Just noticed that VMware announced the band without any fanfare this year and it’s Fall Out Boy along with some indie electro band called Capital Cities.
Once again I’m disappointed in the band selection but I’ve gotten used to not expecting anything great as not getting more popular bands has seemed to be the trend the past few years. I did a post last year on this which listed all the bands across the years that have played at VMworld along with the cost to hire them along with a comparison to bands at other vendor conferences (EMC, Oracle, Cisco, etc.). Here’s the band breakdown at VMworld over the years along with the cost to hire each band:
- 2007 – Smash Mouth – $40K – $60K
- 2008 – DJ & Tainted Love (cover band) – probably not a heck of a lot
- 2009 – Foreigner – $40K – $50K
- 2010 – INXS – ? (prob under $100K)
- 2011 – Killers – $500K
- 2012 – Jon Bon Jovi & the Kings of Suburbia – $850K
- 2013 – Train and Imagine Dragons – Train – $200K-$300K, Imagine Dragons – $400K – $600K
- 2014 – The Black Keys – $975K
- 2015 – Neon Trees and Alabama Shakes – Neon Trees – $40K – $45K, Alabama Shakes – $90K – $125K
- 2016 – Fall Out Boy – $100K – $150K, Capital Cities – $40K – $60K
The cost of the bands this year is on par with last year and in case you were wondering here are some comparisons of who else they could of selected with a roughly $200K band budget.
- 38 Special – $35K – $45K
- Blues Traveler – $40K – $40K
- Cheap Trick – $45K – $70K
- Creed – $100K
- Five Finger Death Punch – $50K – $75K
- Jefferson Starship $15K – $25K
- Paramore – $125K – $175K
- Pharrell Williams – $125K – $175K
- Steve Miller Band– $100K – $200K
- Slash – $45K – $65K
Well at least I know the band early this year as I will probably leave Wed. evening and skip the party. If you’re around and not thrilled about the band choice there is always the UNParty you could go to instead, or since you’re in Vegas there is plenty of other things to do.
