At Villa Montalvo, which had acts ranging from India Arie to Suzanne Vega this summer, there have been more sold-out concerts than last year. But overall ticket sales are down, according to Montalvo officials.

"In many cases, concert attendance is determined by discretionary income. We find that this income has decreased because of job losses, anticipation of further economic problems and increase in other expenses, especially gasoline," said Ted Russell, the director of marketing at Montalvo.

Stuart Ferguson, CEO at the Mountain Winery, said that more and more people are looking for value for money when they go to buy a concert ticket. "They also want more variety," said Ferguson.

This year, Montalvo changed the way it prices tickets to attract more people. "We have managed our ticket pricing to have a wider range, by lowering the general admission seat prices and by keeping the most expensive tickets where they were last year," said Russell. Villa Montalvo also worked with organizations and businesses to offer group ticket prices.

Even so, Montalvo had to cancel a concert by Chic Fest due to poor ticket sales. Natalie Merchant and the Gipsy Kings were two of their most popular concerts.

Ferguson said that the Mountain Winery might have bucked the trend by offering value-added services at its concerts. He stressed that going to the Mountain Winery was not like going to just another concert venue. "It is a magical place. We are different than all other venues," said Ferguson.

"We offer food, beverages and wine, and there has been a great response to that. It has helped spur ticket sales," said Ferguson. "We have done some wine tastings; we have added a chocolate bar." Ferguson said that picnic options available to patrons have also been expanded.

Russell said that Montalvo was constantly striving to improve the experience it provides. "We are continually working on the Montalvo experience to make it the best of any theater—from the shuttle buses to offerings in the concession area," said Russell.

This summer, Villa Montalvo, in conjunction with the city of Saratoga, started providing a free shuttle to those eating at Saratoga restaurants or staying at local hotels. That service has been a runaway hit. "We also offered a specially priced dinner-concert package," said Russell.

Both Ferguson and Russell said that the key requirement was to have a good mix of artists as people get more selective.

"This past year we reduced the number of genres that we presented to better focus our marketing, and it seems to have helped," said Russell. "The eclectic mix we offer allows us to reach a diverse audience."

Lollapalooza, a traveling alternative-rock tour, canceled its 16-day tour this year. Ticket prices at San Francisco's Bill Graham Presents series were slashed to $20 for lawn tickets, a decrease of 65 percent from the original. It has been reported that even well-known music stars like Norah Jones and Jessica Simpson have performed sluggishly. But artists like Madonna and Prince have done well, as has the rock band Phish.