My Big Political Statement Regarding Ticket Prices
Sunday, June 26, 2011 at 12:01AM Tonight, Motley Crue and Poison are playing in Cincinnati, about an hour from my house. I am not attending.
This may shock some of you. I was on the fence about the show for many months and not so long ago I decided I wouldn't go as a means of protest. The ticket prices are high and I've seen Motley and Poison many times before. I decided that I could continually keep writing about high ticket prices, then just pay up... or I could complain about ticket prices and protest with my wallet. I know not buying a ticket for me and my husband isn't going to rock the concert industry or hurt the bottom lines of either Motley or Poison. But that's not the point. The point is that I am now forcing myself to be more self-aware of the cost -- and every show I'm intentionally skipping will mean just that much more in the long run.
If more people voted with their wallets, the price of concert tickets would come down. A product is only worth what the market will pay. If everyone starts refusing to plunk down a hundred bucks a ticket, guess what: suddenly we're seeing shows for $50. In addition to skipping Motley/Poison, I'm also intentionally skipping Def Leppard/Heart. I work a lot and I'm just sick of being fleeced of my very hard earned cash -- especially when the set lists never change and the bands don't even seem to care about putting out a fresh show.
Thoughts?
Reader Comments (30)
You don't have to go back to 1971 to see how gross the rise of concert prices have become. In 1996, average ticket prices were $25.00. That number has skyrocketed to 67.33 in 2008. There is no excuse for that. Lots of workers have always been involved in putting together concerts, this isn't new in 2010-2011. The music industry missed the boat when the internet came in and they are trying to make up the lost money through ticket prices. The only people truly losing are the fans. Poison and Motley Crue have combined to give us, the fans, all of 2 original albums since the year 2001 yet they go ahead and charge us triple the price from the time that they were actual relevant bands with music to sell.
Nevermind the fact that the arena charges you 20 bucks to park, 10 bucks for beer, and Ticketmaster charges 15 bucks in service fees. If a band has the balls to give the ok to charge 120 bucks or higher for a decent seat to your show, then you better do your part and give us something much different than the show we saw in 2003 for a third of the price or the same show we can find on youtube any time of day. Bands like Motley Crue, Poison, and Def Leppard don't do that. There are arena bands out there (in multiple genres) that do change up the set list at a much smaller price than these bands do.
If enough people take a stand then the power of the people always win out. Accepting things as is when they are clearly broken should never be looked at with a shrug of the shoulders and a large wad of our hard earned cash.
When did Crue do a cover of The Raspberries "Tonight"? HUGE!
Did you see when Al posted their live performance of The Beatles' "Paperback Writer" from their first show at The Starwood? UNREAL!
p.s. It's since been pulled. Now there's only half of an old video clip of it up on YouTube now, unfortunately.
Some bands are also to blame. Journey, Def Lep, Crue and Poison tickets are out of whack.Journey tix are over $100 in the uncovered section and that is BEFORE the surcharge. I might be going to the Def Lep show this week for free because no one is buying tickets. They only have 5-6k sold for and 18k venue. When this happens they give tix away for free to friends and family. I went to four shows last year because of this. The industry is hurtingand these prices are the reason.Also, Def Lep is playing a casino on Saturdaythat is a not far from Mansfield. So most people will go there.I don't know what these people are thinking with the prices they set.
Screw them and the promoters so good luck staying at the Budget Inn. I am going to download the new live album and stay at home.
Dave Seng
Also everyone seems to be pointing to the venue, promoter, etc charging for VIP, Gold Circle Seating, etc. They ploy is to compensate the lack of attendence at a lot of shows. These prices are also on the prime seating that people would over pay scalpers. They got wise to the game and knew people would pay top dollar for those seats. They were right on some shows and way off in others. If you check these stupid ticketbrokers now, they cost aren't as outrageous as they once were. The markup isn't 200% or more over the face value, except for certain sold out shows. THOSE are few and far between it seems.
Now lets look at WHY ticket prices are so high.
A.) $15 plus for Tickemast charges. NO WAY to boycott it directly. They are the only game in town that Live Nation, etc use.
B.)VIP, GOLD CIRCLE, ETC...the prices are higher to compensate for...wait for it...THE ARTIST'S GUARANTEE of the show as a whole. They, being the promoter/venue/whatever are taking a gamble on booking the artist and it being sold to make a profit. With the lackluster turnout of shows they need to make a bigger profit here to compensate for the entire ARENA/SHED/STADIUM. All because YOUR favorite band wants to make an assload of cash. Don't kid yourselves, blame the ARTIST, their BOOKING AGENCY, their MANAGEMENT and ALL of their over estimation of the WORTH of the band.
The venues/promoters/etc are turning in their capacity and ticket prices BEFORE contracts are even SIGNED. The NEGOTIATION begins at the OFFER. Management looks at the capacity versus the ticket price and bases EVERYTHING on a SELLOUT. Then they allow the buyer to make 10-30% profit, IF the show sells out.
So don't let the ARTISTS off the hook. It is THEY who set the bar of where ticket prices are going to be. IF THEY STOP THE INSANITY, then ticket prices will go down. But since your talent isn't based on what hits our ears, but asses that hit the seats.
You hear EVERYONE complaining about no CD sales or not making money on CD sales. You don't hear one son of a bitch complaining about the money they make on tour. The artist doesn't complain anymore about the cost of touring. Why? Because Live Nation has taken alot of the gamble on putting the show on the road. The artist BUYER is taking the gamble on PAYING the guarantee, the ridiculous RIDERS, etc.
The ARTIST is only taking a gamble of going out for the MONEY they're asking for a guarantee. If everyone gets burned on a huge tour, the artist will be in your local CLUB playing for what they're worth ticket pricewise.
Its supply and demand. If the demand is their and the ARTIST only has a limited amount of time for touring then you PAY out the ass. You STOP BUYING TICKETS EVERYONE will hear your shout! You have to hit them wear they hurt, the WALLET!
But its also a double edged sword. If the artist DOESN'T sell these places it falls on THEM. Then the artist has the stigma of not being a draw anymore. The fickle public will lose interest and suddenly bye bye to the artist.
Profit isn't a dirty thing, but GOUGING is. Basically that is what's being done. The ARTIST wants to make the most money, the VENUES want to make the most money, the booking agents and managers want to make the most money and NONE of them will budge in fear of the OTHER person making more money. If they would start doing SPLITS based on TICKET SALES then you would see tickets going down. GUARANTEES are out of control is the bottomline. The artist and their management are playing poker with talent buyers and WE ARE PAYING the ANTES.
I'm done paying for shows. Half the time you get shit sound, lousy performances, drunken idiots (of which I'm one), a parking clusterfuck, overprices watered down drinks...wow that DOES sound like a GREAT TIME! *sarcasm mode ON*
Lotsa insight from you here.
And I laffed like h*ll regarding your self deprecating "drunk" remark, hahaha!!!, and can certainly appreciate your "Sarcasm Mode On" Indicator. Bravo!
well I'd pay to see this.....they certainly put out to create this type of stage show....and it did not come cheap !!!1....remember that !!!!