audiences. People want to be entertained. How did music and concerts lose their loyalty?

The worldwide entertainment industry is projected to grow by 5 percent a year over the next four years.

In the last three years, film, television and video games have grown; only recorded music is down. In projecting forward, film, TV and video all are projected to grow around the world; music is projected to decline.

DVD sales were up 20 percent last year, selling an experience that is not nearly as portable as music nor nearly as personal.

Where are the new ideas? How are we going to react to a world that has your cell phone, your iPod and your PDA in one unit that is no bigger than a credit card?

Look at how the independent labels have found a way to embrace and talk to their audience while the major labels are all losing sales, cutting jobs and not following through on projects the independents have never done better.

....So how did we lose the fan's love of the music experience? How do we get them to more shows each year and to see new artists? Like most things, there is no one answer and no black and white answer.

We lose when music gets complacent. We lose when surcharges and ticket fees raise the price of tickets. We lose when a beer costs as much as a movie ticket. We lose when we stop sticking with artists for longer than a single. We lose when we push the guarantees. We lose when the fan can't bring a cooler and blanket into a shed. We lose when no one deals with traffic issues. We lose when the bathrooms are disgusting. We lose when we don't speak to our fans where they live. We lose when a band looks at their shoes and forgets to play the hits.