Prediction: Concert Seating Will Change

Nicki Earley

I think if you read the TC membership info about next year I believe that if your member ship lapses you loose your number. This is a fair system.

I have never had an issue with lapse in my membership SINCE 1995 and actually I would put it on automatic renew if I had a chance to do so. To me it's not about the $$.

Since 95 I have done everything they have asked of us - including read the rules of membership. I have showed up early for seat assignments, I have limited my ticket purchases to one show and I have been to GA shows without whining - it's all fair.

So to those currently whining - Please tell me - Why would it be fair to have a newbee jump me in line for better seats? Would this not turn into the U2 Fanclub where a regular person can't even get a ticket in any seat in the venue?

Reno1979

Listen NatOsha....

A "newbie" as you put it... would not be jumping you in line. If you go to more than one show, then yes, you might be seated behind some with lower numbers. But in the proposed change, YOU WOULD STILL GET SENIORITY BASED SEATING ONCE A TOUR. Then you wouldn't have to feel bad that people with higher number than you are in front of you.

This way, even a really high number, say 386XXX would be a bit back at his "seniority" based show. Subsequent shows he might be right up front and all excited to hear Daughter with no tag.

DP13

The only system that would be easily implemented and really feasible would be for you to place a "priority" on one show per tour. Seating would still be based on seniority but 10c member with "priority" for that particular show regardless of number would be in front of any member without priority. For example the first 6 rows would be reserved for those with priority and then row 7 would begin with the member with the lowest number that did not select priority for this particular show. There are a few downfalls with this policy though... the entire tour needs to be announced at once AND while it wouldn't be a ton of work it may require a little more help. Also, this would just bring people back to having multiple memberships, one for their dog, cat, uncle, dead grandma.

I have no problem with the current system but it does have its flaws. I for one have been a member for 9 years, but I am only 24. I am a whiner... I haven't been in the first 12 rows for a single show this tour. What about the younger kids that have breathed, slept, eaten and screamed Pearl Jam for their entire adult life??? A 20 year old girl could have joined the 10c at what? 15 at the earliest? this puts her about #210000 and at best row 30 at any major city show this tour. And this is a best case senario when a diehard joined REALLY early in life.

I think the current system actually works better for the band from a monetary standpoint as well. There are a ton of people that wouldn't go to as many shows if they weren't guranteed seats in the first five rows every night. I gurantee there would be a solid dropoff in 10c ticket sales if my "priority" policy went into effect.

Another option would be to implement "random" 10c seating at all second, third and so on nights at the same venue. If there is only one show in detroit then there is no random seating but if they play two nights the second show would have completely random 10c seating.

Just some thoughts from a whiner

josevolution

i just wish someone like sea or kat would respond to all the bitching so everybody would shut the fuck up about this .

LifeWasted21

god i hate the internet and this message pit.

obiwon76

Yes, you are stating your opinion, but why on this subject? You are trying to fix something that in 90% of the members of the 10C think is not broken. You have a low #, so it's obvious that you are happy with your seats and wish others can benefit as well. Why don't you trade your seats with someone in section 400 at the next show?
PJ only tours every 2-3 years, and it's such a special moment, why would we want the 10C or the band to waste time thinking about re-arranging the seating system they have in place for over 10 years?
I understand what your motives are, to allow those fans who are younger to experience the front rows, but maybe the band wants the fans who have been there from Ten through Avacodo, as opposed to Ten/Vs/Vitalogy fans. At the Chicago show, Ed recognized a fan who was at the first show under Mookie Blaylock and who has been to hundreds of shows since, you can't replace that in the front row.

even flow?

I scalp for a living. I hope PJ and many more bands change their ways to let us have a better slice of the pie. Bhaaaaaahahahahahaaha, super idea to let a person who just joined the same privilage as everybody else.

GeorgeinNY

I would give option of buying just one ticket instead of two. I can see how getting rid of your extra can be a problem. For ex in some states like New York it is illegal to re-sell tickets 1000 ft of the venue, I dont know about rest of you but those cops outside the arenas just look for that type of thing to bust you, not to mention scalpers who swarm on you and try to rip you off.

And like someone said if you are worried about scalpers selling 10C tickets just use the name and id method, tickemaster already prints purchaser name on the ticket so it would be easy to do. However, what about the people who give their 10c tickets to friends or relatives, or get rid of their 10c extra outside the show. So theres pros and cons to checking id's.

obiwon76

GeorgeinNY wrote:

I would give option of buying just one ticket instead of two. I can see how getting rid of your extra can be a problem. For ex in some states like New York it is illegal to re-sell tickets 1000 ft of the venue, I dont know about rest of you but those cops outside the arenas just look for that type of thing to bust you, not to mention scalpers who swarm on you and try to rip you off.

And like someone said if you are worried about scalpers selling 10C tickets just use the name and id method, tickemaster already prints purchaser name on the ticket so it would be easy to do. However, what about the people who give their 10c tickets to friends or relatives, or get rid of their 10c extra outside the show. So theres pros and cons to checking id's.

If you only allow one ticket per person, you will have 20,000 fans next to each other who are total strangers. People normally take their significant others to the show, so I dont know how that will work.
Scalping does happen, but I doubt anyone would sell their tickets if their seats are in the first 20 rows.

polaris

obiwon76 wrote:

If you only allow one ticket per person, you will have 20,000 fans next to each other who are total strangers. People normally take their significant others to the show, so I dont know how that will work.
Scalping does happen, but I doubt anyone would sell their tickets if their seats are in the first 20 rows.

its an option of buying 1 ... not maximum of 1 ...

anyhoo - having a relatively low number 106xxx, i like having the privileges of the preferential seating but i do feel for people who have been members for like 7 years that haven't moved up much in that time ... next tour around - i plan on swapping with some medium numbers ...

also - for the sake of the band, we need more energy up front ... i know you seniority members are enjoying the experience just as much everyone but you are sometimes the only thing the band really sees and if yer just gonna stand or sit there for 2.5 hrs ... might as well do it a few rows back i say ...

JOEJOEJOE

allowing the purchase of a single seat would allow people to manipulate themselves into better seats........the second single seat purchaser would end up with a much better seat because they would be given the seat next to the first single seat purchaser, even though the second single seat purchaser's 10C number is higher then the people around him/her who bought in pairs.

Not the worst thing in the world, but it would allow for disturbance of the seniority system.

lowlight10

I just suggest limiting the number of shows a member can purchase tickets to to a reasonable amount for a Pearl Jam fan, like 5-10 shows per tour. 1 show is not reasonable. I would venture to say that a majority of 10C members go to more than 1 show per full tour.

option #2: leave it the way it is.

the "professionaly scalper" above makes the same point I have been making ever since this debate started. if seniority is abandoned, this will turn into the U2 fan club and we will all be getting screwed by TM on a saturday morning or paying a scalper a buttload of $ for decent tickets.

single ticket orders just complicate things for the 10C. more chances to screw up. leave the message pit for 15 minutes, go outside, and make a friend.

SmallTown

I will turn 33 years old in a week. I didn't even know about the fan club, and it's priority seating privledges until after the '03 tour. I'm happy to even get the chance at decent seats...much better than standing in the lawn at Alpine that's for sure. Since I've joined, I've become obsessed with this band. They've consumed the greater portion of the past six years of my life (since my first show in '00...oh how I wish I new about 10c then).

I don't have a problem with the system. I knew what I was signing up for, but there's no doubt I would like to see the band up close for a change....just changed my signiture yesterday for this very reason. I think there are members that would like to give us lower numbered members a chance to see a great show up close. Well...at least some claim to want us to have that experience.

Keep the system as is. If you really want to get up close than work for it like I am. And if it doesn't happen, I'm not going to bitch about sitting 30 rows back or a great side view at inside venues.

peace

pjhawks

SoonForgotten2 wrote:

Some people have to travel and have no hometown where Pearl Jam actually plays. Others get 2-3 "hometown" shows per tour, so what would be fair then? Shall 10C also accomodate for people who have to work the day of the show or have some other obligations and therefore want to transfer their "hometown" show to somewhere else? What about people who live right in the middle of two shows? There will always be someone complaining about how they distribute tickets, no matter what the case is.

Well here is my idea: each member can still request tickets to as many shows on the tour as possible, the only difference being they must prioritize their shows by number. so the show they want most is 1, 2nd most, 2. etc all down the line. Then when tickets are distributed they are distributed by seniority within each number for that show. so all people who listed a particular show #1 would get the 1st block of seats, #2s next block, so on until all fan club seats are used up. This will still allow for seats to be used by seniority within levels but also allow for 'hometown' seating priorities.

also for people who like to point out that the seniority rules have been in place since the beginning let me mention that only since 2003 have you been able to receive tickets to multiple shows. prior to that you got one show. so from 1991-2000 each member could only get front row or so for one show. that changed in 2003. so in some ways limiting front row seats by selected shows and seniority would truly be going back to the roots of the system.

SmallTown

pjhawks wrote:

Well here is my idea: each member can still request tickets to as many shows on the tour as possible, the only difference being they must prioritize their shows by number. so the show they want most is 1, 2nd most, 2. etc all down the line. Then when tickets are distributed they are distributed by seniority within each number for that show. so all people who listed a particular show #1 would get the 1st block of seats, #2s next block, so on until all fan club seats are used up. This will still allow for seats to be used by seniority within levels but also allow for 'hometown' seating priorities.

Sorry but this doesn't work unless the band releases all tour stops at once. Now if you could prioritize per leg of the tour...then maybe. This just seems confusing for the 10c though. More work for them = more mistakes = more people bitching how they got screwed.

SoonForgotten2

pjhawks wrote:

Well here is my idea: each member can still request tickets to as many shows on the tour as possible, the only difference being they must prioritize their shows by number. so the show they want most is 1, 2nd most, 2. etc all down the line. Then when tickets are distributed they are distributed by seniority within each number for that show. so all people who listed a particular show #1 would get the 1st block of seats, #2s next block, so on until all fan club seats are used up. This will still allow for seats to be used by seniority within levels but also allow for 'hometown' seating priorities.

also for people who like to point out that the seniority rules have been in place since the beginning let me mention that only since 2003 have you been able to receive tickets to multiple shows. prior to that you got one show. so from 1991-2000 each member could only get front row or so for one show. that changed in 2003. so in some ways limiting front row seats by selected shows and seniority would truly be going back to the roots of the system.

That would be a huge mess to coordinate. Plus it still wouldnt change anything. Popular venues like MSG or the Gorge would still have high priority to fans going to multiple shows. As for the multi show policy don't think that this wasn't a change made due to the bands sagging popularity. They didn't have as many people to accomodate for any longer, so why not let the die-hards buy up as many shows as they can afford?

Maggie_st

Why is what you suggest fair? What about someone like me who has been in the ten club since 1993? Was it fair to me when all those early shows were mostly GA and being a small women I could never be in the front? No!!
I like the idea that fans that have been loyal for over a decade get good seats.
Is it my fault for some reason fans with higher numbers never joined the fan club until later? No. So why should fans that have been devoted enough to join the fan club early in the bands career get penalized??

Maggie

skyeriverwinter

.

Pegasus

natOsha wrote:

I think if you read the TC membership info about next year I believe that if your member ship lapses you loose your number. This is a fair system.

I have never had an issue with lapse in my membership SINCE 1995 and actually I would put it on automatic renew if I had a chance to do so. To me it's not about the $$.

That's the theory.
Several people on this forum stated they had let their membership lapse by years, not just months, and got their numbers back..
That shows the whole system is screwed as people who didn't 'pay their due' the whole time get better seats than people that might have joined later on reason of: being too young/not knowing about 10c/not wanting to deal with fan clubs/living in the wong country/etc, but kept their membership.

The idea of seniority might be fair if you have a chance of getting closer as time goes by, but the way it actually works, you don't. And at only $20 a year, many (not all obviously) of those low numbers renew by habit but don't care about it as much as say a 17-year-old for whom it's the first band they get hooked on, with all the passion an teenager can muster!

There are ways to keep the seniority whilst spreading the joy.

(for reference: I joined only 5-6 years ago, though never stopped listening since Ten, but as there's no seniority in Europe, I could have joined this year and it would have made no difference. For the only show where it matters, Verona, I'm going with my 36xxx friend; I care just as much about this tour as she does...prabably more at the moment actually).

JOEJOEJOE

skyeriverwinter wrote:

OK NOW KIDS!!!! i have been a fan since the beginning. when some of you were joining the club back in the day for $5.00 i was busy pampering two infants. and yes joining the club back then was $5.00. i didn't have extra money at the time to join. i only recently joined. i'm probably old enough to be ma to some of you. so even though life circumstances held me back from joining does that mean i shouldn't enjoy a show up close and personal? i am an avid fan buying up whatever i can whenever i can during the whole journey. just because i didn't join the club doesn't mean i shouldn't get to see a slammin' show up close. now before you respond remember i am a mom of 4. they are 16, 14, 3, and 1.5. BE KIND and respectful please!!!! i may cry and be a baby.

To play devils advocate, I could have been building a family back in 1993, but instead, I spent my time in music.

So, now, I don't have the love of 4 kids, since I sacrificed it to have a good 10C number!