Who is responisble for the $100 tickets? (sing, better, concerts, money)
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I saw Van Halen three times in my lifetime. When they came out with their debut album tickets were $5. Years later they were $34. Skip ahead and they were in the $100s...but we had corporate box seats where they performed for that one so I didn't pay it.
Artists and their management, plain and simple. Ticket prices are based on how much they want to get paid. In that respect, Ticketmaster is actually the least responsible.
When prices jumped beyond the few legacy artists that could command million plus dollar fees, it goes back to when SFX Entertainment bought up all the regional promoters and could bid on whole tours or outbid competing promoters thus raising ticket prices.
There is a great book on the subject that just came out called Ticket Masters: The Rise Of The Concert Industry And How The Public Got Scalped by Josh Baron and Dean Budnik.
If you take a band that use to release an album and have it hit gold or platinum and they owned the rights to their back catalogue and with each current release acquired new fans that bought their new album and previous releases BEFORE the era of downloading music for free, then the fact that ticket prices are higher now than they were in the past is a direct result of artists attempting to recover lost revenue from what is basically their music being obtained for free by downloading.
If a band plays to for example 5,000 fans a night, six nights a week on a 24 date tour then that is about 120,000 tickets inside of a period of about a month while on the road. If it could be calculated, with all of the numerous variables and factors associated with figuring out a bands previous album sales per album before downloading versus after free downloading became possible - if that same band lost 1.2 million dollars in potential royalties as the result of downloading in that particular region they have a 24 date tour in, playing on average to 5,000 fans a night and the ticket price is only increased above what it's normal subjective value would be, by $10 over the course of 24 shows and 120,000 tickets then the 1.2 million lost in album sale revenue is recovered, only through the sale of tickets.
If a bands' music can potentially be stolen/taken/downloaded for free and the artist has no control over that, then it only makes sense that any recovery for what an artist feels like it lost by it's music being obtained for free will be secured through other means. Increased ticket prices.
I think it's good old inflation - about a month ago I paid over 400 dollars for 2 tickets to see Paul McCartney in Cincinnati thru a broker but it was well worth it - wow! - what a great concert.I think a lot of acts would not be worth that much.
I wanted to go to a relatively unknown concert nearby but after thinking about it I will just donate the money to a charity that feeds the hungry. I can get my fill of good music on YouTube as part of my ISP plan.
I blame David Bowie for opening the door. Prior to his Sound and Vision tour, I never saw a concert ticket more than $20. Sound and Vision was high $20s (over $30 after fees). After that, ticket prices started going up really fast.
I blame David Bowie for opening the door. Prior to his Sound and Vision tour, I never saw a concert ticket more than $20. Sound and Vision was high $20s (over $30 after fees). After that, ticket prices started going up really fast.
I remember that, and that's probably one of his worst tours too!
The Jacksons Victory tour in 1984 was around $30. Rolling Stones in 1989 was $28.50 in most cities and $30 in Los Angeles when Guns N Roses was added to the bill. Actually the Rolling Stones were often at the forefront of high ticket prices going back to the controversial $8 tickets in 1969.
I saw a few $30 tickets and $50 "Golden Circles" in the following years but the big jump was in 1994 when The Eagles charged $125 for their reunion tour.
There isn't any band I would pay 100 dollars to see. None of them are worth it. The most I have ever paid was 35 dollars to see The Brian Setzer Orchestra and while it was a great show I think it is too much to pay and I will never do it again.
Eagles Hell Freezes Over Tour in the Early 90's RUINED the days of $20 concerts. Those greedy middle aged b@stards screwed it up. Since then, these old bands are making more off Corporate Sponsors than they did at their peak.
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