Someone else (Josh?) had it right when they
mentioned guarantees going up. They have, and a lot of it has to do with
demographics. You won't see the newer, younger bands charging the big
prices for tickets, because their fans can't afford it. But all the oldies
that have fans like us in our 30's, 40's and more, those of us with decent
paying jobs... they know we'll pay top dollar to see our favourite acts from our
youth! Then, just to add insult to injury, they'll do tiered pricing which
means that the nose-bleed seats cost $70, back of the floor cost $100, and the
first 20 rows are $200. And when you get to Sting's status level, like the
eagles and stones, etc., you get a guarantee of your portion of the net
revenus (and sometimes the gross), so Sting can get his $150,000 a show or
whatever hes' charging, and it's the promoter who's got all those costs!
It's about
ego and greed... and if the Stones Make XXX, and U2 makes XX... then I'm just a
notch below them, so I should make X.... then the prices start getting inflated
- just like professional sports. If we keep buying the tickets, they'll
keep charging what the market will bear - and this may not be a great long term
plan when it comes to building an audience, but fore established acts that
already have an audience, they fall back on "gotta make hay when it rains" so
they get the big bucks now 'cause no one knows how long it will
last!
There's my $0.02
CDN or about $0.00077 US!
:-)
Dvid
I believe it was Sum 41 that just
did a show here in Minneapolis for $1.
**
If we are going that
route then, Sting played Central Park and Grant park and a host of other
places for free.
Jeremy