Concert Tickets do you feel ripped off
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Topic: Concert Tickets do you feel ripped off
Posted By: Matthew T
Subject: Concert Tickets do you feel ripped off
Date Posted: April 30 2009 at 17:46
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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 ------------- Matt |
Replies:
Posted By: crimson87
Date Posted: April 30 2009 at 18:54
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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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Posted By: rushfan4
Date 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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Posted By: Finnforest
Date Posted: April 30 2009 at 19:15
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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.
------------- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/sQD8uhpWXCw" rel="nofollow - It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...Road Rage Edition |
Posted By: June
Date Posted: April 30 2009 at 19:31
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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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Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: April 30 2009 at 20:51
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.------------- What? |
June wrote:Posted By: crimhead
Date 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. |
Posted By: The T
Date Posted: April 30 2009 at 22:25
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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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Posted By: crimson87
Date Posted: April 30 2009 at 22:33
Thats terrible and sucks big time. I didn't have the idea Ticketmaster had those mobster habits in the US
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Posted By: Jozef
Date Posted: April 30 2009 at 22:35
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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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Posted By: memowakeman
Date Posted: May 01 2009 at 00:56
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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
------------- Follow me on twitter @memowakeman |
Posted By: Petrovsk Mizinski
Date Posted: May 01 2009 at 01:06
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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. ------------- 
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Posted By: Matthew T
Date Posted: May 01 2009 at 01:33
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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) ------------- Matt |
Posted By: Petrovsk Mizinski
Date Posted: May 01 2009 at 03:13
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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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Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: May 01 2009 at 03:16
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. ------------- Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened... 
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Posted By: Mr ProgFreak
Date Posted: May 01 2009 at 03:17
Agreed. It also sounds better, and comes with volume knob and pause button!  ------------- https://tagyourmusic.org/users/Mike" rel="nofollow - https://tagyourmusic.org/users/Mike |
Posted By: vuh
Date Posted: May 01 2009 at 05:21
5,000 X $10 = $50,000.00
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Posted By: Mr ProgFreak
Date Posted: May 01 2009 at 05:51
50,000 X $10 = $500,000.00 He said "Arena". ------------- https://tagyourmusic.org/users/Mike" rel="nofollow - https://tagyourmusic.org/users/Mike |
Posted By: chopper
Date Posted: May 01 2009 at 06:45
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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. |
Posted By: Jim Garten
Date Posted: May 01 2009 at 07:10
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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...  )------------- 
Jon Lord 1941 - 2012 |
Posted By: darkshade
Date Posted: May 01 2009 at 16:50
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last concert i went to was Umphrey's McGee in NYC, only $37 a ticket, which wasnt too bad IMO. They're not the biggest band in the world either, so i was able to get pretty close to the stage. I dont like big venues, big acts, especially if they play in a large venue where the sound is not good. i prefer small venues, small to relatively known bands, more intimate audience, etc. plus all the big acts these days suck or are past their prime anyway. ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/MysticBoogy" rel="nofollow - My Last.fm 
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Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: May 01 2009 at 20:06
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Smaller venues and intimate performances are the best and always have been in my concert attending experiences. Then there was the 688 club...
------------- Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...
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Posted By: crimhead
Date Posted: May 02 2009 at 13:16
| Bob Dylan is doing a minor league ballpark tour with Wilie Nelson and John Mellencamp. $67.50 for tickets doesn't sound too bad. That's before Ticketb*****d bends you over though. |
Posted By: vuh
Date Posted: May 02 2009 at 14:59
14,820 x $10 = $148, 200.00
He said "Rod Laver Arena".
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Posted By: vuh
Date Posted: May 02 2009 at 15:03
I bought tickets to see The Specials and I was charged a fee to have them emailed to me!
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Posted By: Finnforest
Date Posted: May 02 2009 at 15:34
Yeah, plus you can have a few drinks without having to worry about driving. Remember the old days, when the kids who took the time to camp out on the sidewalks for 48 hours got the front row seats.....it was so cool staying overnight with a bunch of fans in sleeping bags, talking tunes and smoking cigs.....knowing that the the best seats were going to the hardest core fans. No phone tix, no Internet, no $7 tickermaster fee. You had to be there. Concerts were also much less orchestrated and predictable too. Anything could happen at a show. ------------- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/sQD8uhpWXCw" rel="nofollow - It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...Road Rage Edition |
Posted By: moe_blunts
Date Posted: May 02 2009 at 15:35
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Being a frequently stoned college student, I just can't afford some of the shows I wanna see. My friend played $90 to see TooL...I don't have those kind of funds. It doesn't matter though. I get to see my fair share of awesome shows. Estradasphere was $10. Sleepytime is $12 tomorrow. Kayo Dot was $8... ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/moe_blunts/?chartstyle=minimalDarkRecent"> 
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Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: May 02 2009 at 18:08
Plus if you're really dumb there is still the option of watching a prog DVD at home, getting drunk, and going out drunk driving afterward... I suspect most people who have the intelligence to like prog will not do this.  If you are dumb enough to do that, we probably don't really want to know about it. No, who am I kidding, tell us all about it... ------------- Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...
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Posted By: darkshade
Date Posted: May 04 2009 at 12:56
you can probably thank The Who for ruining it for everyone. Or at least their 70s crazy-ass fans ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/MysticBoogy" rel="nofollow - My Last.fm
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Posted By: crimhead
Date Posted: May 04 2009 at 13:13
Would have loved to have seen Sleepytime. Tell us about the show when you can. |
Posted By: moe_blunts
Date Posted: May 04 2009 at 13:46
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The concert was last night and it was nothing short of brilliant. Sleepytime is very good to the city of Austin. They played twice here last year, but I only caught them once. The previous venue I saw them at was rather cramped and not very accommodating. They put on an alright show that time. Last night, they played at a much better venue. The stage was outside and there was plenty of room. I was front and center...and holy sh*t was it awesome. They had rather ridiculous stage lights. They brought all their wacky homemade instruments as well. There was this thing that was like a pedal steel guitar, the kind you would see at a country music concert, but instead it had bass strings. The most impressive member of the band is their percussionist who switches between playing all sorts of weird drums, xylophones, PRS guitars, trumpets and other stuff too. The female violin player has such a wonderful voice and she can sing and simultaneously play. The crowd was really into as well. A small mosh pit formed but it was very tame and mostly just jumping and slight pushing. Nothing too intense. They played a 2 hour set and had an encore with "The Donkey-headed Adversary of Humanity..." Oh yea, it only cost $12. ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/moe_blunts/?chartstyle=minimalDarkRecent">
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Posted By: Equality 7-2521
Date Posted: May 04 2009 at 16:52
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Not really. It only becomes a problem if you're fans of much bigger acts. Most concerts I go to are in the range of $8.00 - $12.00 for 3 hours of music. Can't complain.
------------- "One had to be a Newton to notice that the moon is falling, when everyone sees that it doesn't fall. " |
Posted By: crimhead
Date Posted: May 04 2009 at 18:14
I wish that I could have known about their tour sooner, I would have gone to Chicago. I missed them the last time that they played St. Louis and I regret it. I think that my g/f would have liked that they play homemade instruments.
Good to hear that you had a good time.
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Posted By: Pekka
Date Posted: May 06 2009 at 01:00
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I bought some tickets for a Green Day show in Stockholm yesterday. They're a big mainstream act playing a big venue, so I was expecting to pay some 70-80 euros per ticket. Turned out that the most expensive tickets available were 525SEK, which is roughly 50 euros. They were all gone so I was left with two tickets adding up to a mere 75 euros. I paid that for one ticket to see AC/DC in Helsinki. A question for you Swedes out there, are concert tickets really that much cheaper over there or is it just this band? But well, I've seen some of the best gigs of my life for about 3 to 5 euros. ------------- http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=42652" rel="nofollow - It's on PA! 
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Posted By: chopper
Date Posted: May 06 2009 at 07:03
Would that be the Rush gig where you got bounced to the front row by any chance?
Not that I'm still sore about it or anything.
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Posted By: Jim Garten
Date Posted: May 06 2009 at 07:21
It was a longer walk from the doors, I'll have you know  -------------
Jon Lord 1941 - 2012 |
Posted By: Roj
Date Posted: May 06 2009 at 08:15
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I just pretty much agree with all the comments. RipOffMaster just hack me off so much, but what alternative do you have if you want to go to a "big" gig? They've got us done like a kipper.
The only option is a smaller gig. I went to see IQ at the end of last year and that was only £12, bought from the venue direct, and no goddam booking fee, credit card fee, admin. charge, postage, insurance, e-mail fee, farting fee, no surcharges whatever!
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Posted By: fil karada
Date Posted: May 12 2009 at 13:36
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Well I cant really complain. I just went to a festival in my country where I paid 70 euros to see 12 bands, including Focus and PFM
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Some people find joy in knowledge. Some people find joy in ignorance. Some people just enjoy music. |
Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: May 12 2009 at 13:43
I don't know how much 70 Euros is but I am feeling extremely jealous. ------------- Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...
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Posted By: moe_blunts
Date Posted: May 12 2009 at 13:45
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I'm seeing Opeth and Enslaved in a couple of weeks for $25. That is a very reasonable price.
------------- http://www.last.fm/user/moe_blunts/?chartstyle=minimalDarkRecent">
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Posted By: harmonium.ro
Date Posted: May 12 2009 at 14:03
This is what Google says: 1 Euro = 1.3644 U.S. dollarshttp://www.google.com/search?q=euro+dollar&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a - http://www.google.com/search?q=euro+dollar&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-aSo, 70 euros mean about 95 dollars. Fair deal! |
Posted By: The T
Date Posted: May 12 2009 at 14:11
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I'm seeing Dream Theater in first row in July 24.... And the price was NOT reasonable at all... But the differences between major acts and our prog actsare evident: with Metallica, after just a few hours good tickets were no longer available through damn Ticketmaster.... with DT, they were available for a good while... and curiously, again, in Live Nation, a Ticketmaster company...
Does somebody knows the basics of why in the US every damn stupid concert ticket has to be sold through ticketmaster? Isn't this a monopoly of some sort? The fees that they charge just to print the damn tikcet are revolting... -------------
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Posted By: fusionfreak
Date Posted: May 13 2009 at 13:54
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Prices appear to be really unfair in various countries.That should change.For me prices are affordable,it's just the fact I have to drive since my local artists suck most of the time.Anyway,18 euros to see Damo Suzuki for 18 euros and Magma for 20 are good deals! ------------- I was born in the land of Mahavishnu,not so far from Kobaia.I'm looking for the world of searchers with the help from crimson king |
Posted By: Vibrationbaby
Date Posted: May 13 2009 at 16:42
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If could post photos i`d post some of my ticket stubs which date back to Oct.`77. Got one for Marillion`s Sript For A Jester`s Tear tour at the Spectrum in Montréal July 31, 1983. $12.50 if I remember correctly. Part of this show appears on the Reel to Real album. It was general admission and I remember waiting in line from about 10:00 AM in scorching heat to get front row tables for the 9 o`clock show. They just tore the place down last year and as far as I`m concerned was the best place in Montréal to see a concert. Saw countless bands there over the years from Motorhead to Crimson including the shows that were recorded for Absent Lovers.
Kind of funny that now that I have more money than I did back then that I`m reluctant to spend $$$ for a couple of hours of entertainment. This GG Three Friends thing is coming to Montréal but to ask over a hundred bucks for it is not only highqway robbery it`s an insulting to the fans and ruins the spirit of the music. But I`m sure there are people out there who will fork out a week`s worth of grocery money this "auspicious" event. ------------- |