Miles Copeland on ticket prices
I thought this was interesting - an ABC News article from March 03. It includes some quotes from Miles Copeland and some tidbits on ticket prices going up - as we are seeing for Sting shows... Prices of concert tickets are rising faster and higher than those for movies, theater even sporting events. But rock 'n' roll is supposed to be the anti-establishment art form, and maybe that's why so many fans feel aggravated that rock once for the masses is now often for only the rich. ... Is Online Downloading the Culprit? So who's telling the truth? Miles Copeland, owner of Ark 21 Records and former manager of Sting, admits that Sting and other artists have a lot of control over ticket prices. If they seem greedy, Copeland says, it's because they're being ripped off every day not by Clear Channel, but by their fans. "Five years, 10 years, 15 years ago every time you wanted music, you'd go to a record store and you'd have to fork out money to buy records. Well nowadays they say it's just OK to steal," Copeland said. Steal online, that is. Apparently, many of us simply cannot resist the temptation of downloading music from the Internet. But all that free music is not without a price. "The public ought to realize as they're complaining about ticket prices, that they're forcing ticket prices up because stealing music from the artists eliminates that source of income. Recording artists like Sting used to make the majority of their money from just that: recording. Now, they're making 62 percent of their income from touring. "So now the only source of income is tickets," Copeland said, "and basically the public will have to pay the price of that." The Stones Get What They Need and Want It's a big price. Bands like The Who that came of age in the 1960s have left all that peace, love, and flower power behind. Now, mega acts like the Stones, with pyrotechnics and large stage shows, have grown into big corporations with payrolls and overhead. "It's a big fat cow, the entertainment industry, and sometimes it's shameless," says Matthews, who was born in the '60s. Matthews is also having his pocket picked by downloading fans. But he says theft online can't begin to explain the huge price tag attached to the ticket prices of the rock 'n' roll idols he grew up with. "There's an obscenity when you get 200 bucks a ticket," he said. Even Matthews' ticket prices have gone up but only a little to $40 for any seat in the house. And he still makes enough money to be one of last year's top money making tours. "If it costs you 25 bucks, or 30 bucks to put on a show for each person and you charge 40 bucks, that seems like a reasonable profit," Matthews said. We asked Stones tour manager Michael Cohl why Mick Jagger and his boys aren't satisfied with 40 bucks a head. Cohl said it's simply a matter of money. "If they wanted to play for free, wouldn't they just go down to the pub in London and play for free anytime they want? They would like to make money too." Cohl said the Stones want to make money for their hard work, just like everyone else. But the Stones live like royalty when they're offstage, renting out entire hotels where a single room can go for as much as $4,000 a night. ...
What a load of tosh. Absolutely disgusting. To accuse FANS of stealing music. Genuine fans are the ones (like Jeremy) go around the world to buy the album on day of release..... Or even not as far as that, but to sometimes even order from overseas, thanks to stupid marketing tactics that in my opinion, contribute to piracy by having staggered release dates.... And then you've got the fans that don't order from overseas, but still buy on day of release in their territory. So us fans are causing high ticket prices? Bo****ks If that's the case, lets all buy our overpriced concert tickets, and demand our money back when we show up at the door with our collection of original albums. J.
Miles Copeland, owner of Ark 21 Records and former manager of Sting, admits that Sting and other artists have a lot of control over ticket prices. If they seem greedy, Copeland says, it's because they're being ripped off every day - not by Clear Channel, but by their fans.
And what about the fans that run out and buy all the singles , because each one has an extra song that wasn't on the cd, and who buy the regular issue cd as well as the imports because each import has added songs that aren't on the US version? Fans buy MORE cd's, not less. Sheesh!!! There are 2 reasons for increased concert ticket prices: 1) Ego - it stokes the artists ego to be able to command top dollar 2) Too many greedy fingers in the concert revenue pie, including promotors, brokers, venues, managers, all those convenien ce charges, etc. on 11/19/03 1:30 PM, Jason Sheldon at jason@digital-solutions.co.uk wrote:
What a load of tosh.
Absolutely disgusting. To accuse FANS of stealing music. Genuine fans are the ones (like Jeremy) go around the world to buy the album on day of release..... Or even not as far as that, but to sometimes even order from overseas, thanks to stupid marketing tactics that in my opinion, contribute to piracy by having staggered release dates....
And then you've got the fans that don't order from overseas, but still buy on day of release in their territory.
So us fans are causing high ticket prices? Bo****ks
If that's the case, lets all buy our overpriced concert tickets, and demand our money back when we show up at the door with our collection of original albums.
I think that both of your points are spot on. 1) People charge what they think they can get. He has a monopoly on being Sting, and his business people would advise him to charge as much as the market will take. He does run the risk that he'll price people out and take a loss on venues where tickets don't sell. 2) Most of the diminished sales of an artist like Sting (or the Eagles or Fleetwood Mac etc. etc.) are related to diminished popularity/hipness than downloading. He's not going to have a platinum album just like that, as was the case 10-20 years ago. His income from recordings will therefore suffer. Napster doesn't help, but it's not the sole culprit as Miles would have us believe. 3) Most promoters guarantee a certain take per show when setting up tours, including ticket prices. This means dealing with and paying venues, promoters, etc. etc. As an aside, NYC venues are particularly expensive, so that, and a wealthier audience pool, explain the higher costs in big cities like NYC. Artists can always set the price lower and take a lower guarantee, but generally, given the lower recording revenue, they're going to get as much as they can to guarantee a similar income level from album to album. Some artists do try and keep prices lower (Tom Petty has written more eloquently on this point), but most will get what they can, since you never know when it could all stop. The thing is that all of this is offputting when you're talking about one of the wealthiest pop stars in the world -- but, then again, rising actor costs probably cause the rising costs of movie tickets, but no one blames Julia Roberts -- only because more people are sharing in that increased cost, so no one is hurt all that much by it (well, at least not as much as concert-goers these days). The only way to stop it is not to go -- since they will lower prices on the summer tour if they are taking losses on the spring tour. But that's easier said than done, since I'll probably get a ticket for a pricey NYC show at some point. amaryll <amaryll@norwoodlight.com> wrote: And what about the fans that run out and buy all the singles , because each one has an extra song that wasn't on the cd, and who buy the regular issue cd as well as the imports because each import has added songs that aren't on the US version? Fans buy MORE cd's, not less. Sheesh!!! There are 2 reasons for increased concert ticket prices: 1) Ego - it stokes the artists ego to be able to command top dollar 2) Too many greedy fingers in the concert revenue pie, including promotors, brokers, venues, managers, all those convenien ce charges, etc. on 11/19/03 1:30 PM, Jason Sheldon at jason@digital-solutions.co.uk wrote:
What a load of tosh.
Absolutely disgusting. To accuse FANS of stealing music. Genuine fans are the ones (like Jeremy) go around the world to buy the album on day of release..... Or even not as far as that, but to sometimes even order from overseas, thanks to stupid marketing tactics that in my opinion, contribute to piracy by having staggered release dates....
And then you've got the fans that don't order from overseas, but still buy on day of release in their territory.
So us fans are causing high ticket prices? Bo****ks
If that's the case, lets all buy our overpriced concert tickets, and demand our money back when we show up at the door with our collection of original albums.
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Exactly. Just as many people are downloading Radiohead, Bruuuuce, and others whose ticket prices remain low. I remember when CD's were first introduced the record companies said that as soon as cd's became mainstream the prices would drop, because it is a LOT cheaper to manufacture cd's than the old LP's and cassettes. This never happened. The prices stayed the same, and even increased in some cases, with the record companies pocketing all that extra revenue. I have no sympathy at all for the record companies. And now, with two of the world's largest record companies, BMG and SONY , about to merge, ( that is, if the senate antitrust committee approves the merger) we will be all the more at their mercy. on 11/19/03 3:27 PM, Anusha Rasalingam at anusha1@yahoo.com wrote:
2) Most of the diminished sales of an artist like Sting (or the Eagles or Fleetwood Mac etc. etc.) are related to diminished popularity/hipness than downloading. He's not going to have a platinum album just like that, as was the case 10-20 years ago. His income from recordings will therefore suffer. Napster doesn't help, but it's not the sole culprit as Miles would have us believe.
participants (4)
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amaryll -
Anusha Rasalingam -
David Lucky -
Jason Sheldon