Why do people feel so entitled to 10C tickets?

awilkins

I just don't get it.

For a very long time getting 10C tickets has been a lottery of sorts. Whether it was luck of F5'ing or luck of the lottery draw, it was always a gamble. And yes, many of us had our tricks and secrets to beat F5'ing or make sure we had the best chance at getting tickets, but it was just that, a chance, not a guarantee. 10C offers the chance to get tickets before the general public and, in most instances, the best possible seats. Just because you got lucky and/or perfected your technique in getting tickets time after time over the years, doesn't actually make you entitled to tickets. Paying money for a membership with perks and a chance doesn't guarantee you anything.

I've been a 10C member for 10 years, been to 8 PJ shows and to 2 EV shows, and I've gotten 10C tickets 4 times: PJ in Halifax, Hartford, and Montreal, and EV in Hartford. I've spent countless hours, days even, F5'ing in order to successfully and more often than not unsuccessfully get 10C tickets. In the instances where I didn't get lucky, I found other ways to obtain tickets or just didn't go. And yes, I live in New Brunswick, Canada, a place PJ has never played, but I don't mind travelling as little as 3.5 hours or upwards of 18 hours to see a band I love.

I've been a fan of this band for a very long time, and while there are several occasions where I haven't enjoyed some of the decisions they have or 10C or management or whomever was responsible, have made, I've understood this was in the best interest of someone and I've rolled with it. The most recent approach to 10C tickets is the smoothest and most fair to every fan, new and old, in order to see a band that means a great deal to them. Sure the chance to use your techniques and patience hitting F5 to have a better chance at getting tickets is gone, but it was only ever a chance. Now, one can log in, choose options, not have your face ripped off, and receive an email notifying you of your choices instantly, along with an email relatively soon after the deadline notifying you whether or not you were successful.

As far as Wrigley goes, I submitted my #1 (and only) choice of GA pit only this morning as the timing just doesn't work out the greatest for me in my current state of school-life-employment. Within seconds I had an email confirming my selection. Two minutes before the deadline, I canceled my order, having a change of heart on the realities of possibly winning, albeit remote. Again, within seconds, I received an email confirming my cancellation. This was the simplest ticket order I've ever had, and being able to subsequently cancel it--an option that was never before available-- was a great.

So while many will say it's easy to write a post proclaiming support for 10C when the author didn't end up opting to enter the lottery, I will grant you that. However, do I feel entitled to receive 10C tickets? No. Have I ever? No. Have I been shut out from 10C tickets before? Yes. Have I been extremely frustrated and wasted countless hours hitting F5 for nothing? Yes. But I never complained. There are other ways to get tickets via other presales, general onsales, making friends, waiting until the last minute, and the always dreaded scalper, which I don't recommend, as one should never have to pay more than face value for something. Scalpers are usually good for cheaper than face value if you can stand to wait until the very last minute, however this isn't easily done with those travelling great distances.

And to those that say a better system would be a first come first served option, what about the fan that has to work that day? Or the new fan that was at a funeral? Or the server crashes we've come to know and love oh so much? I don't think the biggest and most honest PJ fan is also the fan that sits at his or her computer for countless hours so as to not miss a thing, let alone the chance to purchase tickets to the show of their choice. This new lottery option with servers that work and ease of use is likely the best and most all-encompassing/inclusive option we've had to date, whether you were successful today or not.

My point here is, we should all take a moment to reflect on what it means to be a fan of music. What it means to be a fan of PJ. What it means to be a considerate and compassionate human being. And not what we all have come to accept as normal in jadedness and entitlement. So you didn't win the lottery to see your favourite band. Big deal. There are other options to do so. And the band will play other shows, they'll play other legendary shows and in cool locations. Seeing Pearl Jam is not about the ability to brag to your friends about things or possession or that you were at X location when Y guest showed up for Z song, but about the personal experience you had with a band who's music means so much and your friends and family just don't understand why you love to see them multiple times. This is something you can't see or hold, but only feel.

So be a fan of Pearl Jam. Be a fan of live music. Be a fan of humanity and humility and take your sense of entitlement and shove it.

"I know I was born and I know that I'll die. The in between is mine. I am mine."

toddclancy

I agree man. I'm just happy to get the chance. Being positive is awesome. good work!

nails r bit off

:clap: very well said. Couldn't have said it better myself.

barger395

Well said!! :thumbup: :clap: :thumbup: :clap:

Cheers and be well y'all!!
BS

javis el errante

some have 20 reasons, some have 40 reasons, I'm not sure if anybody has 50 reasons...

WhyNotSweden

javis el errante wrote:

some have 20 reasons, some have 40 reasons, I'm not sure if anybody has 50 reasons...

I just have 1: GA

zman

there was no "luck" with F5, if you were diligent enough you could score tickets. if you were lazy and gave up you didnt. so those who wanted to go to the show the most got the tickets, those who didnt, didnt.

in a nutshell those are the people who u want at the show no? not just the "well if i get them i guess i will go" people

comebackgirl

zman wrote:

there was no "luck" with F5, if you were diligent enough you could score tickets. if you were lazy and gave up you didnt. so those who wanted to go to the show the most got the tickets, those who didnt, didnt.

in a nutshell those are the people who u want at the show no? not just the "well if i get them i guess i will go" people

not necessarily...I'm more passionate about going to PJ shows than I am about many things in my life, but there were many times I could not sit at a desk and hit F5 over and over again. Not everyone's circumstances are the same, although I definitely did whatever I could to make myself available to hit F5 all day when possible.

Indifference71

comebackgirl wrote:

zman wrote:

there was no "luck" with F5, if you were diligent enough you could score tickets. if you were lazy and gave up you didnt. so those who wanted to go to the show the most got the tickets, those who didnt, didnt.

in a nutshell those are the people who u want at the show no? not just the "well if i get them i guess i will go" people

not necessarily...I'm more passionate about going to PJ shows than I am about many things in my life, but there were many times I could not sit at a desk and hit F5 over and over again. Not everyone's circumstances are the same, although I definitely did whatever I could to make myself available to hit F5 all day when possible.

Exactly. For zman to say those that gave up were lazy and didn't want to go to the show the most is fucking ridiculous. People have jobs and lives to worry about over sitting at a fucking computer all day. Also- there was "luck" with the F5 fiasco. Plenty of people sat at their computer for hours and got shutout. I really can't believe some of the shit I am reading around here today.

Cosmo

Here's how my history has gone...
1993 - Got a free ticket to see the band from a friend at Empire Polo Grounds (current day Coachella)
1995 - The way you got tickets was to call a phone number and leave your phone number... then hang up. They called be back and I got a pair of tickets. General admission.
1998 - First seated show for me. That was when you had to fill out that form they sent in the mail along with a money order. No prob. Ended up in the 3rd row.
2000 - My membership had lapsed, but i was able to retain my number, but, missed out on the tickets because they never sent out the order form. I was able to get tickets through ETM 9whose servers crashed several times) and Ticketmaster, including 3rd row in Alburquerque. Plus, i won a pair from KROQ Los Angeles.
2003 - First time we could buy more than one show per tour. Sent in money orders in seperate envelopes for each show. Got San Francisco through Phoenix.
2006 - Dealt with crashing servers but, got all i was shooting for.
2009 - First time with the 1,2,9,10 lottery. We could only pick one of the 4 Gibson Ampitheater gigs... split a pair with another fan club member, got the other 2 through Ticketmaster.
...
The lottery today was one of the easiest. A lot easier than Ticketmaster and the scalper armies... better than money orders and S.A.S.E.s... better than crashing servers.
I didn't win... but, that's okay. Ive gotten into past show and i'll get in to future shows.
I still support the Fan Club and the system of seniority. I also think there should be a means to change up the mix so the same people are not in front row for every show.
The ONE pair per Tour method does the trick.

DN46518

Excellent post.

TBird27

Amen brutha!

stickfig13

It could be because the 10C has spoiled all the low # folks for the last 20 years.

Telling a sub 100K member he has to sit in the section behind anyone is like telling a child he can't have dessert ever again....

2-feign-reluctance

stickfig13 wrote:

It could be because the 10C has spoiled all the low # folks for the last 20 years.

Telling a sub 100K member he has to sit in the section behind anyone is like telling a child he can't have dessert ever again....

Is that so?

Slap upside the head

because I'm a Pearl Jam fan dammit and that alone entitles me to not only 10c tickets but I should
also get to drive their tour bus, wash their smelly clothes after every show and walk their dogs,
if they have one.

PJ_Soul

I think it's because people have convinced themselves that some kind of skill was involved when F5ing.... delusions of grandeur or something, I dunno.

Gern Blansten

Well said....I love this system

I would much rather do it this way then go through the frustration of trying to get tickets for two hours to only get nothing with the F5 key.

javis el errante

PJ_Soul wrote:

I think it's because people have convinced themselves that some kind of skill was involved when F5ing.... delusions of grandeur or something, I dunno.

yeah, that is considered hard work too...

MG79478

zman wrote:

there was no "luck" with F5, if you were diligent enough you could score tickets. if you were lazy and gave up you didnt. so those who wanted to go to the show the most got the tickets, those who didnt, didnt.

in a nutshell those are the people who u want at the show no? not just the "well if i get them i guess i will go" people

Spot on zman. Myself and many others were 100% on F5 (on plenty of shows too), we were still trying while others were posting complaints. EVERYONE has a life, and other commitments. SOME chose to make 10C tickets a priority, which came at a cost that some where willing to pay, and some weren't.

Taking this in to account, you can understand why F5 is the optimal system. For those who don't make tickets a priority, it's essentially a lottery. For those rabid fans willing to invest the time and effort, tickets were nearly guaranteed. The lottery is not all it's cracked up to be, and many of us saw this coming.

bootlegger10

MG79478 wrote:

zman wrote:

there was no "luck" with F5, if you were diligent enough you could score tickets. if you were lazy and gave up you didnt. so those who wanted to go to the show the most got the tickets, those who didnt, didnt.

in a nutshell those are the people who u want at the show no? not just the "well if i get them i guess i will go" people

Spot on zman. Myself and many others were 100% on F5 (on plenty of shows too), we were still trying while others were posting complaints. EVERYONE has a life, and other commitments. SOME chose to make 10C tickets a priority, which came at a cost that some where willing to pay, and some weren't.

Taking this in to account, you can understand why F5 is the optimal system. For those who don't make tickets a priority, it's essentially a lottery. For those rabid fans willing to invest the time and effort, tickets were nearly guaranteed. The lottery is not all it's cracked up to be, and many of us saw this coming.

No, there were people F5ing for hours and hours and hours and hours with no luck for PJ20. I've missed MSG shows before. There are tons of people that F5 and have missed out on tickets over the years.

MG79478

bootlegger10 wrote:

MG79478 wrote:

zman wrote:

there was no "luck" with F5, if you were diligent enough you could score tickets. if you were lazy and gave up you didnt. so those who wanted to go to the show the most got the tickets, those who didnt, didnt.

in a nutshell those are the people who u want at the show no? not just the "well if i get them i guess i will go" people

Spot on zman. Myself and many others were 100% on F5 (on plenty of shows too), we were still trying while others were posting complaints. EVERYONE has a life, and other commitments. SOME chose to make 10C tickets a priority, which came at a cost that some where willing to pay, and some weren't.

Taking this in to account, you can understand why F5 is the optimal system. For those who don't make tickets a priority, it's essentially a lottery. For those rabid fans willing to invest the time and effort, tickets were nearly guaranteed. The lottery is not all it's cracked up to be, and many of us saw this coming.

No, there were people F5ing for hours and hours and hours and hours with no luck for PJ20. I've missed MSG shows before. There are tons of people that F5 and have missed out on tickets over the years.

How do you know the details of every person who tried? Did they sit there and refresh once ever 10 minutes, or did they try constantly. You can only assume. I'm going to take an educated guess and say that most exaggerated their efforts when they complained.