The fair is paying the rockers $1 million plus a percentage of the ticket sales.
Lead singer Steven Tyler and Aerosmith rock out Jan. 21, 1998 at the Onondaga County War Memorial. That was the last time Aerosmith performed in Syracuse.
Syracuse, NY - The New York State Fair will pay Aerosmith a guaranteed $1 million this summer, making the rockers the first to strut in that stratosphere in the fair’s history.
No other performer has ever been paid a guarantee that high. The highest was $800,000 paid to country stars Rascal Flatts and Taylor Swift in 2008.
If the Aug. 26 grandstand show sells out, Aerosmith could earn about $300,000 more, too. The band will receive 85 percent of gross ticket sales over $160,000, according to the company that produces the fair’s concerts. Aerosmith will break another record at the fair. The $104 top-priced ticket is $34 higher than the fair has ever charged for a concert.
Even the cheapest $84 Aerosmith seat beats the fair’s previous high, the $70 ticket for a day-long show featuring Linkin Park and 10 other punk bands in 2007.
To net any profit, the fair will need to sell a lot of Aerosmith tickets.
Even if the show is a sellout there won’t be much money for anyone other than Aerosmith. If the total take were $1.6 million, the band would get more than $1.3 million of it, according to The Post-Standard’s calculations.
Fair officials declined to disclose how much the fair would net from a sold-out show.
Despite the economy, the fair is confident the 17,000-seat grandstand will sell out, said Frederic Pierce, the fair’s spokesman.
“We’re incredibly excited about this concert,” Pierce said.
Tickets for Aerosmith go on sale 10 a.m. Saturday .
The $1 million guarantee the fair is paying Aerosmith is the going rate for the band, said Clay Campbell, president of Triangle Talent, which books the fair’s performers.
Bands, their agents and privately owned concert venues typically will not disclose what the artists are paid. But those figures can be obtained from state fairs.
Three years ago, Aerosmith was guaranteed $750,000 to play at the California Mid-State Fair. The band also received 70 percent of gross ticket sales over $830,000 for that show in a 15,000-seat arena.
New York’s fair is not paying any other artist this summer close to Aerosmith’s amount. The next highest, Rascal Flatts, will receive a $602,500 guarantee.
The fair’s tickets are less than what the band’s fans pay elsewhere, Pierce and Campbell said.
Aerosmith played New York’s state fair once before. More than 7,000 fans rocked out to a rap version of “Walk this Way” at the 1986 concert. Tickets cost $12 and $10 back then.
But that was 24 years ago, long before Aerosmith was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, performed at the Super Bowl, became stars of the Guitar Hero: Aerosmith video game, and Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler turned 62.
The band from Boston ranks 13th in albums sold, with 66 million, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.
In the past year, Aerosmith has made headlines because of internal strife. Last summer, Aerosmith cut short its American tour after Tyler fell off a stage, suffering neck and head injuries, at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota. In December, hooked on painkillers, Tyler was admitted into a rehab center, according to news accounts.
Guitarist Joe Perry and other members started scouting for a singer to replace him. But in February, the band announced Tyler was back.
Aerosmith is now on the South American leg of a world tour. It has announced only one other 2010 date in the United States, an Aug. 14 concert with the J. Geils Band at Fenway Park in Boston. That show, with tickets $55 to $175, sold out quickly.
“The New York State Fair is one of the few fair dates they have. They don’t play fairs. Groups of that stature typically don’t play fairs,” Campbell said. “We’re really very fortunate to get an artist like them.”
The state fair is guaranteeing Aerosmith more than a quarter of the $3.5 million it budgeted for seven grandstand shows, Pierce said. The fair has another $900,000 budgeted for the free concerts at Chevy Court.
Campbell said Aerosmith is only guaranteed $1 million if all of the original members of the band perform in the state fair show. If Aerosmith cancels the concert, the state fair is not on the hook, he said.
Contact Mike McAndrew at mmcandrew@syracuse.com or 470-3016.
2010 New York State Fair concerts
Here’s the line-up announced for the fair’s grandstand concerts, showing the guarantee the fair is paying:
Artist Guarantee Date Tickets On sale
Aerosmith $1 million Aug. 26 $84/$94/$104 May 29
Jeff Dunham $200,000 Aug. 27 $40/$45 June5
Rihanna $300,000 Aug. 28 $45/$55 May 1
Justin Bieber $250,000 Aug. 29 $45/$55 Sold out
Rush $450,000 Sept. 2 $45/$65 April 17
Rascal Flatts $602,500 Sept. 4 $55/$65 April 8
Tickets to the fair’s grandstand concerts can be purchased at the fair box office, Ticketmaster outlets, www.ticketmaster.com and by phone charge at 800-745-3000.