Bruce premium

pbultimate

Anyone following Bruce’s onsale?

gotthebottle

Of course.. 

JimmyV

pjhawks

Premium for over $4000.  Shocking that artists like Bruce and PJ have allowed this.  Honestly not sure how much recourse the bands have on this issue but this dynamic pricing is ridiculous.  

Zod

I saw a post on facebook earlier today that premium pricing was done without the knowledge of the band Crowded House.  They decided to refund the difference in ticket costs for the people that bought those tickets.

It is starting to feel like bands aren't being given a choice.. or it's becoming very difficult to not do it :(

aisleseats

I didn't even get approved for verified fan, so I couldn't even try to buy during the presale. Wanted to do Kansas City. But ended up having to settle for some rear stage uppers for Tulsa. Only $69 though.

Anyone know if his stage setup is similar to PJ? Just curious if they keep it open so the ppl behind the stage can see. Some bands sell rear stage seats, but then have the view entirely blocked.

matt84

Tried for Edinburgh yesterday. Wanted front standing which were £150. After only 30 mins, ticketmaster put the price up to £441. Still available to buy now but no thanks! I’m a huge fan (Bruce is my no.1) and this is the first time I’ve really thought less of Bruce. Very disappointed. Still got Hyde Park to look forward to which wasn’t handled by ticketmaster, but the whole pricing and experience has left a very bitter taste in my mouth.

SB51117

Recommended reading on Bruce and dynamic ticketing - Bob Lefsetz is sometimes an acquired taste, but he's one of the sharpest and most knowledgeable minds in the music business:

https://lefsetz.com/wordpress/2022/07/21/the-springsteen-ticket-fracas/

gotthebottle

aisleseats said:

I didn't even get approved for verified fan, so I couldn't even try to buy during the presale. Wanted to do Kansas City. But ended up having to settle for some rear stage uppers for Tulsa. Only $69 though.

Anyone know if his stage setup is similar to PJ? Just curious if they keep it open so the ppl behind the stage can see. Some bands sell rear stage seats, but then have the view entirely blocked.

Of course the back of stage is open if they are selling tickets behind... he's rarely ever used a backdrop

F Me In The Brain

SB51117 said:

Recommended reading on Bruce and dynamic ticketing - Bob Lefsetz is sometimes an acquired taste, but he's one of the sharpest and most knowledgeable minds in the music business:

https://lefsetz.com/wordpress/2022/07/21/the-springsteen-ticket-fracas/

I liked this, thanks.
They should do as he suggests, at the end.  Fuck it.

The idea that Pearl Jam has "premium" tickets at MSG for $3500 a pop on Ticketmaster is a fucking joke.
  Let everyone scalp/resell or change the way you do things.  Doing it the way they are doing now (Bruce, PJ, etc) is just crazy.  

bootlegger10

Hard to argue that the band shouldn’t reap the rewards that scalpers are getting.  Prices will come down if demand isn’t there.  It does really suck.  There is a lottery now to have the opportunity to even have a chance to buy tickets in the verified sale.  Craziness.  

Is what it is for the popular acts.  Time to find some new ones to see, or perhaps travel to Europe.

BlueLedbetter

bootlegger10 said:

Hard to argue that the band shouldn’t reap the rewards that scalpers are getting.  Prices will come down if demand isn’t there.  It does really suck.  There is a lottery now to have the opportunity to even have a chance to buy tickets in the verified sale.  Craziness.  

Is what it is for the popular acts.  Time to find some new ones to see, or perhaps travel to Europe.

Bruce is doing it in Europe as well 

JimmyV

Bruce is one of the last artists on my bucket list to see. It hasn't happened before this for one reason or another. With what he was charging in Boston, it is unlikely to happen in the near future. 

Weston1283

Be patient.  These prices will tank 2-3 days before the show.  We have seen this happen multiple times already.

Gern Blansten

bootlegger10 said:

Hard to argue that the band shouldn’t reap the rewards that scalpers are getting.  Prices will come down if demand isn’t there.  It does really suck.  There is a lottery now to have the opportunity to even have a chance to buy tickets in the verified sale.  Craziness.  

Is what it is for the popular acts.  Time to find some new ones to see, or perhaps travel to Europe.

I don't disagree necessarily but there has been a ticket for Nashville for $2016.45 for at least three weeks. It says face value so I assume the original purchaser paid that much and now no one wants it for that price.

I totally support the bands reaping the rewards but it's an odd system

JimmyV

The choice to brand it "PJ Premium" rather than just sticking with Platinum remains incredibly strange. 

lowbudgetlush

bootlegger10 said:

Hard to argue that the band shouldn’t reap the rewards that scalpers are getting.  Prices will come down if demand isn’t there.  It does really suck.  There is a lottery now to have the opportunity to even have a chance to buy tickets in the verified sale.  Craziness.  

Is what it is for the popular acts.  Time to find some new ones to see, or perhaps travel to Europe.

I didn't read the article but I don't think the bands get the ticket money. If the verified ticket on Ticketmaster goes for $3000 isn't that just the promoters money? It was always my understanding that nowadays the band gets a guarantee of X amount of dollars and its up to the promoters to get their money back.

lowbudgetlush

aisleseats said:

I didn't even get approved for verified fan, so I couldn't even try to buy during the presale. Wanted to do Kansas City. But ended up having to settle for some rear stage uppers for Tulsa. Only $69 though.

Anyone know if his stage setup is similar to PJ? Just curious if they keep it open so the ppl behind the stage can see. Some bands sell rear stage seats, but then have the view entirely blocked.

This gives me hope. I was selected for verified fan in Detroit & all I want are the cheap tickets. I read that rears in Florida were surging up to $300ish. That bummed me out.

bootlegger10

lowbudgetlush said:

bootlegger10 said:

Hard to argue that the band shouldn’t reap the rewards that scalpers are getting.  Prices will come down if demand isn’t there.  It does really suck.  There is a lottery now to have the opportunity to even have a chance to buy tickets in the verified sale.  Craziness.  

Is what it is for the popular acts.  Time to find some new ones to see, or perhaps travel to Europe.

I didn't read the article but I don't think the bands get the ticket money. If the verified ticket on Ticketmaster goes for $3000 isn't that just the promoters money? It was always my understanding that nowadays the band gets a guarantee of X amount of dollars and its up to the promoters to get their money back.

I would suspect the band gets guaranteed money and to get a higher guarantee the band has to agree to allow the promoter to use platinum.  So indirectly the band is benefiting.

JimmyV

One of the things we were told was that Platinum helps keep other ticket prices down. For PJ that might have been true. For Bruce it was not. 

lowbudgetlush

bootlegger10 said:

lowbudgetlush said:

bootlegger10 said:

Hard to argue that the band shouldn’t reap the rewards that scalpers are getting.  Prices will come down if demand isn’t there.  It does really suck.  There is a lottery now to have the opportunity to even have a chance to buy tickets in the verified sale.  Craziness.  

Is what it is for the popular acts.  Time to find some new ones to see, or perhaps travel to Europe.

I didn't read the article but I don't think the bands get the ticket money. If the verified ticket on Ticketmaster goes for $3000 isn't that just the promoters money? It was always my understanding that nowadays the band gets a guarantee of X amount of dollars and its up to the promoters to get their money back.

I would suspect the band gets guaranteed money and to get a higher guarantee the band has to agree to allow the promoter to use platinum.  So indirectly the band is benefiting.

Gotcha. Makes sense.

on2legs

I was verified for Newark and Baltimore. I’m not overly optimistic because the demand will be insane but you never know. 

Bentleyspop

SB51117 said:

Recommended reading on Bruce and dynamic ticketing - Bob Lefsetz is sometimes an acquired taste, but he's one of the sharpest and most knowledgeable minds in the music business:

https://lefsetz.com/wordpress/2022/07/21/the-springsteen-ticket-fracas/

Thanks for posting this. He gets it. Every time a sale like this happens, for Bruce or PJ or some other huge band, I get a good laugh from all the posts blaming TM for the pricing and people not getting tickets. As well as the TM conspiracy theories. 

I'm a long time Bruce fan. He was my 2nd concert (Led Zeppelin was 1st) in 1975. I have seen multiple shows on every tour since then. I always get into the shows I want with no upcharge and little stress. For this tour I will not buy in advance. I guarantee I'll get into the shows I want to see, mostly in the Midwest, for under $100 for pit or good lowers. GUARANTEED 

Poncier

pjhawks said:

Premium for over $4000.  Shocking that artists like Bruce and PJ have allowed this.  Honestly not sure how much recourse the bands have on this issue but this dynamic pricing is ridiculous.  

Right in the article linked above:

And believe me, Bruce is in control, the act always is. Live Nation and Ticketmaster do nothing the act doesn’t want them to.

And take note of Lefstetz' mention of Garth Brooks and how he handles things. He doesn't do any of the Platinum tickets, dynamic pricing or VIP packages, and keeps tix prices very reasonable. He's an outlier for sure, but the artist controls all of this, Live Nation/TM is merely the conduit. An evil conduit to be sure, because they profit greatly as they get a percentage for their fee, so they end up getting in the example Jimmy posted $81.25 in just TM fees for one balcony Bruce ticket in Boston, that is more like what the ticket should cost in total to be 3 rows from the roof of the building.

HollisBrown

pjhawks said:

Premium for over $4000.  Shocking that artists like Bruce and PJ have allowed this.  Honestly not sure how much recourse the bands have on this issue but this dynamic pricing is ridiculous.  

Considering the worldwide lockdown these past few years, ticket prices don’t surprise me. Oil companies are making up for the few lousy years they had, why not rock bands. 

What surprises me more is product shrinkage. Now, if your favorite artist raises prices and reduces the content and quality of their shows, to me, that’s outrageous.
Good luck with whatever you get and hope the shows are worth it.

Poncier

JimmyV said:

The choice to brand it "PJ Premium" rather than just sticking with Platinum remains incredibly strange. 

Strange is kind. I can think of a more appropriate word that starts with St

Get_Right

SB51117 said:

Recommended reading on Bruce and dynamic ticketing - Bob Lefsetz is sometimes an acquired taste, but he's one of the sharpest and most knowledgeable minds in the music business:

https://lefsetz.com/wordpress/2022/07/21/the-springsteen-ticket-fracas/

That is a lot of words to explain that the dynamic pricing allows TM and the artists to capture the revenue flowing to Stubhub and other resellers. Does Bruce have a fan club where fans get tickets at "face value?"

Bentleyspop

For those that haven't seen it here are the face prices before "dynamic" pricing kicks in.. 

Spiritual_Chaos

So weird that the ticket prices and system are so astronimically different between the US and Sweden. 

I paid 160 dollars for the September Dylan show. The mlst I have ever spent on a ticket. And that is first row. 

on2legs

I’m a huge Bruce fan and I’ve seen him many times.  He’s a dynamic performer and a great humanitarian.  But he’s also a business man and he doesn’t really run from that rep.  He will never apologize for earning what he believes he’s worth.  

JimmyV

The other issue is this. So many scalpers got tickets. You can sit almost anywhere but at even further inflated prices. The artist gets their money, but many a consumer are squeezed out. I'll be honest, the Bruce onsale did leave a bad taste. Tickets may be cheaper come March but this is a system I don't really want to participate in or support.