Tickets sales for REM`s show at Cardiff`s Millennium Stadium have stiffed so bad that the show has been downgraded from the 35,000 capacity venue to a 7500 seater.
The lack of sales impacted despite a reasonable ticket price of £45 ($AUD96).Cardiff has not been the only problem for REM. Shows across Europe are also being downsized as REM fails to attract an audience.
This year the band released their “comeback` album `Accelerate`. In the USA, the album has sold just 305,000 units to date.
That was slightly better than the 232,000 units the previous album `Around The Sun` turned over but REM sales have been in a decline for 12 years.
1996`s `New Adventures In Hi-Fi` slipped below the million mark for the first time in 90s when it stalled at 994,000. 1998`s `Up` did 664,000. 2001`s `Reveal` sold 415,000 units and then came `Around The Sun`.
REM poured a massive amount of marketing dollars into trying to resuscitate its audience this year. The credibility grab was in play when the band announced they would perform at Austin`s SXSW. `Accelerate` was also hyped as a “return to form” and “comeback” record but that failed to fool the fans.
Other acts from the REM era, like U2 for instance, have managed to translate to a 21st century audience but REM seem to have become regarded as a classic rock act.
