Re: Concert prices (was Chinese Eyes)

[Alan McKendree <amck@thenetdr.com>]

>From: THRH79B@prodigy.com ( KELLY D GILES I)
>
>Shocking as it may seem, there are people in this
>world who, no matter how much they love a band, cannot pay $100+ for
>concert tickets.  Doing so would mean going without food, or failing
>to pay the rent that month.  Anyone who'd rather go to a concert than
>eat isn't just a fanatic - they're chronically stupid.

Not that it disproves your point by I, and probably you, know people who
have done this...:-)

>High ticket
>prices don't insure that non-fans stay away from the show, they
>insure that fans without much money stay away from the show.  Most
>teenagers and young adults are included in that group.  I sure
>couldn't afford $100 Who tickets.  Should rock music become a form of
>entertainment that is only for old rich people?

While making the observation that there are rich young people too, you
raise a good point.  Should rock become (or is it becoming) entertainment
for the rich?  There will always be affordable entertainment as long as
there are musical instruments and people who enjoy playing them for
audiences.  Even now there are plenty of groups (mostly young, but not
necessarily) playing for low or free admission -- some of quite good
quality, some not.  Speaking in properly qualified terms, though, the
problem you mention really comes from facts of reality: 1) older people as
a group do have more disposable income than younger people, and 2) bands
who have been around longer tend to have older fans.  Put these two
together and you do find younger fans, as a group, being outbid at the
scalper auctions of the best seats.

But what about bands who have _not_ been around for 30 years, yet still
command fanatical, though younger followings -- U2, Garth Brooks, Hanson,
for example.  (Spice Girls?  Do they actually perform in public?)  I'd say
it's generally true that the high-demand seats are bought by those who can
pay the scalpers for them, whether it's the younger audience members or
their parents who actually do the paying.

A front-row seat is like any other commodity.  It has a market price and
those who can pay are more likely to get it.  The opening-day box-office
sales are more or less a lottery to distribute tickets on a basis other
than market value.  Some bands hold back good tickets to release on the day
of the show, to try to even this out as well.

OK, that's about all I have to say on this.  I'm afraid it may not have
been too encouraging.


Alan

"Never never hesitate, communicate, communicate..." --Pete Townshend