I wasn’t even slightly tempted to get a ticket in the end. I think they went on sale today. There’s always the chance that someone I know will have a spare one later on. My sister’s house is very near the open air venue so I’m hoping I can hear the concert from her back garden.
And Pinball Wizard, and Behind Blue Eyes, and Won’t Get Fooled Again… (speaking as a not-particularly-big-fan, isn’t that their signature tune?)
I saw Tom Waits last summer at the Bridge School concert. Some people were there to see Regina Spektor, or John Meyer, or Neil Young (he runs the concert after all), or an acoustic Metallica (?), but Waits stole the whole thing as far as I’m concerned. It was pretty fantastic.
Must. Refrain. From. “Yo Momma”. Joke.
whew
I wonder how much the performers can actually affect ticket prices. But these big name acts probably can afford to forgo more of their take than the ones who are up and coming, who make very little from touring, and do it mainly to get known.
I’m going to defend U2 on this–on the last two tours, floor tickets were $50 and with patience and some luck, you could have the best seat in the house–front and center.
Madonna, on the other hand, is charging $350 each for floor seats. :eek:
Well … I’ve been waiting, but no one has mentioned it, so as a musician myself, I can’t resist.
The advent of digital music, and its easy duplication, changed the economics of the music industry forever. Before that, you could live off of residuals, slow long-term sales of records, or tapes. But now, people just routinely copy and give away music.
So to stay alive, musicians have had to return to what can’t be copied or duplicated … live music in person. But now, instead of a tour to promote an album, they put out the album to promote the tour.
In a way I like this, because I love live music. But the changing economics mean that it’s not a giveaway, not a promotional tour. It’s how they make a living.
This, of course, has led to what might be thought of as an “arms race”, with each band trying to outdo the last band in number of amplifiers and wattage of lights and tons of fireworks and costumers and hosts of assistants and roadies … it’s not three guitars, three amps, a PA system and a drummer any more, friends. Think about what it costs to put the show on the road for one of those extravapaloozas, you’ll see why Madonna with her backup singers and dancers and choreographers and costumers and all the rest has to charge a pile of money.
Now, Tom Waits is just him and a piano. He could do it for a thousand bucks a night and make money. But why should he? He should price it at whatever the traffic will bear, or be at the mercy of scalpers. (The Ticketmaster solution, although draconian, is at least effective).
The fact that he is sold out so fast tells me that in fact, he could price his concerts much higher than that and still sell out …
So, the economics of the industry changed. Now, not all of the ticket pricing goes to the artist(s), by any means. But the reality is they have to charge more now.
Like I said, I kinda like the fact that live music is so popular. Yeah, I hate shelling out the big bucks … but they got to make a living too.
So. None of this touches the other issues with Ticketmaster, or its heirs or assigns. This is not an endorsement of the Tickemaster draconium, or any Ticketmaster actions or inactions. Ticket not valid without proof that you are, in fact, you, and not an extra-terrestrial alien who has temporarily taken over your body (including but not limited to the central nervous system) for musical purposes. Void where taxed or prohibited. All warranties, express or implied, are not. Sins of omission and/or sins of commission are specifically excluded. This ticket printed on 100% recycled electrons.
Some days you just need that two ton heavy thing.
Declan
Holy crap! I was coming in to post the same thing. They had a free Beach Boys concert at Rice University in '88 or '89 after one of the football games.
I forgot about it and didn’t go.
Earlier, in the Spring of 1986, my then-girlfriend and I paid $50/ticket to a ticket reseller for front-section Billy Joel tickets.
[sub]Unfortunately, we broke up before the concert, and both of us were too stubborn not to go. We went separately and spent the whole evening glaring at each other.[/sub]
Yes, yes it is 
I can’t believe I didn’t pick up on this the first time - but there’s no The Who song called Teenage Wasteland.
It’s Baba O’Riley.
I’m a musician too but I think charging that amount is criminal. I would argue that unlike alot of other artists Tom Waits has a core of fans that would purchase any release. I imagine his stuff sells way more on vinyl than alot of other contemporary artists too. No cites though for that one. I can buy one of his albums for a tenth of the ticket price and listen to it every evening for years. €130 for one night is just ridiculous and shows a disregard for fans of lesser means. The man has his money made and so do most of the artists that sell tickets for 3 digits. I’m not saying they should play for free but some small concession should maybe be made for fans with fuck all cash. Maybe they could have a small amount of the tickets available at a discounted price. The Dublin dates are grossing $3.6 milllion for three nights work FWIW.
By that standard shouldn’t you be Pitting Bentley for charging everyone ~200,000 euros for a Continental?
I started (or participated in - I can’t remember) a thread where I asked why they didn’t charge much higher prices.
I’ve given up trying to get concert tickets or anything. Everytime I tried, I would attempt to do so right when they opened up…only to find out all tickets were sold except for the ones 5000 yards from the stage with a partially blocked view.
If all your tickets are sold before the box office even opens…YOU ARE UNDERCHARGING! My wife and I wouldn’t do this often but would drop $300 on 2 tickets every once in awhile if we could get decent seats without having to watch the opening ticket time like a hawk.
The same seat at the same venue I paid £4.00 for back in 1981 is £95.00 this time around - and there’s still no support!
Performers on the level we’re talking about here get an “artist fee” for the show. As much as we’d like to think that it’s the greedy corporate bastards making ticket prices so high, they’re high because artist fees have become astronomical, and artist fees are astronomical because the market bears that ticket price.
Yeah, that’s me too. I used to think AU$40 was big money for a global act back in the late 80s. It eventually dawned on me that a whole lot about rock concerts really sucks. What with overpriced drinks, an incredible wait for service at the bar in interval, being treated like a criminal by security, and thousands of idiots in the crowd including those right next to you hollering and blocking the view, my arse getting sore after the first hour in one of those hard seats, not to mention the possibility that the band might not be having a good night, I have long since decided to just stay at home with a beer and the same music on the stereo
My point exactly! The Who’s popularity today (such as it is) has a lot to to with CSI, songs used in commercials, and soundbite memes. Ask a Who concert attendee these days what they thought about “El Kabonging” of Abbie Hoffman, and all you’d get is a blank stare.
Not really, because luxury items are defined by their price. They sell precisely because they are expensive.
The current incarnation of the Beach Boys is basically a cover group. There’s not even a Wilson in the line up, is there? Is the one remaining member Mike Love? Sad.
I’ve seen Brian Wilson solo in the neighborhood of $60-$70.