Re: [Police] Ticket pricesDon't kid yourself... Sting didn't do it for free, he got paid... the corporate sponsors paid his fee which allowed them to give away tickets. Rarely does a performer play for free! 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! :-) David -----Original Message----- From: police-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:police-bounces@mailman.xmission.com]On Behalf Of Jeremy (cheeky) Sent: November 19, 2003 9:36 PM To: Gary Schmitz; police list Subject: Re: [Police] Ticket prices 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