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The price of concert tickets today.... What's your take?

While I don't understand what I consider to be just crazy money to see a concert for others it is money well spent.

My Cousin is a professional performing musician that plays bass (down in the orchestra pit) for all of the theater productions in Spokane and National touring acts that need a bass player that is in the musicians union. He is also a music teacher with a masters degree in music with the school system.

Growing up as young teenager playing drums he heard Rush And Geddy Lee play bass .
It was a life changing moment for him. He had his mom take him to the local music store to trade in his drums and buy a bass and amp. Right then and there he'd decided that he wanted to be a bass player and playing bass would be his life.

So when Rush announced their R40 LIVE 40th anniversary farewell tour it was important to him that he take his kids to see this band he loves and share and experience that changed his life.
He paid $350 each for 6 seats together and he offered me the extra ticket as a thank you for staying at our house for free.

We get the venue and they are literately nose bleed seats in the center all the way in the back 3 rows from the ceiling and the video screens looked to me the size of 2 iPhones.

It was for him the last chance to hear the music and see the musicians that changed his life
From the second the band took the stage he and the kids loved every note of every song.
2+ hours of pure joy and a realized dream that he shared with his children and was absolutely worth every penny...
For me on the other hand not so much. I like Rush OK. I own 2112 & Moving Pictures & I saw the Moving Pictures tour back in 1981. I thought they put on a great show that night but the sound was muddy and seats were crap. Not worth $50 yet alone $350 to me. I got more enjoyment watching my family than the band.

So whats my point?
What was a concert of a lifetime experience for him and the kids. Was an OK experience that I was glad I did not spend $350 on.

The perceived value is in the mind of the consumer.
Whats a rip off to one person..Can be a once in a lifetime musical experience that will never be forgotten for others.
That is the power that live music can have!

Cheers
PQ
 
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PureQuill said:
While I don't understand what I consider to be just crazy money to see a concert for others it is money well spent.

My Cousin is a professional performing musician that plays bass (down in the orchestra pit) for all of the theater productions in Spokane and traveling acts that need a bass player that is in the musicians union. As well as being a music teacher with the school system.
Growing up as young teenager playing drums he heard Rush And Geddy Lee play bass .
It was a life changing moment for him. He had his mom take him to the local music store to trade in his drums and buy a bass and amp. Right then and there he'd decided that he wanted to be a bass player and playing bass would be his life.

So when Rush announced their R40 LIVE 40th anniversary farewell tour it was important to him that he take his kids to see this band he loves and share and experience that changed his life.
He paid $350 each for 6 seats together and he offered me the extra ticket as a thank you for staying at our house for free.

We get the venue and they are literately nose bleed seats in the center all the way in the back 3 rows from the ceiling and the video screens looked to me the size of 2 iPhones.

It was for him the last chance to hear the music and see the musicians that changed his life
From the second the band took the stage he and the kids loved every note of every song.
2+ hours of pure joy and a realized dream that he shared with his children and was absolutely worth every penny...
For me on the other hand not so much. I like Rush OK. I own 2112 & Moving Pictures & I saw the Moving Pictures tour back in 1981. I thought they put on a great show that night but the sound was muddy and seats were crap. Not worth $50 yet alone $350 to me. I got more enjoyment watching my family than the band.

So whats my point?
What was a concert of a lifetime experience for him and the kids. Was an OK experience that I was glad I did not spend $350 on.

The perceived value is in the mind of the consumer.
Whats a rip off to one person..Can be a once in a lifetime musical experience that will never be forgotten for others.
That is the power that live music can have!

Cheers
PQ
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I have had the pleasure to see Rush around 20 times and would not pay $350 either. My favorite Rush show was $7.50 for floor seats and Geddy was young enough to hit all the notes. The last show I saw was R30 and I paid $200 cdn grudgingly because my son wanted to go. For R40 my brother in law was invited to the meet and greet as he installed stairs in Alex new house. He took my son and Alex gave them a pile of signed swag!

As far as showing my son musicians who changed my view of quality and craftmanship I took him to see Return to Forever who I previously saw in the 80's. Tickets were about $100 for a pair and the musicianship was top shelf! However I do understand the appeal of a live Rush show.
 
GChief said:
I hit these up regularly.

https://www.thenorva.com/

https://www.thenationalva.com/

https://www.sevenvenues.com/venues/detail/attucks-theatre

Plus we have a few good clubs and bars.
I prefer a clubs as @grillebilly does
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I was just visiting in Va Beach this weekend. Saw that Bela Fleck and Chick Corea will be playing at the Sandler soon. Sorry to have to miss it, I won't be there. I remember seeing The Police in 1978 during their 1st american tour in 1978 at a small club near the beachfront. Great show. Probably paid no more than 8 bucks for tickets. The show was so great and the crowd so pumped that nobody wanted to leave at the end and kept shouting for "More". The Virginia Beach Police finally had to come in and clear everyone out.
 
Entertainers make the huge salaries because the massive audiences they reach, who are willing to pay to see them. Actually, their salaries are a relatively small part of the revenue streams they help generate. Look at the revenues for a show/film/sports season and you'll see what I mean. I bet what Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford made from Star Wars is peanuts compared to the gazillions of dollars that franchise has generated. But the real mind blower is how much Jimmy Buffet has made off franchising "Margaritaville"...

https://www.austinchronicle.com/mus...le-became-the-most-valuable-song-of-all-time/


Years ago when the Detroit Lions were really bad, fans were talking about boycotting games and it was pointed out that if no one went to a single game, they would still make money from TV deals and licensing agreements.

These are megabucks industries, folks... Ed Sheerhan grossed $429,000,000 last year, Elton is looking to better $400,000,000 this year...
 
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As a concert goer/ticket buyer often what we perceive we are paying for is the 4 or 5 musicians on stage that play music and perform for us for 2-3 hours.
The reality is we are paying for a whole lot of work and things we never see.
This 5 minute time lapse video is really an eye opener as to why todays concerts cost so much.


it is pretty incredible to watch!
PQ
 
hjames said:
Bought Knopfler tickets for Aug 18th - its an outdoor venue and will be hot and sticky ...
And they cost $126 each, after all the fees !
But - its a direct sale through Knopfler's folks, (no scalper fees!)
it includes a copy of the latest CD with each ticket -
they are front row seats!!!
and ... its Mark Knopfler!!
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That's definitely worth it and should be a great show. have fun.
 
I remember paying $120 per head for dinner at the Brisbane Hilton and an 'intimate' show with George Benson back in the 90s. I thought it was really expensive at the time, but with hindsight, it was a bargain. 5 courses and about a 12ish song set from GB, about 100 people I guess.

The prices I see now are simply stupid. I can buy their entire current and back catalogue in any format for less than the cost of ticket, jam packed in a crap venue with poor sound. I saw Sade 5 or so years ago and although she looked great for 50+, she was miming just about everything.
 
The casino's in Coachella Valley are quite reasonable still.
Bought a ticket for Hollywood Vampires center on the floor for $79 total no tax no fee today.
:banana:
 
PureQuill said:
As a concert goer/ticket buyer often what we perceive we are paying for is the 4 or 5 musicians on stage that play music and perform for us for 2-3 hours.
The reality is we are paying for a whole lot of work and things we never see.
This 5 minute time lapse video is really an eye opener as to why todays concerts cost so much.

PQ
Click to expand...
Were the shows back in the ´80s less work than today´s shows?

That said, I think it´s okay if the market dictates the ticket prices, but only if the band gets the majority of the money, not scalpers.
 
PureQuill said:
As a concert goer/ticket buyer often what we perceive we are paying for is the 4 or 5 musicians on stage that play music and perform for us for 2-3 hours.
The reality is we are paying for a whole lot of work and things we never see.
This 5 minute time lapse video is really an eye opener as to why todays concerts cost so much.
Click to expand...

YUP--and most folks don't even realize. Pittsburgh is a big "union" town--and I have my handful of union cards (including a Stagehands union card). All of the major venues are union controlled, and you are required to use the local union employees if you perform here. Those costs alone keep a lot of bands from coming here, because even at $100+ tix, they can't make any money (or not enough, anyways).
 
Farmhand said:
I don’t like the crowds or the Jumbotrons of big shows. I’ve spoiled myself with decades of club shows where the performers can carry on a conversation with the audience.
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Actually, they make it somewhat more enticing. The shows I saw at Milwaukee County Stadium back in the early '70s were marred by distance and poor sound. The visuals were horrid with no video display and the performers were basically small dits in the distance. And the sound off the stage PA was tossed about on the wind, coming and going with the breeze.

I'm OK with the cheaper lawn seats at smaller outdoor places like DTE as the video displays help and the smaller bowl keeps the sound closer. I did open the wallet for like a $45 seat there for The Allman Brothers and Bob Weir and that was excellent from like the 30th row. I'd do that again in a heartbeat if the act was right.
 
I saw Heart here at Massey Hall (killer small venue) a few years ago, no jumbotrons or pyrotechnics.

Anne Wilson (60 at this time) hit every note, top shelf show. $50 Cdn.
 
PureQuill said:
As a concert goer/ticket buyer often what we perceive we are paying for is the 4 or 5 musicians on stage that play music and perform for us for 2-3 hours.
The reality is we are paying for a whole lot of work and things we never see.
This 5 minute time lapse video is really an eye opener as to why todays concerts cost so much.


it is pretty incredible to watch!
PQ
Click to expand...

Taken at Manchester Arena,its one of the venues my mate does production work in,Im told that for a large show there could be over 500 people on wages.
 
Just a thought .. you can save some money on concert tickets (large venues) by buying cheap seats and getting a good pair of portable compact binocular or monoculars. I've done that before and it actually works out quite well YMMV.

It's like filming a concert and being in charge of the movie camera.
 
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500 workers at, say $40/hour, times 20 hours each would be $400K. Fifteen thousand people times a $30 scalping fee would be $450K. I'd rather pay the workers.
 
Judas Priest said:
Were the shows back in the ´80s less work than today´s shows?
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No, and as someone pointed out, figure $30-$40 an hour compared to a 1980 hourly rate.
Also for everyone whining about “scalping” fees go to the freaking box office like I do or don’t go, it’s easy, there are ways around it.
 
Some of you will probably poop your drawers, but when I started going to concerts, they were like 5.50 6.50 and 7.50.
We camped out at the ticket offices sometimes for a few days, then camped out at the venue for a day or two before the show so we could rush in like crazed cattle to make it to the front so we could stand for hours watching a show.
It was mayhem.

But back then, bands made most of their money off record sales.
The idea of a tour was to promote the latest record.

Now with music almost free for the asking, the performers are forced to make their money on shows.

But as someone else kinda said, I'll be damned if I'm gonna spend hundreds of dollars to sit a mile away and watch a big screen.
 
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