I guess, this, is growing up.

[Pauleo1214]

One of my favorite things to do before Covid was to go to concerts at Merriweather Post Pavillion. The Baltimore area market is inexpensive for ticket prices, and the venue always draws excellent acts. Growing up, I saw Blink 182, Oasis and Black Crowes, Smashing Pumpkins, Cage the Elephant, Black Keys, White Stripes, Arctic Monkeys, The Cure, Sigur Ros, Missy Elliott, The Killers, Interpol, The Beach Boys. Even concerts that I attended for my wife (Mumford and Sons and Dave Matthews w/Tim Reynold's) were enjoyable. The Mumford and Sons concert should have been miserable because it was a 95-degree day in May with a shit ton of humidity. Then the hail storm hit, and the lawn seats turned into a total mud pit; people decided not to give a fuck and make a party of it instead.

Of course, I can't discuss concerts without talking about Ticketmaster and Livenation. Convenience fees and ticket buying bots that resale tickets for criminally inflated prices on resale sites like Stubhub. Then I saw this.

Mark Hoppus Tried to Buy Blink-182 Tickets but Couldn't

Mark Hoppus acknowledged fans’ frustrating experience of buying tickets for Blink-182's reunion tour as prices topped $600 in October 2022.

ultimateclassicrock.com

I am guilty of enjoying the recent pop-punk resurgence, and news of the original trio reuniting made me happy, even if their new single is a bit of a hit and a miss. However, seeing their ticket prices breaks my heart. On the one hand, it's a blatant cash grab to fund retirement. On the other, it feels like a disingenuous ploy where the artist and ticket sale/ venue conglomerate get to hide behind one another.

I can understand the cost of doing business has gone up; travel and moving expenses are likely unreal. But, for the fans, we all know wages have not gone up. Nosebleed seats for tickets to see them in Baltimore are $180 a piece before FEE-FI-FO-FUM, and Ticketmaster slams a $79 convenience fee per ticket.

My question for you guys is, what are your current thoughts on ticket prices? I don't see this as sustainable for music fans, and I'm disillusioned the industry is willingly driving to that cliff.

 

[spi]

Who doesn't like convenience?

Yeah, I feel like most concerts have exceeded the price I'm willing to spend.

As a cheaper alternative I went to a Led Zeppelin tribute band at a local bar and had just as much fun as most other concerts I'd been to, and I could even afford beer after the door cover. It wasn't crowded, I could see the stage, people were into it. I'd probably go see more local bands and cover bands.

 

[peccary]

I was interested in seeing both Elvis Costello and Pavement recently, but one look at the "cheap" seats changed my mind. Ticket prices are absurd and Ticketmaster can die in a fire for all I care.

I know I'm going to sound like some bitter old boomer but I had been spoiled living in southern California during the prime of Epitaph/Nitro/Hopeless/FAT/etc. where I could see a show for $12 that had four or five bands that I really liked. Paying $200 for a ticket (never mind the Ticketmaster ransom, even) to see Pavement just kind of makes me feel like a rube.

That said my lovely wife bought us Descendents tickets for my birthday next month, so that's pretty rad.

 

[Mentaltossflycoon]

One of my favorite things to do before Covid was to go to concerts at Merriweather Post Pavillion. The Baltimore area market is inexpensive for ticket prices, and the venue always draws excellent acts. Growing up, I saw Blink 182, Oasis and Black Crowes, Smashing Pumpkins, Cage the Elephant, Black Keys, White Stripes, Arctic Monkeys, The Cure, Sigur Ros, Missy Elliott, The Killers, Interpol, The Beach Boys. Even concerts that I attended for my wife (Mumford and Sons and Dave Matthews w/Tim Reynold's) were enjoyable. The Mumford and Sons concert should have been miserable because it was a 95-degree day in May with a shit ton of humidity. Then the hail storm hit, and the lawn seats turned into a total mud pit; people decided not to give a fuck and make a party of it instead.

Of course, I can't discuss concerts without talking about Ticketmaster and Livenation. Convenience fees and ticket buying bots that resale tickets for criminally inflated prices on resale sites like Stubhub. Then I saw this.

Mark Hoppus Tried to Buy Blink-182 Tickets but Couldn't

Mark Hoppus acknowledged fans’ frustrating experience of buying tickets for Blink-182's reunion tour as prices topped $600 in October 2022.

ultimateclassicrock.com

I am guilty of enjoying the recent pop-punk resurgence, and news of the original trio reuniting made me happy, even if their new single is a bit of a hit and a miss. However, seeing their ticket prices breaks my heart. On the one hand, it's a blatant cash grab to fund retirement. On the other, it feels like a disingenuous ploy where the artist and ticket sale/ venue conglomerate get to hide behind one another.

I can understand the cost of doing business has gone up; travel and moving expenses are likely unreal. But, for the fans, we all know wages have not gone up. Nosebleed seats for tickets to see them in Baltimore are $180 a piece before FEE-FI-FO-FUM, and Ticketmaster slams a $79 convenience fee per ticket.

My question for you guys is, what are your current thoughts on ticket prices? I don't see this as sustainable for music fans, and I'm disillusioned the industry is willingly driving to that cliff.

I agree with all of this and I can't say I'm enough of a fan of anything enough to pay those prices. I just don't go to big shows like that anymore.

 

[PapaBear]

It's hard to blame the artists on one hand, as ticket sales is all they have left, few buy albums anymore and digital pays next to nothing, on the other hand they all write songs about greedy capitalist

 

[cdwillis]

I just paid $22 + $8 bullshit fee to see my favorite band (Viagra Boys) and they came all the way from Sweden. A couple weeks before that my girlfriend and I saw her favorite band (The Old 97s) and I'm not sure what she paid for tickets, but I'm sure it was in the same range. I do like Blink 182, up to Enema of the State, but I didn't hear anymore studio stuff after that. I understand for some people it's a big chunk of their childhood or whatever, I wouldn't pay $600 to see anybody. Period. Holy shit, I think would be embarrassed to say I paid that much for a concert. This isn't even a farewell/retirement tour. Unless Tom Delonge freaks out or gets abducted by aliens, they'll be touring again I'm sure.

 

[peccary]

I just paid $22 + $8 bullshit fee to see my favorite band (Viagra Boys) and they came all the way from Sweden. A couple weeks before that my girlfriend and I saw her favorite band (The Old 97s) and I'm not sure what she paid for tickets, but I'm sure it was in the same range. I do like Blink 182, up to Enema of the State, but I didn't hear anymore studio stuff after that. I understand for some people it's a big chunk of their childhood or whatever, I wouldn't pay $600 to see anybody. Period. Holy shit, I think would be embarrassed to say I paid that much for a concert. This isn't even a farewell/retirement tour. Unless Tom Delonge freaks out or gets abducted by aliens, they'll be touring again I'm sure.

I love the Old 97's. Their live shows are super fun.

 

[scheffehcs]

I’m ok with dishing out some money if I know the show is gonna be great. My wife and I are both big St Vincent fans, so we got great ($) seats to one of her shows a few years ago. What we didn’t know was that it was essentially a solo show, just her playing to tracks. Pretty disappointing, especially considering how great her bands have been in the past.

Also, I live within earshot of Merriweather, so howdy neighbor! Heard so Gorillaz pumping away last night…

 

[almondcity]

I think we're about to see the resurgence of more local music scenes. I'd rather go see a cool local band than deal with the hassle of seeing a bigger band from the nosebleeds.

This coming from a guy currently sitting waiting for the black keys to go on stage. I don't even wanna be here man

 

[Pauleo1214]

I’m ok with dishing out some money if I know the show is gonna be great. My wife and I are both big St Vincent fans, so we got great ($) seats to one of her shows a few years ago. What we didn’t know was that it was essentially a solo show, just her playing to tracks. Pretty disappointing, especially considering how great her bands have been in the past.

Also, I live within earshot of Merriweather, so howdy neighbor! Heard so Gorillaz pumping away last night…

I agree. Dave Matthews is not my cup of tea for instance and the lawn seats were $86 per ticket. I tried to get Pavillion tickets. I sat refreshing my browser the minute the tickets went on sale and *poof* the bots took them all. Within minutes I saw the same tickets being put on sale on Stubhub for $4-500.

That said, he and Tim Reynolds performed extremely well even if they were high as kites. My wife was glad we spent the money and I guess that's what counts.

My concern is the the current practice is unsustainable in terms of affordability for most fans.

It's hard to blame the artists on one hand, as ticket sales is all they have left, few buy albums anymore and digital pays next to nothing, on the other hand they all write songs about greedy capitalist

@Barry, I agree. I think the internet took a tole on the industry. I somehow recall hearing artists make most of their money from tours, even before digital media took over CD sales. if artists are getting nothing from it, it is not out of the realm of possibility that they'd go along with shitty practices to stick it to their fans to get money.

Digital media is a whole other issue that I don't want to get started with. Most MP3s, even if you buy them, are encoded with DRM Protections that dictate how you can use the file so you don't truly own it like say, a CD.

 

[jimilee]

I agree. Dave Matthews is not my cup of tea for instance and the lawn seats were $86 per ticket. I tried to get Pavillion tickets. I sat refreshing my browser the minute the tickets went on sale and *poof* the bots took them all. Within minutes I saw the same tickets being put on sale on Stubhub for $4-500.

That said, he and Tim Reynolds performed extremely well even if they were high as kites. My wife was glad we spent the money and I guess that's what counts.

My concern is the the current practice is unsustainable in terms of affordability for most fans.


@Barry, I agree. I think the internet took a tole on the industry. I somehow recall hearing artists make most of their money from tours, even before digital media took over CD sales. if artists are getting nothing from it, it is not out of the realm of possibility that they'd go along with shitty practices to stick it to their fans to get money.

Digital media is a whole other issue that I don't want to get started with. Most MP3s, even if you buy them, are encoded with DRM Protections that dictate how you can use the file so you don't truly own it like say, a CD.

I dare say, ticket sales go to promoters and venues. The way it used to go is, record companies would pay for everything, then put the band in the road to pay it back. Merch was about they only way they made money. They do still get royalties, hopefully they negotiated up in their contracts for those. I feel like, that’s why more and more artists are doing as much as they can by themselves.

 

[ADAOCE]

$79 in fees for one ticket?!?! GTFOH

A buddy of mine just complained he and his wife were in the queue to buy tickets well before blink went on sale and he was number 800. Everything was sold out and immediately the only thing available was resale for $300+

Even with an 8 ticket limit and 800 people it shouldn’t have sold out so it just proves they sell the bill to scalpers. Live concerts are such a fucking racket.

4 tickets to porcupine tree in Boston last month after fees was $700

 

[spi]

 

[mdc]

I agree. Dave Matthews is not my cup of tea for instance and the lawn seats were $86 per ticket. I tried to get Pavillion tickets. I sat refreshing my browser the minute the tickets went on sale and *poof* the bots took them all. Within minutes I saw the same tickets being put on sale on Stubhub for $4-500.

That said, he and Tim Reynolds performed extremely well even if they were high as kites. My wife was glad we spent the money and I guess that's what counts.

My concern is the the current practice is unsustainable in terms of affordability for most fans.


@Barry, I agree. I think the internet took a tole on the industry. I somehow recall hearing artists make most of their money from tours, even before digital media took over CD sales. if artists are getting nothing from it, it is not out of the realm of possibility that they'd go along with shitty practices to stick it to their fans to get money.

Digital media is a whole other issue that I don't want to get started with. Most MP3s, even if you buy them, are encoded with DRM Protections that dictate how you can use the file so you don't truly own it like say, a CD.

It's less a case of bands going along with it than it is consolidation in most large markets of ticketing/venue ownership/etc/etc. In the post COVID-world, every band on the planet is trying to make good on 2.5yrs of rescheduled dates, which is putting an incredible strain on venues, and in most cities the places that any band drawing more than 150 people can actually play are extremely limited. The ones that aren't tied to a national company like ticketmaster were even less likely to survive the pando. So you're in an untenable choice between playing a venue that is going to charge exorbitant fees for presales or basically... not touring?

What's extremely concerning is that the services fees are becoming so large that they're genuinely affecting pre-sales, which is leading bands to cancel tours because they have no idea if the financial side of it will work out. There are dozens and dozens of stories of pretty large, international touring acts losing money hand over fist trying to tour right now; so for anyone without a sizeable cushion to fall back on, pre-sales are crucial.

It's a bad timeline!

 

[szukalski]

Health insurance, Airbnb, Ticketmaster, DeliveryApps.. it’s all matter of gaining enough market share then grifting every last penny.

Regulation seems pretty good at this stage.

 

[cdwillis]

It's less a case of bands going along with it than it is consolidation in most large markets of ticketing/venue ownership/etc/etc. In the post COVID-world, every band on the planet is trying to make good on 2.5yrs of rescheduled dates, which is putting an incredible strain on venues, and in most cities the places that any band drawing more than 150 people can actually play are extremely limited. The ones that aren't tied to a national company like ticketmaster were even less likely to survive the pando. So you're in an untenable choice between playing a venue that is going to charge exorbitant fees for presales or basically... not touring?

What's extremely concerning is that the services fees are becoming so large that they're genuinely affecting pre-sales, which is leading bands to cancel tours because they have no idea if the financial side of it will work out. There are dozens and dozens of stories of pretty large, international touring acts losing money hand over fist trying to tour right now; so for anyone without a sizeable cushion to fall back on, pre-sales are crucial.

It's a bad timeline!

Animal Collective just cancelled their entire European tour because they crunched the numbers and there was no way that they could possibly do the tour without losing money.

Animal Collective Cancel Tour: “An Economic Reality That Simply Does Not Work”

The band will no longer be performing in the United Kingdom and Europe later this year

pitchfork.com