Gig ticket prices

Zoophonic said:
Yes it really is. Incredibly expensive. Taylor Swift ticket prices there are off the scale. As for Coldplay they will be pricey. We know that. Would I travel to see them in Europe when they are touring Britain next year - no.
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I live in Munich so is a local gig for me.
Still expensive though. My daughter wants to go so it’ll earn me kudos but will cost me a small fortune by the sounds of it. If I’m ‘lucky’ and manage to get tickets tomorrow.
 
asredastheycome said:
Dean Friedman playing the Georgian in August(I think). He was cracking last time I saw him there. Taking my sister-in-laws who love him.
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When I put him on he was doing his "Well, well, said the Rocking Chair" 40th Anniversary Tour. It was absolutely brilliant. These intimate gigs nearly always mean the artists spend a lot of time mingling and chatting with the audience too, which they love.

He still calls me now and again, looking for another gig. I know its him instantly..... "Hi Baaaawwb" in his strong New Jersey twang.
 
goalscrounger said:
How have we got 3 pages in without talking about the disgraceful levels that "booking fees" have reached now? Some gigs I've looked at have fees that are almost as much as the ticket cost. Total rip off.
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Has been for a while. I used to drive down to Jones Beach for the one day the box office was open for the summer season and buy all the tickets I wanted in a oner. Much the same with Manhattan theaters. I'd get off the subway and go to the box office. I'm not sure those are even an option now.
 
king_hellfire said:
Bands earn a relative pittance from streaming services, so they have to make their money through touring and merchandise. Hence bands touring more regularly, selling posters and t-shirts specifically designed for each gig
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A lot of venues even take a cut of the merch now as well, which is absolutely parasitic.
 
clay said:
A lot of venues even take a cut of the merch now as well, which is absolutely parasitic.
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That is a particularly shiddy trick.

I was at Bearded Theory Festival in May and it turned out that the festival wanted 25% on the Artists' merch! TWENTY FIVE FRIKKIN PERCENT. So I bought nothing. Many of the Artists simply said they wouldn't sell merch and the official merch stall was noticeably VERY quiet. I've been at a few gigs where the bands have sold their merch from the van outside. I love that festival and I hope they review that policy for next year.
 
clay said:
A lot of venues even take a cut of the merch now as well, which is absolutely parasitic.
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Talked the other day with a girl who does lots of merch for loads of bands now and again. She was telling me that the O2 academies take 25% of the merchandise sales. Its so bad some of the bands don't sell their T-shirt's and things in the hall but just do it outside.
 
rkangel said:
I paid £11.50 to see long time Brazilian metallers NervoChaos last night. Imagine my shock when I found that the venue was charging only £10 on the door. NervoChaos were ok, but Italian support Violentor were very very good, with a bit of the thrust of Agnostic Front about them. Definitely worth that extra £1.50.
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That makes sense really, there is often no ticket to fulfil on the door, no one to deal with queries about a missing or damaged ticket, no qr codes needed etc

Promoters tend to charge more on the door to encourage people to buy in advance because it means they know better if they're facing a loss or not in advance.
 
clay said:
A lot of venues even take a cut of the merch now as well, which is absolutely parasitic.
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It has been going on for a long time. 25 years ago playing Paradiso in Amsterdam and they charged a tax on merch. Bands had to sell outside or pay 10% to the venue., Has often been the case at The Sage too and bigger venues.
For acts live gigs-earnings and sales are a bigger and bigger slice of total earnings when there is so little to be gained from online music sales.
I recall perhaps a decade ago now, Maximo Park talking about bands being signed on 360 degrees deals that would include all live merch sales as well record shop and online - covering all bases and making it harder and harder to truly earn a living off your income.
 
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asredastheycome said:
Talked the other day with a girl who does lots of merch for loads of bands now and again. She was telling me that the O2 academies take 25% of the merchandise sales. Its so bad some of the bands don't sell their T-shirt's and things in the hall but just do it outside.
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When I saw Yard Act last Nov at Leeds Academy they had set up a merch stall in one of the nearby bars which I thought was a genius idea! Artists win and the bar does whilst sticking a finger up to 02
 
The Swedes seem to do better in this regard. Shade over 50 quid to each to see Springsteen in Gothenburg this Summer and around the same for Taylor in Stockholm next.

I do think prices are slightly reflective of the "see and be seen" culture though. Years ago when I started seeing bands it tended to be hardcore fans of that particular artist (massive stadium gigs aside). Now it seems the importance placed on being able to say "you were there" effectively creates a bidding war for tickets.

It's why I usually only go to unknown artists noone gives a to55 about 😂
 
changingman said:
The Swedes seem to do better in this regard. Shade over 50 quid to each to see Springsteen in Gothenburg this Summer and around the same for Taylor in Stockholm next.

I do think prices are slightly reflective of the "see and be seen" culture though. Years ago when I started seeing bands it tended to be hardcore fans of that particular artist (massive stadium gigs aside). Now it seems the importance placed on being able to say "you were there" effectively creates a bidding war for tickets.

It's why I usually only go to unknown artists noone gives a to55 about 😂
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Surprised she is still a draw. Tell it to my Heart is the only song I know of the great Taylor Dane
 
Tickets are crazy prices now because bands don’t make as much from record sales - it’s as simple as that. I paid £45 to see The Cult a few weeks back and £84 to see Iron Maiden. The top tier bands start around £100 now - it is what it is 😬
 
changingman said:
The Swedes seem to do better in this regard. Shade over 50 quid to each to see Springsteen in Gothenburg this Summer and around the same for Taylor in Stockholm next.

I do think prices are slightly reflective of the "see and be seen" culture though. Years ago when I started seeing bands it tended to be hardcore fans of that particular artist (massive stadium gigs aside). Now it seems the importance placed on being able to say "you were there" effectively creates a bidding war for tickets.

It's why I usually only go to unknown artists noone gives a to55 about 😂
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But at least you can say you were there ;)
 
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