Gig Ticket Prices

[MrZigster]

Absolutely Everybody And Their Dog appear to have tours set up at the moment.

Is supply going to outstrip demand? There's only so much people are prepared to spend on gigs a year I'm sure.

A couple of years ago (I think, it may be longer) I paid £30 odd quid to see a band and those tickets ended up going for a tenner on groupon or suchlike about a fortnight before gig night.

£40 odd quid this year but I can see the same thing happening again.

Maybe hold out for some bargains?

 

[Suprefan]

We have a new reigning champ for gig prices. The Fugees

[thewayiam]

I think twickets is a good option but you can't guarantee it's going to work for you. 

[eddie_corrigan]

8 minutes ago, Suprefan said:

We have a new reigning champ for gig prices. The Fugees

$183 booking fee?!!! F**king hell

[Crazyfool01]

killing me softly with those prices 

[Suprefan]

4 minutes ago, eddie_corrigan said:

$183 booking fee?!!! F**king hell

Check the meet and greet

[zero000]

1 minute ago, Suprefan said:

Check the meet and greet

Christ on a bike. America is a corporate hell hole when it comes to gig tickets. 

[Suprefan]

Just now, zero000 said:

Christ on a bike. America is a corporate hell hole when it comes to gig tickets. 

 Tell that to the artist willing to accept that type of money and the promoter having to figure out how to generate it. I bet the merchandise will be just as bad with $75 t shirts. And it will just be generic stuff that you could buy on ebay for $20

[st dan]

41 minutes ago, Suprefan said:

 Tell that to the artist willing to accept that type of money and the promoter having to figure out how to generate it. I bet the merchandise will be just as bad with $75 t shirts. And it will just be generic stuff that you could buy on ebay for $20

Surely there comes a point (in the not too distant future) that people just stop paying those crazy fees?

[FloorFiller]

3 minutes ago, st dan said:

Surely there comes a point (in the not too distant future) that people just stop paying those crazy fees?

I mean, Pearl Jam tried to take them on/boycott them in the mid-90’s and inevitably ended up just crawling back come the next tour. They’ve got a stronghold on the industry and unless literally everybody decides ‘nah fuck this’ then the tickets will continue to sell out and things will continue on an upward trend. 

[jump]

Shit American booking fees asides I don't think people have touched on how musicians were forced to change how their business works. People don't buy music anymore so they have been forced to tour more with higher prices whilst trying to flog merch like they work on a market stall rather than make music. So it's kinda insane to see some people on here who have been getting free music for years, refuse to buy a drink to support the smaller venue or merch to support the band themselves, skip the support band and go on about saving their pennies on ticket pticecs.

Yes they get money from Spotify but the rates are complete shit. Below are the pay rates of how royalties work now. I saw a UK version of this which I now can't find. Alot of the bands I listen to don't come close to these type of listeners let alone 4x it so each member can have money.

Edited September 22, 2021 by jump

[Suprefan]

42 minutes ago, st dan said:

Surely there comes a point (in the not too distant future) that people just stop paying those crazy fees?

It seemed it wouldve happened with covid, but it didnt. There was no market reset and the demand is ramping back up. If artists care, they can do something about it. They all have the power to control how tickets are sold. Its just that a small percentage do it. Direct ticket sales can be done but not a lot are doing it currently which is a shame. Even in person would curb a lot of this, but with covid thats becoming very rare. And especially more with Live Nation because theyre using covid to strictly make tickets all digital. Even SEE just started that out of “convenience”  which is a lie.
 

BTS for example do not allow platinum pricing for any of their gigs. On top of that their tickets are fairly reasonably priced considering how popular they are. Their management understands that its about getting fans into the gates and theyll get their money with merchandise sales because that generates more income than tickets. They know they could ask $1,000 a ticket and the kids would pay, but they are fine with $100 and  then taking another $300 from merchandise instead.

 

the Fugees are cashing in cause they can for the most part. But we’ll see in the next few hours if this holds. Didnt take long for word to get out on the prices and people wont see the value.

Edited September 22, 2021 by Suprefan

[jump]

17 minutes ago, Florian Saucer Attack said:

Good point well made but $1200 for a ticket for a band that is touring an album that came out when albums made lots of money

Oh fuck Fugees, I'm not sure what Lauryn Hill's issues are but if someone fucks about for 2 hours when they should be on stage then they are sending a message they don't respect their audience in which case the audience shouldn't respect them back.

I'm talking more about acts playing in the smaller/mid-sized venues. I saw someone on here say they only went to a gig because they saved £2 on the ticket price the other day.

Edited September 22, 2021 by jump

[gigpusher]

17 hours ago, crazyfool1 said:

killing me softly with those prices 

That post deserved more love than it got!!

[gigpusher]

16 hours ago, jump said:

Shit American booking fees asides I don't think people have touched on how musicians were forced to change how their business works. People don't buy music anymore so they have been forced to tour more with higher prices whilst trying to flog merch like they work on a market stall rather than make music. So it's kinda insane to see some people on here who have been getting free music for years, refuse to buy a drink to support the smaller venue or merch to support the band themselves, skip the support band and go on about saving their pennies on ticket pticecs.

Yes they get money from Spotify but the rates are complete shit. Below are the pay rates of how royalties work now. I saw a UK version of this which I now can't find. Alot of the bands I listen to don't come close to these type of listeners let alone 4x it so each member can have money.

Yep I know too many people who think music should essentially be a free commodity. I buy vinyl predominantly to support the artists. I don't even listen to it at the rate I buy it and especially during the pandemic I concentrated on spending my money mostly on smaller artists who I knew could be hit hardest by not being able to tour. I don't buy as much tour merch as I should but mainly because I really hate carting it around on the night of a gig but I do try and buy the odd t-shirt online. 

I do go mostly for cheaper, smaller venue gigs but that's mostly because those playing the big arenas/stadiums don't really need the money/support as much and I do prefer smaller gigs. I do also pay for my Deezer and artists probably earn more from me than most as I always have music playing in at least one room in the house even when I go out (for the dogs!) 

That being said I would like artists to use their clout to get more venues adopting services like Dice which is more environmentally friendly, easier to re-sell and screw over fans less with booking fees etc. 

[maelzoid]

34 minutes ago, gigpusher said:

That being said I would like artists to use their clout to get more venues adopting services like Dice which is more environmentally friendly, easier to re-sell and screw over fans less with booking fees etc. 

I really wish artists would use their influence more in general. I appreciate they have to make a living, but I wish the wealthier artists, especially those who've been around a bit would do more to help the up and comers.

eg. Crowded House recently hit back on the 'premium ticket' mark-up which allows Ticketbastard to essentially tout tickets they're selling. CH publicly shamed them and brought about a backdown.

It also dismays me every time an artist promotes Spotify, either through adverts or just offering links to the service. 

[Quark]

38 minutes ago, gigpusher said:

Yep I know too many people who think music should essentially be a free commodity. I buy vinyl predominantly to support the artists. I don't even listen to it at the rate I buy it and especially during the pandemic I concentrated on spending my money mostly on smaller artists who I knew could be hit hardest by not being able to tour. I don't buy as much tour merch as I should but mainly because I really hate carting it around on the night of a gig but I do try and buy the odd t-shirt online. 

I do go mostly for cheaper, smaller venue gigs but that's mostly because those playing the big arenas/stadiums don't really need the money/support as much and I do prefer smaller gigs. I do also pay for my Deezer and artists probably earn more from me than most as I always have music playing in at least one room in the house even when I go out (for the dogs!) 

That being said I would like artists to use their clout to get more venues adopting services like Dice which is more environmentally friendly, easier to re-sell and screw over fans less with booking fees etc. 

Think we've had this conversation before GP, but I'm pretty much in the same boat. I'm not always great at remembering to do it, but once I decide I like an album and go back to it for repeated listens I'll buy it on bandcamp or similar. Don't have physical players anymore, so recently bought a t-shirt from Resident record shop in Brighton as a bit of support.  Much prefer smaller venues, and while I can't drink as I'm normally driving I'll try to get a couple of 0% beers while I'm there.  Merch tends to be at gigs if it's specifically a tour shirt, otherwise I've shifted to online as well.

With everything being so freely available it's really easy to get used to it and take it all for granted, so it does take a bit of conscious effort!

[st dan]

I just wish they’d just ‘bend the truth’ and add the additional costs into the ticket prices. I’d rather pay £40 for a ticket with ‘zero’ fees than £35 with £5 additional fees - even though it’s essentially the same thing. Much like how VAT isn’t an issue when you can’t see it!

[Quark]

3 minutes ago, st dan said:

I just wish they’d just ‘bend the truth’ and add the additional costs into the ticket prices. I’d rather pay £40 for a ticket with ‘zero’ fees than £35 with £5 additional fees - even though it’s essentially the same thing. Much like how VAT isn’t an issue when you can’t see it!

Yep, had that the other day with something. Ended up being the same price whether I went via See or direct to the venue, but the processing fee that suddenly appeared on the See purchase when I went to put it was such a stupid % of the ticket price that I lost my rage and went via the venue.  

[gigpusher]

1 hour ago, maelzoid said:

I really wish artists would use their influence more in general. I appreciate they have to make a living, but I wish the wealthier artists, especially those who've been around a bit would do more to help the up and comers.

eg. Crowded House recently hit back on the 'premium ticket' mark-up which allows Ticketbastard to essentially tout tickets they're selling. CH publicly shamed them and brought about a backdown.

It also dismays me every time an artist promotes Spotify, either through adverts or just offering links to the service. 

Yes I think some do call things out but I do wonder if it's actually the bigger venues that set such rules. I generally find I only have to buy with Ticketmaster etc if I am going to a larger gig. It does need some of the bigger artists to speak out to make change happen though. 

1 hour ago, Quark said:

Think we've had this conversation before GP, but I'm pretty much in the same boat. I'm not always great at remembering to do it, but once I decide I like an album and go back to it for repeated listens I'll buy it on bandcamp or similar. Don't have physical players anymore, so recently bought a t-shirt from Resident record shop in Brighton as a bit of support.  Much prefer smaller venues, and while I can't drink as I'm normally driving I'll try to get a couple of 0% beers while I'm there.  Merch tends to be at gigs if it's specifically a tour shirt, otherwise I've shifted to online as well.

With everything being so freely available it's really easy to get used to it and take it all for granted, so it does take a bit of conscious effort!

Yep think we are on the same page with these things but it is amazing how many people who consider themselves left wing and who fight for 'the little guy' but complain about spending any money on the arts because thee is enough free stuff around to satisfy them. I have a friend I have a continual argument about this with. I might be making some headway as he is coming to a gig with me shortly. He has finally conceded that if people never get paid for art then only mega rich people can afford to do it. 

1 hour ago, Quark said:

Yep, had that the other day with something. Ended up being the same price whether I went via See or direct to the venue, but the processing fee that suddenly appeared on the See purchase when I went to put it was such a stupid % of the ticket price that I lost my rage and went via the venue.  

Another thing that irritates me is not being able to find out the price of tickets until they go on sale. Surely as soon as they are announced they can tell you how much they will cost and yes I'd rather than inclusive of fees price as I have no choice but to pay them. 

[dotdash79]

43 minutes ago, gigpusher said:

Another thing that irritates me is not being able to find out the price of tickets until they go on sale. Surely as soon as they are announced they can tell you how much they will cost and yes I'd rather than inclusive of fees price as I have no choice but to pay them. 

That’s done on purpose to make you spend more than you would do rationality. When you have a count down clock you fee like if you don’t commit then the pain of losing out will be bigger than the pain of paying. It’s the same trick that fraudsters use. 

[dentalplan]

2 hours ago, st dan said:

I just wish they’d just ‘bend the truth’ and add the additional costs into the ticket prices. I’d rather pay £40 for a ticket with ‘zero’ fees than £35 with £5 additional fees - even though it’s essentially the same thing. Much like how VAT isn’t an issue when you can’t see it!

Pretty sure the fees legally have to be specified and disclosed separately to the ticket price.

[gigpusher]

52 minutes ago, dotdash79 said:

That’s done on purpose to make you spend more than you would do rationality. When you have a count down clock you fee like if you don’t commit then the pain of losing out will be bigger than the pain of paying. It’s the same trick that fraudsters use. 

Yep I know why they do it but I don't like that artists I love employ the same tricks as fraudsters. It's worse when you have friends who are interested as well because do you risk them selling out to ask if £40 was more than they wanted to pay or if they are okay with it or just buy them and hope they don't say I would never have paid that much.

From the point it's put on the ticketing website you should be able to see what the cost will be when they go on sale. I remember re-scheduling a work meeting once to be ready for a ticket sale for a friend and I and as soon as I saw the price it was a no from me but a lot of wasted effort to get to that point. 

[John the Moth]

There was a pre sale for Dua Lipa a couple of days ago. 5 minutes before they went on sale I asked the missus what the max price was she wanted to pay... $150. They came on at $158 before fees. We bailed, but not before wasting both our time.

I’m still pissed about the time Ticketmaster charged me for print at home tickets!

[Suprefan]

Hahahahha. See? This is the machine we must destroy.