Portfolio.com has an article which takes a look at the declining attendance figures at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland. As their chart shows, there was a steep drop in attendance after the first few years the Museum was open, but over the last ten years ticket sales have basically leveled out at around $4.2 million per year. Rock Hall Museum C.E.O. Terry Stewart has plans to bring more people to the museum, which include "a new exhibit featuring Janis Joplin’s Porsche (now on loan from her estate) to bringing the induction show to Cleveland in 2009 and every three years after that."

While bringing the Induction Ceremony back to Cleveland will undoubtedly help raise the profile of the Museum, it won't cure the image problem that the Rock Hall has in the eyes of many people. This website alone contains thousands of pleas to the Hall to induct long ignored fan favorites such as KISS, Rush, Alice Cooper, The Moody Blues, The Monkees, Neil Diamond, Yes, Steve Miller Band, Jethro Tull, and many others. You can't help but wonder if Terry Stewart wishes the New York-based Rock Hall Foundation (who determines the nominees each year) would put some popular names on the ballot to help boost ticket sales at the museum. What's going to bring more people to Cleveland, Janis Joplin's car or a KISS induction with a full blown exhibit to honor them? A Leonard Cohen exhibit or a Monkees induction?

We're not advocating the induction of artists purely to sell Museum tickets, but you have to wonder if every year Terry Stewart shows up at the Nominating Committee meeting hoping that another stadium act like U2 or Aerosmith will get the votes to appear on the ballot (maybe Bon Jovi for 2009?).

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In other Rock Hall financial news, Fox News' Roger Friedman breaks down the finances of the New York-based non-profit Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation.

It was reported this week that Britain may be getting a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame of its own, housed at the O2 arena (aka the Millennium Dome) as a part of a larger pop music exhibit.

Dubbed “Popworld”, the new exhibition will combine state-of-the-art technology and rare memorabilia from the likes of David Bowie and Arctic Monkeys to trace the evolution of popular music from the end of the second world war to the present day.

Visitors will be able to download classic tracks such as John Lennon’s Imagine on to their iPods or mobile phones as they tour the site and even record their own songs in a mini-studio.

The attraction could also include the country’s first permanent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, to which new artists will be inducted each year.

Instead of having their names or handprints etched into the wall or floor, as with the Hollywood Walk of Fame, legends such as the Who and Led Zeppelin may be brought to life at the touch of a button through the use of holograms.

Do you hear that Cleveland? They're going to have holograms!

It is unclear whether the UK Rock Hall intends to honor British artists exclusively or if it will be similar to the US version, which is multi-national. It also doesn't seem to be affiliated with the UK Music Hall of Fame (although that wouldn't be such a bad idea), which actually may already be defunct after a short three year run of inductions that ended in 2006.

Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum will undergo a $3 million renovation, which should be completed early next year.

The project is being funded by the New York based Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, who selected ESI Design to helm the project. ESI's founder and principal designer is Edwin Schlossberg, husband of Caroline Kennedy. Coincidentally, Caroline Kennedy has been friends with Rock Hall Founder and Chairman Jann Wenner since the 70's, when they used to party in the same New York social circles. Perhaps it was Caroline Kennedy who recommended the Hall of Fame's original architect, I.M. Pei (who also designed the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum) because when Pei was hired, he confessed he "didn’t know a thing about rock and roll."

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum announced they will be opening a new exhibit in January dedicated to the Vans Warped Tour. The Museum is taking a look at contemporary punk and skate rock and the significance the Warped tour has had over the past twelve years.

The Museum exhibit "will feature memorabilia from No Doubt, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, NOFX, New Found Glory, My Chemical Romance, Joan Jett, Dropkick Murphys, Bouncing Souls, Rancid, Helmet, Taking Back Sunday, Senses Fail, All-American Rejects and others."

After the exhibit closes in September, the Museum will be put the items "into a 'time capsule' to be stored at the Museum for 25 years, opened at a special event in 2031 and again displayed for an additional six months."

While the Museum is waiting around for 2031, Future Rock Hall should be able to give you a good idea of whether or not the above bands will be relevant 25 years from now.