Audrey Tan
April 22, 2013
He had no intention for the show to be cancelled. And ticket sales should not be a concern.
So said Mr Steven Woodward, director of Midas Promotions.
The Singapore promoter of the Namie Amuro concert that had just been cancelled told The New Paper on Friday: “We always accommodate the fans. If there is just one fan, we’ll still accommodate that fan.”
Netizens had blamed the promotion company for lacklustre ticket sales to the Japanese pop star concert here, which was supposed to be held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium next Friday.
Less than half of the 7,000 tickets available have been sold as of Thursday evening, said Mr Woodward.
Tickets are priced from $138 to $288.
But the show promoter said he has noticed a trend in ticket sales picking up at the last minute for gigs in Singapore.
And to him, the show must go on – even until the very last day.
He said: “Everything was in place… On Thursday morning, I was at the Indoor Stadium, meeting with the Indoor Stadium’s venue management team.
“Then, at 5.30pm, I got the notification (about the concert cancellation).”
Mr Woodward said the Japanese organiser of the gig, On The Line, told them that the concert was cancelled as Midas Promotions failed to pay production costs on time.
The news, he said, was a big blow to him and his team. He said: “We have been through the whole time to make the event happen. The On The Line team came to Singapore on April 6 and 7 to meet us… We thought these discussions were going well.”
On The Line could not be contacted by press time.
Mr Woodward said it had approached Midas Productions last November to collaborate on the project.
After several discussions, including e-mail exchanges, they struck a deal to hold the concert on April 26.
But the partnership, which started out well, ended abruptly.
A week ago, Namie Amuro’s official site announced that her show has been cancelled, citing “local technical reasons”.
The news surprised him, said Mr Woodward.
TNP believes that the site is run by her artiste management company in Japan.
He added that Midas Promotions had paid On The Line an initial deposit of 50 per cent of the total production and venue costs.
Following this first instalment, it started selling tickets on Feb 18.
But Midas Promotions did not pay the second instalment by April 5 as discussions about promotional and venue issues were still underway, said Mr Woodward.
He also said the On The Line team had flown to Singapore to discuss these issues, and was supposed to discuss with the Japanese side on possible changes after they returned.
Midas Promotions tried contacting them, but received no response.
On April 12, Mr Woodward received news that the show in Singapore was cancelled.
Despite that, he said he continued with plans for the show and even paid the remaining amount.
But On The Line responded on Thursday and said the show was cancelled.
Said Mr Woodward: “We regret this terribly and are deeply sorry that some things are beyond our control.”
A Sistic spokesman assured fans that they will be reimbursed.
She said: “All ticket holders will be fully reimbursed for the value of their tickets. Anyone holding tickets to the show must retain their original tickets in order to receive a refund.
“The full details and process for a refund are being finalised and will be communicated to ticket holders once we have confirmed details between us, the artist’s team and the promoter.”
When contacted, Amuro’s Japan record label company, Avex Entertainment Corporation, said: “We have only been told by the Japanese promoter and management company that the concert was cancelled according to circumstances of the organiser in Singapore.”