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Matthew T
Prog Reviewer
Joined: February 01 2007
Location: Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 5291
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Topic: Concert Tickets do you feel ripped off Posted: April 30 2009 at 17:46 |
Over the last 15 years in Australia the pricing of concert tickets have become at times ludricous for 2 to 4 hours of entertainment. It is only the major artists who are doing this via promoters but in the old days tickets were sold first in best dressed and not $500 for the front 20 rows, $300 for the middle and $100 at the back where you would be so far away from the stage they look like ants.
I have even noticed lately about a year back for the Police concerts they tried to auction off the best tickets to milk the poor old fan even more. In all honesty I would not particapate in this as I find it insulting because to me it is a blatant rip off now matter how much I like the artist even though they claim it is the promoter who prices the tickets,they do have a say if they want but most don't apparently
Now I am not saying this because it is Dylan but the last 3 tours the tickets are affordable and none of the silver spoons at the front. Steely Dan was the same. Billy Joel, Police and the Eagles the prices for good seats were ridiculous. I could go to a tropical island ( fly there and all) for a week.
Anyway what do you think are you a bit cheesed off like me or do you think the pricing is fair
Matt
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Matt
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crimson87
Prog Reviewer
Joined: January 03 2008
Location: Argentina
Status: Offline
Points: 1818
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Posted: April 30 2009 at 18:54 |
I agree man , even if US dollar is really high in our country ( 3.73 pesos= 1U$$) International and even local artists try to rip us off.
If I had wanted to go to every interesting concert that took place in the last 3 months ( Roger Hodgson , Opeth , KISS , Deep Purple , Peter Gabriel , Billy Cobham , Ornette Coleman , Radiohead , Heaven and Hell , Iron Maiden etc... in the cheapest seats. I would have paid more than $1500 , INSANE
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rushfan4
Special Collaborator
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Joined: May 22 2007
Location: Michigan, U.S.
Status: Offline
Points: 65985
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Posted: April 30 2009 at 19:05 |
Yes, that is why I am lucky enough to like all of the has-been bands that tour the outdoor theaters so that I can still see them for under $20 by sitting on the lawn. Rush was pretty expensive, but not nearly as expensive as the big bands.
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Finnforest
Special Collaborator
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Joined: February 03 2007
Location: .
Status: Offline
Points: 16913
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Posted: April 30 2009 at 19:15 |
I won't pay the prices anymore, nor do I wish to support Ticketmaster, who have helped to ruin the true concert experience of the old days. Now I'm happier with a live DVD in my living room. Cheaper, no parking nonsense, no security, no Ticketmaster.
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June
Forum Senior Member
Joined: November 03 2008
Location: Montreal
Status: Offline
Points: 6521
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Posted: April 30 2009 at 19:31 |
Yeah, I do feel ripped off.
I've only recently realised that smaller venues and "obscure" bands are the way to go to.
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Dean
Special Collaborator
Retired Admin and Amateur Layabout
Joined: May 13 2007
Location: Europe
Status: Offline
Points: 37575
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Posted: April 30 2009 at 20:51 |
June wrote:
Yeah, I do feel ripped off.
I've only recently realised that smaller venues and "obscure" bands are the way to go to.
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Absolutely Big stars only become big stars because people went to see them when they were just beginning. The last time I saw the Police was in 1979 when they were a support band and it cost me less than the price of a pint of beer to get in. Same for U2. And to be honest I think I got a better deal than the stockbrokers who paid several hundred buck to see them at the backend of their career.
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What?
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crimhead
Forum Senior Member
VIP Member
Joined: October 10 2006
Location: Missouri
Status: Offline
Points: 19236
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Posted: April 30 2009 at 21:52 |
For the last 5 years I have been supporting local bands and not really seeing what you would call big acts. The most that I have paid to hear any music is $12 and that gets me 3 or 4 bands.
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The T
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: October 16 2006
Location: FL, USA
Status: Offline
Points: 17493
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Posted: April 30 2009 at 22:25 |
Here in the US is terrible... For big-name concerts like Metallica the tickets (the better ones) are sold out minutes after they are released and then you have to buy them through companies curiously owned by Ticketmaster like Tickets Now.... I purchased tickets for said concert at about double the value because I couldn't buy them in the morning of a saturday (I was working) and at night the only remaining ones in Ticketmaster were the terrible helicopter-view ones.... So i had to go through Tickets Now... the re-sell website owned by ticketmaster
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crimson87
Prog Reviewer
Joined: January 03 2008
Location: Argentina
Status: Offline
Points: 1818
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Posted: April 30 2009 at 22:33 |
The T wrote:
Here in the US is terrible... For big-name concerts like Metallica the tickets (the better ones) are sold out minutes after they are released and then you have to buy them through companies curiously owned by Ticketmaster like Tickets Now.... I purchased tickets for said concert at about double the value because I couldn't buy them in the morning of a saturday (I was working) and at night the only remaining ones in Ticketmaster were the terrible helicopter-view ones.... So i had to go through Tickets Now... the re-sell website owned by ticketmaster |
Thats terrible and sucks big time. I didn't have the idea Ticketmaster had those mobster habits in the US
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Jozef
Forum Senior Member
Joined: June 17 2008
Location: Pennsylvania
Status: Offline
Points: 2204
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Posted: April 30 2009 at 22:35 |
Yeah ticket prices are really ridiculous. I wanted to see The Who this past winter and the only seats available were nosebleed seats for close to 60 dollars. The funny thing is though, I paid about 54 dollars to be down on the floor section of the same venue and closer to the stage when I saw Nine Inch Nails last summer! And don't get me started on service charges...
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memowakeman
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: May 19 2005
Location: Mexico City
Status: Offline
Points: 13032
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Posted: May 01 2009 at 00:56 |
Yeah, terrible, last one or two years here in Mexico, ticket prices are more expensive than ever regarding those better known artists, the worst thing is that we still pay for them :S
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Follow me on twitter @memowakeman
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Petrovsk Mizinski
Prog Reviewer
Joined: December 24 2007
Location: Ukraine
Status: Offline
Points: 25210
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Posted: May 01 2009 at 01:06 |
Aussie ticket prices are screwed these days. That's why I pretty much never go to gigs. It's not that I don't want to go to gigs, I really do, but I can choose between saving up for recording gear/guitar gear or gig tickets, I can't have both on my pay unfortunately. For well known bands, 100-120 bucks a ticket really adds up. 5 gigs, 500-600 bucks, in Aussie terms can buy me a recording interface, another guitar on the used market or 1/3rd of the way to a good, high end guitar effects processor. The bands that have stupid high prices are the well known acts anyway. I figure from now on I may as well go to the cheaper, lesser known band gigs, and help those bands stay alive since the well known acts are already kept easily afloat by those that can regularly afford the expensive tickets anyway.
Edited by Petrovsk Mizinski - May 01 2009 at 01:07
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Matthew T
Prog Reviewer
Joined: February 01 2007
Location: Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 5291
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Posted: May 01 2009 at 01:33 |
This really is a subject we all agree upon. They must think we are absolute mugs.
Anyway the first time I remember this treatment when the Paul McCartney concert was put on sale it was around 2001 to 2002. They asked a small fortune for good seats and this is coming from a Beatle fanatic, my wife and I said thanks but no thanks and refused out of disgust. How much money do some of these artists want. What if you don't clear 20 million U.S is the tour unsuccessful.
Anyway you can see why I raised the subject.
Like eveybody I prefer lesser known artists because the venues are smaller and more intimate and the artists are a lot easier to approach if you want an autograph or a snap with them.
P.S They cancelled the McCartney tour because it was claimed he was concerned for the Bali Terrorist attacks and felt it was not the time to tour? maybe I am 50 and cynical but I'd say the concerts did not sell that well because of the pricing and also they were going to be held in Football Stadiums( yuck for sound)
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Matt
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Petrovsk Mizinski
Prog Reviewer
Joined: December 24 2007
Location: Ukraine
Status: Offline
Points: 25210
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Posted: May 01 2009 at 03:13 |
I think the last big bands I went to see were Dream Theater at Festival Hall, North Melbourne (West Melbourne technically, but it's basically near North Melb station) and Iron Maiden at Rod Laver Arena. IIRC, one cost 100 bucks, the other 120. Maybe that's kinda fair since Dream Theater aren't massively well known like Maiden, but come on, Maiden sold out a whole arena sized venue, it's not like they are going to be any well less off if they charged 10 bucks less. I'm sure the amount of Merchandise they sold got them some money in the pocket (I bought a shirt for the Somewhere Back In Time tour, another 50 or so bucks to the total cost of attending the gig, I think the Dream Theater tour shirt was about the same, give or take 5 bucks).
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Slartibartfast
Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator / In Memoriam
Joined: April 29 2006
Location: Atlantais
Status: Offline
Points: 29625
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Posted: May 01 2009 at 03:16 |
The T wrote:
Here in the US is terrible... For big-name concerts like Metallica the tickets (the better ones) are sold out minutes after they are released and then you have to buy them through companies curiously owned by Ticketmaster like Tickets Now.... I purchased tickets for said concert at about double the value because I couldn't buy them in the morning of a saturday (I was working) and at night the only remaining ones in Ticketmaster were the terrible helicopter-view ones.... So i had to go through Tickets Now... the re-sell website owned by ticketmaster |
Or, as I like to call them tickebasta*ds. I'm not the litigious type, but they ought to be sued for that. I felt kind of ripped off when I went to see Porcupine Tree on their Deadwing tour and it turned out to be standing only. I'm getting too old for that. Then there was a couple of guys behind me that had apparently paid good money to get in only to spend the whole show talking loudly about how bad the band was. And there weren't any t-shirts for sale. Arrrrgggh! Thank God there's some really good DVDs available these days.
Edited by Slartibartfast - May 01 2009 at 03:24
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Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...
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Mr ProgFreak
Forum Senior Member
Joined: November 08 2008
Location: Sweden
Status: Offline
Points: 5195
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Posted: May 01 2009 at 03:17 |
Finnforest wrote:
I won't pay the prices anymore, nor do I wish to support Ticketmaster, who have helped to ruin the true concert experience of the old days. Now I'm happier with a live DVD in my living room. Cheaper, no parking nonsense, no security, no Ticketmaster.
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Agreed. It also sounds better, and comes with volume knob and pause button!
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vuh
Forum Newbie
Joined: April 23 2009
Status: Offline
Points: 12
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Posted: May 01 2009 at 05:21 |
Petrovsk Mizinski wrote:
it's not like they are going to be any well less off if they charged 10 bucks less. |
5,000 X $10 = $50,000.00
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Mr ProgFreak
Forum Senior Member
Joined: November 08 2008
Location: Sweden
Status: Offline
Points: 5195
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Posted: May 01 2009 at 05:51 |
vuh wrote:
Petrovsk Mizinski wrote:
it's not like they are going to be any well less off if they charged 10 bucks less. |
5,000 X $10 = $50,000.00 |
50,000 X $10 = $500,000.00 He said "Arena".
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chopper
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: July 13 2005
Location: Essex, UK
Status: Offline
Points: 19952
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Posted: May 01 2009 at 06:45 |
I try to avoid big gigs as far as possible these days. I have seen prog bands such as Tinyfish, Spocks Beard and Pendragon in the last couple of years - all for less than £15 a time.
What I really object to is paying a booking fee per ticket when you've ordered them over the Internet, and then a fee on top of that. I mean, all they have to do now is post the things.
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Jim Garten
Special Collaborator
Retired Admin & Razor Guru
Joined: February 02 2004
Location: South England
Status: Offline
Points: 14693
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Posted: May 01 2009 at 07:10 |
Don't get me onto online 'booking fees' to 'cover administrative costs' When we saw Rush a couple of years back I bought 6 tickets (which weren't too bad at £35 a pop) on the net in about 3 minutes... each one of them came with a £3.75 booking fee; I don;t see this as Rush's fault, more the venue itself (maybe Wembley have to pay high costs to maintain that marvellous echo from the back of the hall... )
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Jon Lord 1941 - 2012
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