Could Jon sell out stadiums under his own name?
 

I saw Rdkopper say in another thread that Jon can't sell out stadiums on his own while the band can so he's more likely to use the band name.

So it got me thinking. I completely disagree and would love a debate about this. Let's say Jon drops the band name and goes full on Jon Bon Jovi (Which to me is the honorable choice as David and Tico become more and more like session musicians with each album). I think Jon could still hit similar numbers, maybe a twinge lower, if he rebranded it under himself. No one is at the point where they know the difference anymore. Multiple music videos with only him, constant promo photos of just him and a declining interest from the world about the band, I really think he could pull it off.

If we were talking about selling out venues based on interest in band material vs solo material, absolutely people are going for the band hits. Would love some thoughts regardless though.

Not unless he (and his tour promoters) can afford to take a MAJOR hit on ticket prices.

Bruce Springsteen HAS a band, Jon Bon Jovi is IN one (whether Jon likes it or not). It is Jon PLUS Richie that makes the core of the Bon Jovi "brand" (whether ANYONE likes it or not). And Bon Jovi has been a premium brand because of the endurance of their "blood on blood" brotherhood. If Richie goes, the brotherhood goes, too, and Jon closes out his career on the "C" list -- colleges, casinos, corporate events, county fairs, cruise ships, carnivals, cafes, coffee houses, and charities -- right alongside Ted Nugent, Bret Michaels...and Richie.

There's no need for anyone to wonder how Jon or Richie would do on their own -- since their very first solo albums, the evidence is all around in the form of the smaller venues they play and the extra high ticket prices Jon charges. And speaking of prices, don't forget that's there's a rotten economy going on. "Fanatical" fans may be willing to invest what's left of their discretionary income in seeing a Richie-less Bon Jovi live (again). But while "average person" fans may buy a Richie-less Bon Jovi album if they like it, would they be willing to spend what Bon Jovi usually charge for concert tickets?

It really comes down to whether the large venue promoters would see Jon alone as a gamble worth taking. I don't think his having Tico and Dave along will count for much -- if anything, Jon would have to push them even further into the background.

I think as long as he uses the band name, he'll be fine (a hit single, or at least a solid album would wouldn't hurt). I agree, the honorable thing to do is tour with his own name, but I really don't think he could sell out the types of places they are use to playing as a solo artist.

I can't really think of any other band to compare this situation to (similar status, etc), but I'll wing it. I think when people see "Jon Bon Jovi Live" they'll likely think, "He might play a couple Bon Jovi hits, but most likely he'll be playing his solo stuff and that new album that I have no interest in buying." Jon will be lucky if they remember that Blaze of Glory was a solo song.

If Jon uses the name Bon Jovi and hits the road without Richie, most die hards won't care too much (after all, Richie is the one that walked off mid tour - and if it's a solid album, we'll go) and most everyone else (the majority of the crowd) won't even notice that Richie's gone.

If people will pay to hear 2012 Jon sing 1986 Jon, I doubt anyone will have a problem with Phil X playing for Richie.

I'm pretty sure Jon did some stadium shows as a solo artist in Australia during his Destination Anywhere promotion.

This question is market specific but in the States, JBJ doesn't hold up like the Bon Jovi name does. It's like this with other bands as well. For example Vince and Motley are not one in the same.

I don't think Jon touring under his own name is a risk they are willing to take. Unless he had a real guitar player to help carry his name... Example, JBJ with Slash on guitar but that is even a long shot.

Think of it this way too... If he brings along Tico, Dave and even Huey, it really doesn't make sense to call it the JBJ band... If he totally goes solo with all different players, then the band songs will lose something with other people playing them. They won't sound like Bon Jovi, more room for mistakes, and much more work for Jon. He needs Dave. Not only for his keys but vocals and other things as well. It would be so much work for Jon to try and mold new guys into their sound. As much as Phil adds on certain things, it's obvious what he lacks on others.

Jon will not give up brand, it has nothing to do With loyalty to Tico and David. It's about making money, lots of money... be relevant. Jon is an egomaniac, and he likes to play for the big stadiums like Bono.

If Jon takes the new album as JBJ would be pleasantly surprised and grateful, because there would be a little honesty on your part.

I'm sure Dave can have great plans on Brodway and Tico wants to rest.

But the Vince/Motley argument doesn't stand up. Vince's name isn't Motley. You have to know the name of the lead singer of that band to really cash in on the association.

Okay maybe I'm being too broad on this argument. Let's talk about the States/North America. Joe Q.Public doesn't care who is in the band. It's strictly for the hits. Richie bailing and ticket sales still being strong prove that to the point where if Dave or Tico left I don't think it would stop ticket sales. If Jon's right hand man didn't do much, other than some diehards griping and boycotting, he could conceivably keep this going. Do I want him to? Absolutely not. I just don't think the band name means what it used to mean or what it means to us.

Probably not stadiums, but they hardly do that with the band name anymore either. Sure, the attendance is high, but those Bon Jovi stadium shows are very rarely sold out the past few years. So I don't see a major blow in that regard.

I could see JBJ solo playing venues like O2 arena, Ziggo Dome, MSG, Izod Center, etc. ONCE per tour and having lesss shows overall. And most of them I think would sell out just because JBJ = BJ in many people's eyes. So that's below what the 'band' name draws, but this the level that bands like Kings Of Leon, Maroon 5; so not 'Stones and U2' level, but very respectable.

The casual audience doesn't care about Richie. Jon is Bon Jovi.

Yeah Jon could easily fill those larger arena shows himself.

It's getting harder for the band to fill stadiums simply because they overkilled it in the last decade I think. But Jon could easily tour with the Bon Jovi name, no-one can stop him, it's his and his alone. So why wouldn't he?

It totally does though. Jon is one of the few artists who has his band named after his name. Any fan, including casual fans, who would get Motley tickets, would equally know who Vince Neil is. Just because Vince isn't named after Motley, doesn't mean that he's a less marketable artist than Jon is with Bon Jovi.... Jon might be easier to market, sharing the name but fans know what the deal is... People are going to know what's going on prior to the purchase. It's not like people are going to show up to a JBJ concert and be surprised with 5 other musicians standing behind him.
I don't agree but I also think it depends.

I think most people already had their tickets prior to Richie leaving and most really didn't know what the deal was in terms of his return. If there was a new tour announcement without Richie, I don't think ticket sales would be as stong.

I agree, most people don't seem to know there's a difference. He'd have to include a lot of Bon Jovi hits in the shows though, which might defeat the point.

I still say that's crazy to think that the Bon Jovi/Jon Bon Jovi scenario is the same as Vince Neil/Motley Crue. If you youtube Living on a Prayer it's infinitely more likely to have the artist as Jon Bon Jovi than looking for Home Sweet home and seeing "By Vince Neil".

Fans, yes. They're gonna get it. Someone going for nostalgia purposes, it's not a lick of difference in North America. Not only did people still go to the shows that they had tickets to post Richie's departure legs were ADDED TO THE TOUR. A band in shambles with their fanbase doesn't add dates for people in the hopes of maybe Richie will come back. The earth kept spinning and the trucks kept moving which kind of makes me sad.

It is crazy if we were comparing the two in terms of popularity which we aren't. I'm just stating that just because Jon Bon jovi is his name doesn't mean he shares the same power as Bon jovi. I just used Motley / Vince as a comparison to prove why he / they aren't. So many huge artist have put out solo albums and failed for no other reason than it not being under the band name. Look what Jon did in '97 as a solo artist and that's why none of us have Sex Sells sitting on our CD shelf right now.

In the states, Roger Waters sells out stadiums based on his name alone with no obvious Pink Floyd reference in his name.

Bottom line, majority of the people buying tickets know the nature of the events prior and are not as naive as people think they are on here. The people buying the tickets are fans of some sort and know the deal, trust me. There is not one person at a Motley Crue concert who has no idea who Vince Neil is.

Jon would never do a band show without Bon Jovi because he knows they would never be as good as the real thing. With that said, people don't want to line up for a JBJ solo set with some band songs thrown in, regardless if it's with the KOS or an all star solo band. Jon would probably do well but not as good as a number 1 tour. I think a summer amphitheater tour would be more fitting for a JBJ solo show but why bother when he could throw in Dave and Tico and pull off a real Bon Jovi stadium tour. We are talking about one of the biggest touring acts in the world right now. Jon Bon jovi as a solo artist could not pull off such magnitude.

You are almost implying that people will be tricked into it or they won't even notice that's it just Jon once they get there. Not happening! Jon would be totally upfront promotion wise prior to any ticket sales and everyone would know what they are getting. Especially with social media.

+1. Sad but true.
Now if lessons from your elders are to be learned, remember what happened to Bruce Springsteen in the 90s: Bruce fired the E Street Band in 1989. Then he did several solo tours (really solo, i.e. "Springsteen alone + his acoustic guitar + his harmonica" as the concert posters said), then in 1992-93 he simultaneously released 2 new albums without the E Streeters then toured with session musicians + surviving E Streeter Roy Bittan (the band was nicknamed "the other band", to give you an idea of how much the public cared about them!). Bruce tickets had NEVER been so easy to find and he/they didn't play stadiums but medium-sized concert venues. Because everybody hated the albums and didn't care about "the other band".
Then in 1999 Bruce called the E Streeters back and tickets were very very hard to find again.

The casual audience may not care about the band members but they go to a BJ concert to hear BJ songs (hits) so I guess it will all depend on the quality of the next album (and of Jon's voice).
And expectations are very low according to some (I always find these lists funny) :
http://www.3wsradio.com/onair/jonny-...ey-10-12982297

Just my 2 cents.

I see what you're getting at now. But I'm not talking about Jon booking a tour in support of his own solo career. I'm talking about him launching tours, very similar to the way the band does things, just doing it behind his own name. I was never talking about public recognition of his solo songs or cover songs.

Let's say a friend of yours says you they bought a ticket to see Jon Bon Jovi live without knowing anything about why they're touring. They're probably going because of the Bon Jovi hits and not because they saw the video for Midnight in Chelsea online. I have multiple friends who have seen Bon Jovi a few times and called it "him" and "I saw Jon Bon Jovi". I'm just saying it's not far fetched for Jon to release music similar to the band but on his own and the public won't bat an eyelash.

You mention that they won't notice once they get there. Won't notice what? The hits are being played, the talk box is still there, the smokey 12 string acoustic of Wanted too. They've nestled themselves into nostalgia because the new music isn't resonating and it's been too many years since relevancy that the line up will impact the masses buying tickets.

What's the point?

What's the point of changing Bon Jovi to Jon Bon Jovi with Tico, Dave and Hugh still in the band?

And what's the point of getting rid of them so Jon could tour under the band name?

It's all purely hypothetical. I don't think he'd do that to them and kick them out. no. My original question was intended to be if Tico Dave and Hugh moved on for instance.

If Tico Dave and Hugh moved and with Jon's current vocal state being the way it is, Jon would never attempt a band tour like he does today. 20 years ago, maybe but not today. The sound is all that's left and it can't be duplicated by other musicians.

I do agree that it's mostly all about Jon but the rest of the guys being there do offer a comfort and it won't be the same watch Jon interact with others.

I don't think Jon would even attempt it because if it didn't work, it would destroy him as an artist.

By the way, the whole... a friend of yours says you they bought a ticket to see Jon Bon Jovi live without knowing anything about why they're touring....

Sure there are naive people out there buying tickets but not on a mass scale and not enough for a tour promoter to go off of.

The casuals may not give two shits about the band but most of them have bought into the Bon Jovi brand. Jon has worked hard to build the brand. Seeing 'Jon Bon Jovi live' will put people off, well enough people to make stadium shows a hard sell.

Definitely not stadiums. He played Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne and entertainment centre in Sydney just 2 shows.
I don't think Jon played any huge venues for his solo tour especially in the US. Europe was arenas too.

I think he would struggle.

Actually, DA in Europe was not in arenas in most countries but in small or medium-sized venues (say 1,000/3,000 people and it wasn't sold-out in many countries.). He did just about the same circuit as Richie touring to support his solo albums... with the same (lack of huge) success.

Solo acts don't attract big crowds as a rule, every record company and tour promoter know that. That's why they prefer to aim at smaller venues that will sell out or close to and keep the option of adding dates later in case there's a big ticket demand. Business is business!


PS: too bad Jon isn't touring at the moment: he could have offered the job to The Edge since U2 will be on a hiatus for a very long time!
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/ne...#ixzz3JXY7UZAc

I went to 7 of the Europe ones and from what I recall they were all decent size shows the ones I saw anyway definitely more than 3000 maybe with the exception of the show in Austria on the ski mountain. I cannot imagine Jon would ever try and sell stadiums unless he was pretty sure of himself.

I heard Richie had to put his own money in to keep his tour going in the 90's but Richie doesn't seem to have any sense at all.

Richie made a good tour, he filled some sites. In Spain, he came only with his voice and acoustic guitar, and it was fantastic. Jon did not come to Spain.


Richie in Tokyo 1998

He played some great shows I don't think he has any head for business though.

I don't understand the "RICHIE OR DETH" part of the vote, but I went with no. "Jon Bon Jovi" and "Bon Jovi" are different propositions, but in performance and consumer perception.

Proof is in the Destination Anywhere tour. Arguably the height of popularity and awareness, Jon's solo shows were smaller venues, if he or promoters didn't think he could sell out stadiums on his own then, they sure as hell wouldn't now.

But again, I'm not saying Jon Bon Jovi as a solo property (Touring off the solo albums, doing songs from D.A, Glory and a handful of Jovi songs). I'm saying the man touring the band's hits with a different backing band, on the same level as they are now. He's gotten a lot of corporate shows with Kings of Suburbia, and on his own, and its not like he's being booked because people dug Santa Fe.

Aloha !

Yeah, it was so fantastic that the entire European tour never broke even, Richie lost money with it and a subsequent tour was cancelled because of a record company backing out of supporting him. It was that fantastic.

Jon never came to Spain because he never really tried to do a real tour, it was only because of the huge success of Destination Anywhere in Germany that a string of dates were booked. Pretty much everything else were promo shows, and Jon was booked for a lot, lot more festivals and award shows than Richie was.

If Jon would've told promoters back then he was willing to do small stadium shows, he'd have been able to. You just don't set up a stadium tour in a few months, like you do with smaller arena shows. The difference there isn't the popularity, it's the production and organizing that takes a lot more time.

Jon will always be able to play venues holding 5.000 to 10.000 people. And as soon as he's selling it as a Bon Jovi show and do a bit of promo for it, he'll most likely will be able to sell out the smaller stadiums 15.000-30.000 as well. But as for the really big venues? Bon Jovi haven't sold those out for over a decade, so that's certainly not going to change once Jon starts handling business on his own.

Salaam Aleikum,
Sebastiaan

Since he even does not sell out stadiums with Bon Jovi anymore he for sure will not sell them out solo.

I've voted no, but I think it depends on where the stadiums are.
I don't personally understand how someone like Ed Sheeran could play Wembley Stadium (or more to the point, why people would go), but he is, so a bit of me says that Jon could maybe manage it as a one-off. Certainly couldn't do it as part of a full on tour.

As a general rule I would say he could manage one arena night per location, so in the UK one London, one Manchester, one Glasgow.

However, I do think that "casuals" would snap up tickets at the last minute on the premise that they will still hear the Bon Jovi classics.

Jon would definitely sell out Berlin Olympic Stadium. Such a shame they had some logistical difficulties last time...

He could if he branded it Bon Jovi, which he could well do. He owns everything afterall.