Top Rockers Fear Shrinking Audiences

People ^ | August 2, 2002 | STEPHEN M. SILVERMAN

[Texas Eagle]

"Why do the (Rolling) Stones have to charge $300 for a ticket? Why did Paul McCartney, who is a billionaire, need a $250 ticket? Why?"

A fool and his money......

[Rollee]

"Why do the (Rolling) Stones have to charge $300 for a ticket?

For the "One Foot In The Grave Tour", of course! It's an annual event.

[Centurion2000]

Barry Fey blames the depressed national economy as well as some internationally known rock stars who are commanding outrageous ticket prices. "They're shooting themselves in the foot by charging $150 and $250 for tickets," Fey

Smart guy .... he pegged the exact reason that I won't go to concerts anymore.

[vikingchick]

Mellencamp deserves a swift kick in the pants. Rock fans know him as the voice of heartland America. But John Mellencamp has felt out of step with his U.S. concert audience ever since the events of Sept. 11. "In the shows, people would chant, 'U.S.A! U.S.A!' It's frightening to me," he says. "I would go into another song so they couldn't get it going."

[thegreatbeast]

Newsflash! Last year was a disappointing year for concert receipts too.
The real dope is that there ain't nuthin' new to leave the house for. The music industry is going through a well earned lull.

[jumpstartme]

Hasta.

[scab4faa]

Good! F em! Gready Bastards

[SamAdams76]

Price of the tickets has nothing to do with it. People just don't want to see washed-up acts that should have retired decades ago. I wouldn't pay $5 to see the Rolling Stones. Seeing these 60-year-olds muddle through "Satisfaction" gives me the creeps. The Rolling Stones haven't had a decent album since Jimmy Carter was president. It's pathetic.

[ejdrapes]

Yeah, but the Stones are selling out, so is McCartney. In fact he tops Pollstar's top 50, and the Stones are in the top 10. So some artists might not be selling out, but not all big acts are having a hard time selling tickets.

[Paul Atreides]

LOL! Maybe they should change their name to the Passing Stones.

[crusher999]

"Why do the (Rolling) Stones have to charge $300 for a ticket? Why did Paul McCartney, who is a billionaire, need a $250 ticket? Why?"

Probably for the same reason that people will PAY $250 and $300 for a ticket.

For me personally, I wouldn't pay 300 pesos to see the Stones, and I might cough up a $50 or $100 bill to see Sir Paul (IMHO a real class act), but like them or not, this is the free enterprise system at work, and if the law of "supply and demand" allows these guys to command these kind of ticket prices, then I say "Rock On!".

[Koblenz]

Why do the (Rolling) Stones have to charge $300 for a ticket

It's called economics. The Stones don't have to charge $300, as presumably the Colorado state government doesn't have mandated ticket prices. I wouldn't pay $300 to see the Stones, and it looks like only about 5,000 Colorado residents feel that $300 is a fair price. So the Stones aren't selling out the arena.

But selling out all the seats isn't the goal in capitalism. Maximizing revenue is. 5,000 seats at $300 per seat is $1,500,000 gross take. If the stones charged $50 per seat, and they sold out, then the total take would be $900,000. So even though the Stones aren't selling out, charging high prices may make more economic sense, as there appear to be at least 5,000 people in Colorado willing to pay $300. They don't share my taste, but it's their choice and their money, so I really don't care what they do.

[Texas_Jarhead]

Or maybe the 'entertainers' suck!

[JessicaDragonet]

It's frightening to me.

I'm sure it is. The idea of appearing patriotic would screw up the image he's trying to sell. What a pretentious little twerp.

[Mariner]

"why"

Perhaps the market deems it a fair deal. Otherwise they would not pay it.

[vikingchick]

Ooo yeah....life goes on
Long after the lib'rals in music are gone.

[Jonathon Spectre]

Ticket to see Tool: ~$30.

% that Tool is "better" in every way than any of the "stars" mentioned in this article: Incalculable.

[Mariner]

To the contrary, the Stones sold out Pepsi center in 24 hours.

They sold out two shows at Pac Bell park in San Francisco. All of their announced shows are selling out quickly.

It's expected this tour could gross $1bil, depending on the number of venues the band chooses to play. The demand is FAR ABOVE what the older gentlemen are willing to commit to in the US......as this is another world tour expected to last 1 - 1 1/2 years.

I've been to several of their shows......lasting approx 3 hours each.....the audience is truly between the ages of 8 and 80 and mostly everyone goes home stunned at the talent they witness.

Only the super-special tickets are $300.....they start at $90. However if you want to do the 3-show gig in one of 8 cities (Stadium, Arena, nightclub) with a chance to meet the band, the bill is slightly over $3,000.00

Sold out.

Aging rockers or not.......whether anyone on this forum likes them or not, they are the greatest live entertainment draw in the world and have been for over 2 decades. They hold the top 5 concert tours, for both ATTENDENCE and $$, of all time. After this tour it'll be 6.

[Consort]

Vaughan Monroe never charged that much.