Baltimore can draw the big acts, and new data show it can fill the seats for them as two local venues placed in the top half of worldwide rankings for ticket sales at music clubs.
Rams Head Live! in downtown Baltimore was ranked 13th worldwide for club ticket sales in 2007, and its Annapolis venue, Rams Head On Stage, placed 43rd, according to data released by trade magazine Pollstar.
Pier Six Pavilion, operated by Rams Head Promotions, ranked 69th among ticket sales for amphitheaters, and Rams Head Promotions placed 48th among the top 100 promoters, according to the magazine.
“I think it really means we?re able to get that highest level of entertainer,” said Alexis Malatino, marketing director for Rams Head. “Especially if you compare Baltimore to the other markets, it?s really putting us on the map as far as being a big market.”
Malatino said On Stage has been open for about nine years, and Rams Head Live! opened about three years ago. In that time, she said, each has proved itself to the music scene.
“It?s a little bit of everything, it?s word of mouth. We?ve kind of proven ourselves to the agents, that we can accommodate them, that it?s a great room,” she said. “It?s a family owned business, so it?s very hands-on.”
The rankings also prove that downtown Baltimore can support an urban music club, said Mike Evitts, spokesman for Downtown Partnership
“There was a lot of public doubt about whether they could create enough demand to justify the expense [when it opened],” said Evitts. “Baltimore never had a club of that caliber. When you look at how strong the 9:30 Club and Black Cat is [in Washington, D.C.], Baltimore never had a club of that caliber.”
Evitts said the ticket sales also show music agents that the Baltimore area has a demand for entertainment and can compete with other regional cities.
“When it comes to booking regional or national acts, we?re competing with D.C. and Philly,” he said. “And it?s tough to convince a band they can sell out a show in D.C. and in Baltimore the next night. But you?ve had some visionary promoters that are starting to put us on the map.”
