Radiohead - The price of gig tickets

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  • BrunoStreeteBrunoStreete Posts: 7,180
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    I'm not doubting the credibility of the artists around. I'm sure they are worth every penny but it's still a bit pricey and not everyone can afford it.

    Do they not know there's a recession on?

    We aren't in recession. And either way, the gigs have more or less sold out so were obviously priced correctly for the market.
  • Glawster2002Glawster2002 Posts: 15,189
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    unique wrote: »
    no, it's more to do with the fact that artists aren't making as much money from record/cd sales as before, due to piracy allowing people to get music for free, plus the knock on effect of reduced prices, free streaming etc, and artists looking for alternate sources of income, and realising that people will pay good money for tickets to see their favourite bands, particularly when they will usually only see them once every 2 or 3 years when they tour in their area

    But how much of the revenue generated by those high ticket prices actually go to the band?
    unique wrote: »
    we are nowhere at all near breaking point, as evidenced by the second hand ticket market. as long as you hear stories of people buying tickets at X times face value, the ticket prices are nowhere near breaking point. i think the anti touting measures people band about will just result in promotors selling tickets at higher prices, with the closer front rows at premium prices

    But how many people actually buy tickets at those high prices? Very much a small minority i would suggest. After all, don't these ticket re-sale companies justify themselves by saying the majority of tickets go for face value or less? If that is the case then perhaps the breaking point isn't that far away after all.
  • Glawster2002Glawster2002 Posts: 15,189
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    We aren't in recession. And either way, the gigs have more or less sold out so were obviously priced correctly for the market.

    Isn't that just an argument in semantics, though? For a large percentage of the population faced with ever increasing living costs and static incomes we may as well be officially in a recession.
  • BrunoStreeteBrunoStreete Posts: 7,180
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    Isn't that just an argument in semantics, though? For a large percentage of the population faced with ever increasing living costs and static incomes we may as well be officially in a recession.

    No it's correct. There is a definition of recession and it does not apply at the moment.
  • uniqueunique Posts: 12,365
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    But how much of the revenue generated by those high ticket prices actually go to the band?



    But how many people actually buy tickets at those high prices? Very much a small minority i would suggest. After all, don't these ticket re-sale companies justify themselves by saying the majority of tickets go for face value or less? If that is the case then perhaps the breaking point isn't that far away after all.

    big artists/bands are paid a set fee for a gig, not a percentage. they often get a large chunk upfront, such as 50% and the balance upon completion of the gig. the promoter pays the same regardless of how many tickets are sold, so things don't calculate in the percentage terms you imagine

    51% is a majority. so if you have 10,000 tickets and sold 5001 at £30 and 4999 at £61, you've taken twice as much gross income selling the minority amount of tickets

    as tickets are sold via more than one ticket agency in most cases for big gigs, only the promoter would know what percentage of tickets is sold at "face value" and what percentage is above face value

    £60 for a sold out £30 ticket show isn't a huge amount extra for a real fan to go to a show they really want to see. however the reality is that the split of ticket prices is a lot more complex, so front row seats might be £500 to £1000, second row could be £400 to 800, and so on. so you could still have say 20% of the tickets, but have the very best ones and sold at a good premium markup and make more gross from the 20% than the 80% at lower prices

    so whilst people are moaning about £60 tickets for radiohead, the best seats are probably going for far more, and people are prepared to pay

    i don't know how much you like music or how much you are into any specific bands or artists, but if you had a favourite that you were a huge fan of for 10, 20, 30 years, how much would you pay for a front row seat?

    i've been to gigs with some of my favourites and been offered literally hundreds of pounds for tickets. about 15 years ago i was offered £700 cash for a ticket that i turned down, but had i known what i was going to experience, i would have paid £2000 for that ticket without complaining. 5 years ago people were paying £250 to £500 right in front of my face for £25 tickets to an afterparty gig that i'd literally sold my main gig ticket to wait in line to get in first (but karma got me a free VIP ticket to the main show and let back in the front of the line), and again i'd pay the same for that gig (which was officially released on cd). so i know people will pay more for gigs

    you might need to tier the pricing more, so have cheap seats at £30 or £50, but price the best seats more sensibly at higher prices from the outset, so if you want a front row seat you pay £200 or whatever for it. you get what you pay for. but of course for general admission non seated gigs you can't do that
  • Glawster2002Glawster2002 Posts: 15,189
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    unique wrote: »
    i don't know how much you like music or how much you are into any specific bands or artists, but if you had a favourite that you were a huge fan of for 10, 20, 30 years, how much would you pay for a front row seat?

    I've been, on average, to two or three, gigs a month, every month, for the last 33 years. That's an average so sometimes a lot more, very occasionally less, so I've been to a few gigs in my time, however I've never, ever, been bothered about getting a "front row" seat and I have never, ever, struggled to get a ticket to see a band.
    unique wrote: »
    you might need to tier the pricing more, so have cheap seats at £30 or £50, but price the best seats more sensibly at higher prices from the outset, so if you want a front row seat you pay £200 or whatever for it. you get what you pay for. but of course for general admission non seated gigs you can't do that

    Which is precisely why 99% of the gigs I go to are general admission non-seated gigs. I am happy to leave the rip off prices to the mugs with more money than sense. If they are happy to justify those prices to themselves as "true" fans of the band that is up to them but I would never pay it, even though I can comfortably afford to
  • kieranyeah123kieranyeah123 Posts: 1,157
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    I went to see The Black Eyed Peas in 2010 and the tickets for that were £56 which is the most i've paid for a concert. The average price i've paid is £35. The concert was defintley worth it as they used alot of pyrotechnics and lots of technology it was great!
  • Glawster2002Glawster2002 Posts: 15,189
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    No it's correct. There is a definition of recession and it does not apply at the moment.

    Just for you... :rolleyes:

    I am fully aware there is a definition of what constitutes a recession and, yes, we are not technically in one.

    However my point remains that to a large number of people the fact that energy bills, the cost of food, and everything else is rising whilst the family income is static, at best, or falling then, technicalities aside, we might as well be in a recession whether one is officially declared or not because to them it does feel as if we are in a recession.
  • uniqueunique Posts: 12,365
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    I've been, on average, to two or three, gigs a month, every month, for the last 33 years. That's an average so sometimes a lot more, very occasionally less, so I've been to a few gigs in my time, however I've never, ever, been bothered about getting a "front row" seat and I have never, ever, struggled to get a ticket to see a band.



    Which is precisely why 99% of the gigs I go to are general admission non-seated gigs. I am happy to leave the rip off prices to the mugs with more money than sense. If they are happy to justify those prices to themselves as "true" fans of the band that is up to them but I would never pay it, even though I can comfortably afford to

    if you aren't that bothered about bands/artists you won't understand the lengths people will goto to get into gigs and down the front

    the fans will sell out most of the tickets at gigs and then the casual punters like yourselves will soak up the rest of the tickets if the fans don't snap them all up on the day of sale

    increased prices might put off the casual punters, but not the fans. prices would need to shoot through the roof for that to happen
  • BrunoStreeteBrunoStreete Posts: 7,180
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    Just for you... :rolleyes:

    I am fully aware there is a definition of what constitutes a recession and, yes, we are not technically in one.

    However my point remains that to a large number of people the fact that energy bills, the cost of food, and everything else is rising whilst the family income is static, at best, or falling then, technicalities aside, we might as well be in a recession whether one is officially declared or not because to them it does feel as if we are in a recession.

    Glad you acknowledged I was right.

    The point still remains, the concerts are a virtual sellout so they were priced correctly.
  • Glawster2002Glawster2002 Posts: 15,189
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    unique wrote: »
    if you aren't that bothered about bands/artists you won't understand the lengths people will goto to get into gigs and down the front

    the fans will sell out most of the tickets at gigs and then the casual punters like yourselves will soak up the rest of the tickets if the fans don't snap them all up on the day of sale

    increased prices might put off the casual punters, but not the fans. prices would need to shoot through the roof for that to happen

    A casual fan???? If I were a casual fan why would I go to 40 or so gigs a year every year for the last 30-odd years and have a CD & vinyl album collection numbering in the thousands?

    I am a fan of a great many bands, most of whom I have seen on many, many occasions, just because I am not desperate to be in the front row doesn't make me less of a fan. I prefer to see the whole show, the lighting, stage show, and effects, most of which you either won't see or appreciate fully in the front row.

    I don't soak up tickets the fans haven't snapped up as a casual fan at all. Every ticket I purchase is on the day they go on sale, the second they go on sale, that is assuming I haven't already got them on pre-sale first. That is done through meticulous preparation by checking all the ticket sites to find out who is actually selling the tickets for the gig I want to go to, I am registered with every ticket agency, and being logged on with my card details to hand, clicking the "refresh" button every couple of seconds starting five or 10 minutes before the "official" sale time.

    There is nothing "casual" about how I buy tickets at all I can assure you of that, that is why I get in to so many gigs that eventually sell out without having to resort to the potentially exhorbitant re-sale market.
  • Glawster2002Glawster2002 Posts: 15,189
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    Glad you acknowledged I was right.

    The point still remains, the concerts are a virtual sellout so they were priced correctly.

    you may be right (big deal) but as I have said, to most families in this country at the present time it is an argument in semantics as that fact isn't adding any more money to the household budget or preventing prices from continuing to rise.

    And that fact the shows are virtually sold out still doesn't alter my opinion they are very expensive compared to when I have seen Radiohead in the past. If people want to pay those prices it is up to them, I have never said otherwise, but that doesn't mean I am not entitled to an opinion.
  • uniqueunique Posts: 12,365
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    A casual fan???? If I were a casual fan why would I go to 40 or so gigs a year every year for the last 30-odd years and have a CD & vinyl album collection numbering in the thousands?

    I am a fan of a great many bands, most of whom I have seen on many, many occasions, just because I am not desperate to be in the front row doesn't make me less of a fan. I prefer to see the whole show, the lighting, stage show, and effects, most of which you either won't see or appreciate fully in the front row.

    I don't soak up tickets the fans haven't snapped up as a casual fan at all. Every ticket I purchase is on the day they go on sale, the second they go on sale, that is assuming I haven't already got them on pre-sale first. That is done through meticulous preparation by checking all the ticket sites to find out who is actually selling the tickets for the gig I want to go to, I am registered with every ticket agency, and being logged on with my card details to hand, clicking the "refresh" button every couple of seconds starting five or 10 minutes before the "official" sale time.

    There is nothing "casual" about how I buy tickets at all I can assure you of that, that is why I get in to so many gigs that eventually sell out without having to resort to the potentially exhorbitant re-sale market.

    so if that's the case, and you are a big fan of a number of artists and the gigs sold out at normal prices, wouldn't you then pay whatever you had to to attend? or are you not that much of a fan?

    the point is that a real fan will pay and do whatever it takes to see the artists they like. the opportunities don't come up often, so they will pay £100 a ticket if that's what they cost, and find a way to cover the ticket price one way or another. the casual fan might not be so bothered and have more limits as to spending

    so whilst shows continue to sell out so quickly, we obviously aren't anywhere near the top end of ticket prices
  • uniqueunique Posts: 12,365
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    Glad you acknowledged I was right.

    The point still remains, the concerts are a virtual sellout so they were priced correctly.

    with concerts selling out so quickly it suggests the pricing is too low. the higher the prices, the longer it would take to sell out. with many/most big gigs selling out on the day, it sounds like we are nowhere near the limits. fortunately promoters aren't taking too much advantage of this
  • BrunoStreeteBrunoStreete Posts: 7,180
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    unique wrote: »
    with concerts selling out so quickly it suggests the pricing is too low. the higher the prices, the longer it would take to sell out. with many/most big gigs selling out on the day, it sounds like we are nowhere near the limits. fortunately promoters aren't taking too much advantage of this

    Yes I agree. Some of the bands must wince if they see the prices their tickets are fetching on secondary markets.
  • Glawster2002Glawster2002 Posts: 15,189
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    unique wrote: »
    so if that's the case, and you are a big fan of a number of artists and the gigs sold out at normal prices, wouldn't you then pay whatever you had to to attend? or are you not that much of a fan?

    the point is that a real fan will pay and do whatever it takes to see the artists they like. the opportunities don't come up often, so they will pay £100 a ticket if that's what they cost, and find a way to cover the ticket price one way or another. the casual fan might not be so bothered and have more limits as to spending

    so whilst shows continue to sell out so quickly, we obviously aren't anywhere near the top end of ticket prices

    And as I have already said, with careful, meticulous planning there is no need to miss out on tickets for an event you wish to see and no need to pay rip-off re-sale prices.

    I live in Gloucestershire, so within a 2 hour drive I have Bristol, Cardiff, Birmingham, and London. Therefore it is pretty straight forward for me to get a venue in any one of those cities to catch a band. For example Billy Connolly toured recently, he was playing in all four cities but, obviously, Bristol is the nearest. So when I went to get tickets I had two windows open, Bristol and Cardiff. I knew the Bristol site was likely to sell out very quickly because of the size of the venue whereas Cardiff was four times the capacity. As I thought, the Bristol site locked up within seconds of the tickets going on sale and yet within half-a-dozen clicks, because I was prepared, I had tickets for Cardiff. Simple.

    I am 48 years old and left the childish concept of what is a "true" fan behind a very long time ago.
  • MusInce92MusInce92 Posts: 121
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    These seem very, very expensive, especially for a band who pride themselves on being ethical.
  • uniqueunique Posts: 12,365
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    And as I have already said, with careful, meticulous planning there is no need to miss out on tickets for an event you wish to see and no need to pay rip-off re-sale prices.

    I live in Gloucestershire, so within a 2 hour drive I have Bristol, Cardiff, Birmingham, and London. Therefore it is pretty straight forward for me to get a venue in any one of those cities to catch a band. For example Billy Connolly toured recently, he was playing in all four cities but, obviously, Bristol is the nearest. So when I went to get tickets I had two windows open, Bristol and Cardiff. I knew the Bristol site was likely to sell out very quickly because of the size of the venue whereas Cardiff was four times the capacity. As I thought, the Bristol site locked up within seconds of the tickets going on sale and yet within half-a-dozen clicks, because I was prepared, I had tickets for Cardiff. Simple.

    I am 48 years old and left the childish concept of what is a "true" fan behind a very long time ago.

    i guess you are in a fortunate position to have your pick of venues, but the point really is that for most music fans, and i meal the "true fans", they will make a big effort, including financially, to attend shows
  • uniqueunique Posts: 12,365
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    Yes I agree. Some of the bands must wince if they see the prices their tickets are fetching on secondary markets.

    actually they did remark on the £500 ebay prices for the £25 club gig tickets, but when i got there i noticed they had some on sale at the box office. i don't know if they kept some aside on purpose just to put off touts
  • Glawster2002Glawster2002 Posts: 15,189
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    unique wrote: »
    i guess you are in a fortunate position to have your pick of venues, but the point really is that for most music fans, and i meal the "true fans", they will make a big effort, including financially, to attend shows

    I would contend a "true fan", whatever that means, would be a member of the Official fan Club and would, therefore, have purchased their tickets through the Fan Club pre-sale, rather than trying to get tickets through re-sale web sites because they left it too late when tickets went on general sale.

    But to be honest I would rather spend £70.00+ on going to four or five gigs at local venues watching bands on the way up, who will genuinely appreciate that people have made the effort to see them, than go to one gig in a huge arena to see a band I've seen many times before like, for instance, Radiohead.

    If, in your eyes, that doesn't make me a "true fan" of a band I've seen numerous times before because I'm not prepared to pay what I consider to be over the odds to see them in a huge venue, well I'm really not bothered.
  • BrunoStreeteBrunoStreete Posts: 7,180
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    And as I have already said, with careful, meticulous planning there is no need to miss out on tickets for an event you wish to see and no need to pay rip-off re-sale prices.

    I live in Gloucestershire, so within a 2 hour drive I have Bristol, Cardiff, Birmingham, and London. Therefore it is pretty straight forward for me to get a venue in any one of those cities to catch a band. For example Billy Connolly toured recently, he was playing in all four cities but, obviously, Bristol is the nearest. So when I went to get tickets I had two windows open, Bristol and Cardiff. I knew the Bristol site was likely to sell out very quickly because of the size of the venue whereas Cardiff was four times the capacity. As I thought, the Bristol site locked up within seconds of the tickets going on sale and yet within half-a-dozen clicks, because I was prepared, I had tickets for Cardiff. Simple.

    I am 48 years old and left the childish concept of what is a "true" fan behind a very long time ago.

    If only it were that simple.
  • uniqueunique Posts: 12,365
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    I would contend a "true fan", whatever that means, would be a member of the Official fan Club and would, therefore, have purchased their tickets through the Fan Club pre-sale, rather than trying to get tickets through re-sale web sites because they left it too late when tickets went on general sale.

    But to be honest I would rather spend £70.00+ on going to four or five gigs at local venues watching bands on the way up, who will genuinely appreciate that people have made the effort to see them, than go to one gig in a huge arena to see a band I've seen many times before like, for instance, Radiohead.

    If, in your eyes, that doesn't make me a "true fan" of a band I've seen numerous times before because I'm not prepared to pay what I consider to be over the odds to see them in a huge venue, well I'm really not bothered.

    not all bands and artists have fan clubs, and not all fanclubs have presales. and not all true fans or hardcore fans or whatever you want to call them are members of fan clubs. once people reach a certain age, the simple idea of subscribing to a fan club puts them off, for others its simply paying money for a crap website that puts them off

    another thing is presale tickets are often crap seats, or a limited number of tickets that goes in seconds/minutes so you are then forced to buy in general sales

    how many fanclubs are you a member off? and how many do you have to pay for? and how many have you bought presale tickets from?

    one artist i followed didn't even have a website of any shape or form the last once or twice they toured. no presale either, apart from a load of crap seats from an o2 customer presale one of the times

    another artist whom i paid a fee i completely disagreed with as it was too much, so i could use the presales, turned out a complete waste of money when i couldn't get presale tickets as they sold out in seconds. i ended up getting general sale tickets instead. i think it was £24 down the drain for a crap site i never visited after that. the last time i learned my lesson and just bought from the general sale as i wasn't going to waste another £24 for another years membership

    and i like you get myself setup in front of at least once computer and two phones trying to get through, but still that doesn't always work when sites crash and phonelines are jammed. the websites crashing did work in my favour one time when i called early and kept the operator chatting on the phone till 9am when their computers let them sell tickets to a gig i would have been very annoyed if i didn't attend
  • Glawster2002Glawster2002 Posts: 15,189
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    unique wrote: »
    not all bands and artists have fan clubs, and not all fanclubs have presales. and not all true fans or hardcore fans or whatever you want to call them are members of fan clubs. once people reach a certain age, the simple idea of subscribing to a fan club puts them off, for others its simply paying money for a crap website that puts them off

    another thing is presale tickets are often crap seats, or a limited number of tickets that goes in seconds/minutes so you are then forced to buy in general sales

    how many fanclubs are you a member off? and how many do you have to pay for? and how many have you bought presale tickets from?

    i'm not a member of any fan club simply because 99% of the bands I like don't have one in the first place. However many bands these days send out pre-sale information if you have signed up to their newsletter, something I have done for many bands.

    Promoters like Live Nation and Ticketmaster also often have a pre-sale period for those who are registered with their sites, especially if you have purchased tickets for the band from them before.

    I've certainly got pre-sale tickets for the likes of Rush, Iron Maiden, Muse, Tool, Machine Head, Kasabian, etc, because I've been either on their mailing list or through a venue pre-sale.
  • uniqueunique Posts: 12,365
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    i'm not a member of any fan club simply because 99% of the bands I like don't have one in the first place. However many bands these days send out pre-sale information if you have signed up to their newsletter, something I have done for many bands.

    Promoters like Live Nation and Ticketmaster also often have a pre-sale period for those who are registered with their sites, especially if you have purchased tickets for the band from them before.

    I've certainly got pre-sale tickets for the likes of Rush, Iron Maiden, Muse, Tool, Machine Head, Kasabian, etc, because I've been either on their mailing list or through a venue pre-sale.

    you get presales for most big gigs these days. it's like the official release date is pointless almost with o2, amex, kentucky fried chicken and argos customers being able to buy tickets before anyone else. unfortunately with most of them they use it as a sly method to shift the crap seats first

    but i've been to gigs where there was absolutely no presale at all, and i've signed up to everything, joined the army, gave blood and swam a marathon and no presales at all

    but once i got a chance to get a set of only 125 pairs of tickets to a tiny VIP gig from my favourite artist, which was filmed for tv and released on video, and i was front row in the middle right in front of the microphone, so it does work sometimes (no fanclub either then!)
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