Ticketmaster now reserving the best seats for themselves

BF25394

Wellwater Conspiracy said:

BF25394 said:

Wellwater Conspiracy said:

 
All of the best seats in the house are now exempt from the Ten Club, and most likely "PJ Premium". Gross.

"All of" the best seats in the house? I'd rather be in Section C than Section 107.

For that matter, I'd rather be in the front of 211 than in 107.

Never been to the Forum, huh?

Are you kidding? I live in L.A. and have been there dozens of times. I've been on the floor, in the lower bowl, and in the upper bowl. I've even been in "restricted view" seats. I speak from experience here. Remember, this is not Staples with three tiers of boxes that place the upper level a mile away from the stage. There is none of that at the Forum. The front of 211 is definitely better than 107.

iOnlyownMymind

demetrios said:

GW2553 said:

spankyMP said:

Baltimore.....(had to copy this from another thread because I am too old to figure out how to do it all of a sudden)

It looks like the whole arena is open to 10c.  But there is no way to know if section 102 has 10 seats available, 103 8 seats available and 108 200 seats available.

That is pretty cool to see that 10club secured that many seats of this venue.

All it means is there are 10 club seats available in those sections.  

mace1229

mr bungle said:

Get_Right said:

mr bungle said:

mpedone said:

High Fidelity 2000 said:

mpedone said:

Ticketmaster has won.

I get tired of people saying everything is Ticketmaster. The band's management signed off on this. They sign off on 10% of the tickets being sold for "premium" prices to rip off fans at 4-5 times the cost. Why would they sell all those good seats for $185 to the ten club members when they can sell them for $1000 to stupid desperate people who log on and find that's all that's left when they get through the queue? It's a scam. The band AND ticketmaster are in on it. The band is making more money, too.
Don't believe me? The Cure toured without premium seats, and everything was affordable with their top ticket prices being around $130, lawn $25, t shirts were $25. And somehow they did this for every show on a huge tour all last summer. It was probably hard but it can be done, but management (I'm guessing) doesn't want to do it. Weak.

That is exactly my point, though. Pearl Jam fought Ticketmaster, and Ticketmaster has won. Whether it's the actual band members making these decisions or they've turfed it off to management with tacit approval, the fight is over (probably has been for some time).

Probably one of the reasons Kelly Curtis "retired".  It was probably too hard seeing the fans not being prioritized.

Ticketmaster did not win. They came up with a business plan that takes money away from Stubhub and puts it in the artist's pocket. The band said yes to that plan. Truthfully they could charge much more and still sell out most arenas. I think the band took a medium path capturing some of that revenue but not totally gouging the fans.

Agreed. I think KC didn't want to be part of the new stategy that didn't proritize the loyal fans.

Or maybe he's just made a ton of money and would rather not work during the last 20 years of his life like most people?

ontheroad

when i first saw the MSG seating map with the side stage seats all greyed out I thought it was a mistake.  disappointing for sure. 

mpedone

Get_Right said:

mr bungle said:

mpedone said:

High Fidelity 2000 said:

mpedone said:

Ticketmaster has won.

I get tired of people saying everything is Ticketmaster. The band's management signed off on this. They sign off on 10% of the tickets being sold for "premium" prices to rip off fans at 4-5 times the cost. Why would they sell all those good seats for $185 to the ten club members when they can sell them for $1000 to stupid desperate people who log on and find that's all that's left when they get through the queue? It's a scam. The band AND ticketmaster are in on it. The band is making more money, too.
Don't believe me? The Cure toured without premium seats, and everything was affordable with their top ticket prices being around $130, lawn $25, t shirts were $25. And somehow they did this for every show on a huge tour all last summer. It was probably hard but it can be done, but management (I'm guessing) doesn't want to do it. Weak.

That is exactly my point, though. Pearl Jam fought Ticketmaster, and Ticketmaster has won. Whether it's the actual band members making these decisions or they've turfed it off to management with tacit approval, the fight is over (probably has been for some time).

Probably one of the reasons Kelly Curtis "retired".  It was probably too hard seeing the fans not being prioritized.

Ticketmaster did not win. They came up with a business plan that takes money away from Stubhub and puts it in the artist's pocket. The band said yes to that plan. Truthfully they could charge much more and still sell out most arenas. I think the band took a medium path capturing some of that revenue but not totally gouging the fans.

How is that not Ticketmaster winning? Non-transferable digital tickets accomplish the same thing. Nothing is stopping someone who bought a MSG "premium" ticket from selling it for twice as much on StubHub if they think they can get that much. Also, I think one of the things people are pushing back against is the idea that a band that's so often railed against greed is now interested in "capturing some of that revenue".

Merkin Baller

mace1229 said:

mr bungle said:

Get_Right said:

mr bungle said:

mpedone said:

High Fidelity 2000 said:

mpedone said:

Ticketmaster has won.

I get tired of people saying everything is Ticketmaster. The band's management signed off on this. They sign off on 10% of the tickets being sold for "premium" prices to rip off fans at 4-5 times the cost. Why would they sell all those good seats for $185 to the ten club members when they can sell them for $1000 to stupid desperate people who log on and find that's all that's left when they get through the queue? It's a scam. The band AND ticketmaster are in on it. The band is making more money, too.
Don't believe me? The Cure toured without premium seats, and everything was affordable with their top ticket prices being around $130, lawn $25, t shirts were $25. And somehow they did this for every show on a huge tour all last summer. It was probably hard but it can be done, but management (I'm guessing) doesn't want to do it. Weak.

That is exactly my point, though. Pearl Jam fought Ticketmaster, and Ticketmaster has won. Whether it's the actual band members making these decisions or they've turfed it off to management with tacit approval, the fight is over (probably has been for some time).

Probably one of the reasons Kelly Curtis "retired".  It was probably too hard seeing the fans not being prioritized.

Ticketmaster did not win. They came up with a business plan that takes money away from Stubhub and puts it in the artist's pocket. The band said yes to that plan. Truthfully they could charge much more and still sell out most arenas. I think the band took a medium path capturing some of that revenue but not totally gouging the fans.

Agreed. I think KC didn't want to be part of the new stategy that didn't proritize the loyal fans.

Or maybe he's just made a ton of money and would rather not work during the last 20 years of his life like most people?

I was thinking the same thing. 

iOnlyownMymind

Merkin Baller said:

mace1229 said:

mr bungle said:

Get_Right said:

mr bungle said:

mpedone said:

High Fidelity 2000 said:

mpedone said:

Ticketmaster has won.

I get tired of people saying everything is Ticketmaster. The band's management signed off on this. They sign off on 10% of the tickets being sold for "premium" prices to rip off fans at 4-5 times the cost. Why would they sell all those good seats for $185 to the ten club members when they can sell them for $1000 to stupid desperate people who log on and find that's all that's left when they get through the queue? It's a scam. The band AND ticketmaster are in on it. The band is making more money, too.
Don't believe me? The Cure toured without premium seats, and everything was affordable with their top ticket prices being around $130, lawn $25, t shirts were $25. And somehow they did this for every show on a huge tour all last summer. It was probably hard but it can be done, but management (I'm guessing) doesn't want to do it. Weak.

That is exactly my point, though. Pearl Jam fought Ticketmaster, and Ticketmaster has won. Whether it's the actual band members making these decisions or they've turfed it off to management with tacit approval, the fight is over (probably has been for some time).

Probably one of the reasons Kelly Curtis "retired".  It was probably too hard seeing the fans not being prioritized.

Ticketmaster did not win. They came up with a business plan that takes money away from Stubhub and puts it in the artist's pocket. The band said yes to that plan. Truthfully they could charge much more and still sell out most arenas. I think the band took a medium path capturing some of that revenue but not totally gouging the fans.

Agreed. I think KC didn't want to be part of the new stategy that didn't proritize the loyal fans.

Or maybe he's just made a ton of money and would rather not work during the last 20 years of his life like most people?

I was thinking the same thing. 

I hope he tells his story some day.  It would probably be the most interesting Pearl Jam book by far. 

GW2553

mace1229 said:

mr bungle said:

Get_Right said:

mr bungle said:

mpedone said:

High Fidelity 2000 said:

mpedone said:

Ticketmaster has won.

I get tired of people saying everything is Ticketmaster. The band's management signed off on this. They sign off on 10% of the tickets being sold for "premium" prices to rip off fans at 4-5 times the cost. Why would they sell all those good seats for $185 to the ten club members when they can sell them for $1000 to stupid desperate people who log on and find that's all that's left when they get through the queue? It's a scam. The band AND ticketmaster are in on it. The band is making more money, too.
Don't believe me? The Cure toured without premium seats, and everything was affordable with their top ticket prices being around $130, lawn $25, t shirts were $25. And somehow they did this for every show on a huge tour all last summer. It was probably hard but it can be done, but management (I'm guessing) doesn't want to do it. Weak.

That is exactly my point, though. Pearl Jam fought Ticketmaster, and Ticketmaster has won. Whether it's the actual band members making these decisions or they've turfed it off to management with tacit approval, the fight is over (probably has been for some time).

Probably one of the reasons Kelly Curtis "retired".  It was probably too hard seeing the fans not being prioritized.

Ticketmaster did not win. They came up with a business plan that takes money away from Stubhub and puts it in the artist's pocket. The band said yes to that plan. Truthfully they could charge much more and still sell out most arenas. I think the band took a medium path capturing some of that revenue but not totally gouging the fans.

Agreed. I think KC didn't want to be part of the new stategy that didn't proritize the loyal fans.

Or maybe he's just made a ton of money and would rather not work during the last 20 years of his life like most people?

That's probably more like it.

Zod

Get_Right said:

mr bungle said:

mpedone said:

High Fidelity 2000 said:

mpedone said:

Ticketmaster has won.

I get tired of people saying everything is Ticketmaster. The band's management signed off on this. They sign off on 10% of the tickets being sold for "premium" prices to rip off fans at 4-5 times the cost. Why would they sell all those good seats for $185 to the ten club members when they can sell them for $1000 to stupid desperate people who log on and find that's all that's left when they get through the queue? It's a scam. The band AND ticketmaster are in on it. The band is making more money, too.
Don't believe me? The Cure toured without premium seats, and everything was affordable with their top ticket prices being around $130, lawn $25, t shirts were $25. And somehow they did this for every show on a huge tour all last summer. It was probably hard but it can be done, but management (I'm guessing) doesn't want to do it. Weak.

That is exactly my point, though. Pearl Jam fought Ticketmaster, and Ticketmaster has won. Whether it's the actual band members making these decisions or they've turfed it off to management with tacit approval, the fight is over (probably has been for some time).

Probably one of the reasons Kelly Curtis "retired".  It was probably too hard seeing the fans not being prioritized.

Ticketmaster did not win. They came up with a business plan that takes money away from Stubhub and puts it in the artist's pocket. The band said yes to that plan. Truthfully they could charge much more and still sell out most arenas. I think the band took a medium path capturing some of that revenue but not totally gouging the fans.

I think TM won. I think everyone wins.

The promoter and the band win, because TM found a way to increase the revenue obtained from concerts.  TM wins, because their fees are on a sliding scale (the higher the ticket price the higher the TM fee).   The higher TM can sell tickets for, the higher fees the charge.

They created a situation well all 3 parties (Band, TM, Promoter) all win.

mr bungle

mace1229 said:

mr bungle said:

Get_Right said:

mr bungle said:

mpedone said:

High Fidelity 2000 said:

mpedone said:

Ticketmaster has won.

I get tired of people saying everything is Ticketmaster. The band's management signed off on this. They sign off on 10% of the tickets being sold for "premium" prices to rip off fans at 4-5 times the cost. Why would they sell all those good seats for $185 to the ten club members when they can sell them for $1000 to stupid desperate people who log on and find that's all that's left when they get through the queue? It's a scam. The band AND ticketmaster are in on it. The band is making more money, too.
Don't believe me? The Cure toured without premium seats, and everything was affordable with their top ticket prices being around $130, lawn $25, t shirts were $25. And somehow they did this for every show on a huge tour all last summer. It was probably hard but it can be done, but management (I'm guessing) doesn't want to do it. Weak.

That is exactly my point, though. Pearl Jam fought Ticketmaster, and Ticketmaster has won. Whether it's the actual band members making these decisions or they've turfed it off to management with tacit approval, the fight is over (probably has been for some time).

Probably one of the reasons Kelly Curtis "retired".  It was probably too hard seeing the fans not being prioritized.

Ticketmaster did not win. They came up with a business plan that takes money away from Stubhub and puts it in the artist's pocket. The band said yes to that plan. Truthfully they could charge much more and still sell out most arenas. I think the band took a medium path capturing some of that revenue but not totally gouging the fans.

Agreed. I think KC didn't want to be part of the new stategy that didn't proritize the loyal fans.

Or maybe he's just made a ton of money and would rather not work during the last 20 years of his life like most people?

Nah.  no coincidence that things changed when he "retired".  

Spiritual_Chaos

mpedone said:

Also, I think one of the things people are pushing back against is the idea that a band that's so often railed against greed is now interested in "capturing some of that revenue".


After all, it is a disease 

SHZA

mpedone said:

Get_Right said:

mr bungle said:

mpedone said:

High Fidelity 2000 said:

mpedone said:

Ticketmaster has won.

I get tired of people saying everything is Ticketmaster. The band's management signed off on this. They sign off on 10% of the tickets being sold for "premium" prices to rip off fans at 4-5 times the cost. Why would they sell all those good seats for $185 to the ten club members when they can sell them for $1000 to stupid desperate people who log on and find that's all that's left when they get through the queue? It's a scam. The band AND ticketmaster are in on it. The band is making more money, too.
Don't believe me? The Cure toured without premium seats, and everything was affordable with their top ticket prices being around $130, lawn $25, t shirts were $25. And somehow they did this for every show on a huge tour all last summer. It was probably hard but it can be done, but management (I'm guessing) doesn't want to do it. Weak.

That is exactly my point, though. Pearl Jam fought Ticketmaster, and Ticketmaster has won. Whether it's the actual band members making these decisions or they've turfed it off to management with tacit approval, the fight is over (probably has been for some time).

Probably one of the reasons Kelly Curtis "retired".  It was probably too hard seeing the fans not being prioritized.

Ticketmaster did not win. They came up with a business plan that takes money away from Stubhub and puts it in the artist's pocket. The band said yes to that plan. Truthfully they could charge much more and still sell out most arenas. I think the band took a medium path capturing some of that revenue but not totally gouging the fans.

How is that not Ticketmaster winning? Non-transferable digital tickets accomplish the same thing. Nothing is stopping someone who bought a MSG "premium" ticket from selling it for twice as much on StubHub if they think they can get that much. Also, I think one of the things people are pushing back against is the idea that a band that's so often railed against greed is now interested in "capturing some of that revenue".

I don't see the band capturing revenue that would otherwise go to resellers as greed. Resellers are basically leeches that contribute nothing of value to the product and just drive up the price to enrich themselves at the consumer's expense. If some people are going to pay inflated prices regardless, the artist is unquestionably the more deserving recipient of that money. 

Zod

tino_11 said:

A curious question, why does the US have floor seating at shows? Seems such a terrible choice unless you get them in the first blocks.

It happened after Roskilde.   The shows I saw in '98, were a mix of GA floor and reserved seats, or all reserved.  GA floor was still really common on that tour.

When Roskilde happened, it went all seats for every show and stayed that way until the 2013 tour.   The 2013 tour they introduced the small pit at the front, and it's been that way ever since.

Having attended Wrigley 2016, I found it's now become odd, because the pits are so big at the stadium shows, that they probably hold as much or more people, then the entire floor of an arena.  So there's not much difference between a stadium pit and having the whole floor in Arena as GA.

I guess it's the way is, but unfortunately the original instigator was Roskilde. The completed stopped doing GA for a long while after that. Understandably so :(

mpedone

SHZA said:

mpedone said:

Get_Right said:

mr bungle said:

mpedone said:

High Fidelity 2000 said:

mpedone said:

Ticketmaster has won.

I get tired of people saying everything is Ticketmaster. The band's management signed off on this. They sign off on 10% of the tickets being sold for "premium" prices to rip off fans at 4-5 times the cost. Why would they sell all those good seats for $185 to the ten club members when they can sell them for $1000 to stupid desperate people who log on and find that's all that's left when they get through the queue? It's a scam. The band AND ticketmaster are in on it. The band is making more money, too.
Don't believe me? The Cure toured without premium seats, and everything was affordable with their top ticket prices being around $130, lawn $25, t shirts were $25. And somehow they did this for every show on a huge tour all last summer. It was probably hard but it can be done, but management (I'm guessing) doesn't want to do it. Weak.

That is exactly my point, though. Pearl Jam fought Ticketmaster, and Ticketmaster has won. Whether it's the actual band members making these decisions or they've turfed it off to management with tacit approval, the fight is over (probably has been for some time).

Probably one of the reasons Kelly Curtis "retired".  It was probably too hard seeing the fans not being prioritized.

Ticketmaster did not win. They came up with a business plan that takes money away from Stubhub and puts it in the artist's pocket. The band said yes to that plan. Truthfully they could charge much more and still sell out most arenas. I think the band took a medium path capturing some of that revenue but not totally gouging the fans.

How is that not Ticketmaster winning? Non-transferable digital tickets accomplish the same thing. Nothing is stopping someone who bought a MSG "premium" ticket from selling it for twice as much on StubHub if they think they can get that much. Also, I think one of the things people are pushing back against is the idea that a band that's so often railed against greed is now interested in "capturing some of that revenue".

I don't see the band capturing revenue that would otherwise go to resellers as greed. Resellers are basically leeches that contribute nothing of value to the product and just drive up the price to enrich themselves at the consumer's expense. If some people are going to pay inflated prices regardless, the artist is unquestionably the more deserving recipient of that money. 

Those tickets don't HAVE to be "Premium" though. If the artist has a way to sell them at the same cost as the rest of the venue AND make them non-transferable, resellers aren't making anything. How is it anything but greed to say, "Wow, people are selling these seats for $400... WE could be making that!" instead of "Man, these resellers are screwing our fans, let's make sure ALL the tickets are a fair price." Maybe "PJ Platinum" keeps tickets from being even more expensive, and that's really what I hope the band believes, but if it's the band trying to "capture revenue", well, that's them acting just like Ticketmaster.

The issue isn't 10% of the tickets being premium, or, not entirely. A big part of it is that 10 Club no longer gets the best seats. That used to be one of the main perks of membership - tickets first, and the best seats. The last couple of tours, they started to sell "PJ Platinum", taking some seats away from 10 Club. This tour, entire sections are greyed out. Pearl Jam keeps making concessions to Ticketmaster, not the other way around. Ticketmaster is a behemoth, and they will keep taking and taking.

Honestly, I'm not sure it's actually greed on PJ's part. They are dealing with pretty much the only game in town to put on shows. Ticketmaster has the power. They don't care about Pearl Jam, or PJ's fans. They see the dollar signs.

High Fidelity 2000

mpedone said:

Get_Right said:

mr bungle said:

mpedone said:

High Fidelity 2000 said:

mpedone said:

Ticketmaster has won.

I get tired of people saying everything is Ticketmaster. The band's management signed off on this. They sign off on 10% of the tickets being sold for "premium" prices to rip off fans at 4-5 times the cost. Why would they sell all those good seats for $185 to the ten club members when they can sell them for $1000 to stupid desperate people who log on and find that's all that's left when they get through the queue? It's a scam. The band AND ticketmaster are in on it. The band is making more money, too.
Don't believe me? The Cure toured without premium seats, and everything was affordable with their top ticket prices being around $130, lawn $25, t shirts were $25. And somehow they did this for every show on a huge tour all last summer. It was probably hard but it can be done, but management (I'm guessing) doesn't want to do it. Weak.

That is exactly my point, though. Pearl Jam fought Ticketmaster, and Ticketmaster has won. Whether it's the actual band members making these decisions or they've turfed it off to management with tacit approval, the fight is over (probably has been for some time).

Probably one of the reasons Kelly Curtis "retired".  It was probably too hard seeing the fans not being prioritized.

Ticketmaster did not win. They came up with a business plan that takes money away from Stubhub and puts it in the artist's pocket. The band said yes to that plan. Truthfully they could charge much more and still sell out most arenas. I think the band took a medium path capturing some of that revenue but not totally gouging the fans.

How is that not Ticketmaster winning? Non-transferable digital tickets accomplish the same thing. Nothing is stopping someone who bought a MSG "premium" ticket from selling it for twice as much on StubHub if they think they can get that much. Also, I think one of the things people are pushing back against is the idea that a band that's so often railed against greed is now interested in "capturing some of that revenue".

Exactly this. "Hey, Stubhub sellers are screwing the fans! Wait a minute... WE could be screwing the fans!" Well, approximately 10% of them anyway. The band has to be willing to say no like the Cure did. 

Only some Cure shows had $400 first row (which by the way, is kind of a bargain for first row compared to a lot of Premium Platinum bullshit, don't even get me started on the Chili Peppers prices), some the whole front sections topped out at $130 or $150 something, I can't really remember at this point. Decent/good reserved seats were under $100. Anyone can do it if they want to, they just don't want to. They most likely get shown a dollar figure from the Live Nation for so many shows and say wow sign us up. Why do you think Beyonce and Bruce and Madonna and everybody and their moms did a huge tour last year or this year? They found out how much they can make/how much people will buy tickets for. Chili Peppers are the biggest frauds in all this. Lawn seats for $120, pit for $420 or "early admission pit" for an extra $200. It's all a scam.

Get_Right

mpedone said:

Get_Right said:

mr bungle said:

mpedone said:

High Fidelity 2000 said:

mpedone said:

Ticketmaster has won.

I get tired of people saying everything is Ticketmaster. The band's management signed off on this. They sign off on 10% of the tickets being sold for "premium" prices to rip off fans at 4-5 times the cost. Why would they sell all those good seats for $185 to the ten club members when they can sell them for $1000 to stupid desperate people who log on and find that's all that's left when they get through the queue? It's a scam. The band AND ticketmaster are in on it. The band is making more money, too.
Don't believe me? The Cure toured without premium seats, and everything was affordable with their top ticket prices being around $130, lawn $25, t shirts were $25. And somehow they did this for every show on a huge tour all last summer. It was probably hard but it can be done, but management (I'm guessing) doesn't want to do it. Weak.

That is exactly my point, though. Pearl Jam fought Ticketmaster, and Ticketmaster has won. Whether it's the actual band members making these decisions or they've turfed it off to management with tacit approval, the fight is over (probably has been for some time).

Probably one of the reasons Kelly Curtis "retired".  It was probably too hard seeing the fans not being prioritized.

Ticketmaster did not win. They came up with a business plan that takes money away from Stubhub and puts it in the artist's pocket. The band said yes to that plan. Truthfully they could charge much more and still sell out most arenas. I think the band took a medium path capturing some of that revenue but not totally gouging the fans.

How is that not Ticketmaster winning? Non-transferable digital tickets accomplish the same thing. Nothing is stopping someone who bought a MSG "premium" ticket from selling it for twice as much on StubHub if they think they can get that much. Also, I think one of the things people are pushing back against is the idea that a band that's so often railed against greed is now interested in "capturing some of that revenue".

The band could say no. And the band has been capturing revenue ever since they outsourced the fan club many years ago.  I think selling dog collars is more greedy than trying to find a fair market price for its concert tickets.

Get_Right

SHZA said:

mpedone said:

Get_Right said:

mr bungle said:

mpedone said:

High Fidelity 2000 said:

mpedone said:

Ticketmaster has won.

I get tired of people saying everything is Ticketmaster. The band's management signed off on this. They sign off on 10% of the tickets being sold for "premium" prices to rip off fans at 4-5 times the cost. Why would they sell all those good seats for $185 to the ten club members when they can sell them for $1000 to stupid desperate people who log on and find that's all that's left when they get through the queue? It's a scam. The band AND ticketmaster are in on it. The band is making more money, too.
Don't believe me? The Cure toured without premium seats, and everything was affordable with their top ticket prices being around $130, lawn $25, t shirts were $25. And somehow they did this for every show on a huge tour all last summer. It was probably hard but it can be done, but management (I'm guessing) doesn't want to do it. Weak.

That is exactly my point, though. Pearl Jam fought Ticketmaster, and Ticketmaster has won. Whether it's the actual band members making these decisions or they've turfed it off to management with tacit approval, the fight is over (probably has been for some time).

Probably one of the reasons Kelly Curtis "retired".  It was probably too hard seeing the fans not being prioritized.

Ticketmaster did not win. They came up with a business plan that takes money away from Stubhub and puts it in the artist's pocket. The band said yes to that plan. Truthfully they could charge much more and still sell out most arenas. I think the band took a medium path capturing some of that revenue but not totally gouging the fans.

How is that not Ticketmaster winning? Non-transferable digital tickets accomplish the same thing. Nothing is stopping someone who bought a MSG "premium" ticket from selling it for twice as much on StubHub if they think they can get that much. Also, I think one of the things people are pushing back against is the idea that a band that's so often railed against greed is now interested in "capturing some of that revenue".

I don't see the band capturing revenue that would otherwise go to resellers as greed. Resellers are basically leeches that contribute nothing of value to the product and just drive up the price to enrich themselves at the consumer's expense. If some people are going to pay inflated prices regardless, the artist is unquestionably the more deserving recipient of that money. 

Unfortunately, I 100% agree, even though that means higher prices for us fans.

Luckytwn1

Ticketmaster makes no decisions at all as to what tickets go where. Those decisions are 100 percent made by the promoter in conjunction with the act, in this case Pearl Jam.

SHZA

mpedone said:

SHZA said:

mpedone said:

Get_Right said:

mr bungle said:

mpedone said:

High Fidelity 2000 said:

mpedone said:

Ticketmaster has won.

I get tired of people saying everything is Ticketmaster. The band's management signed off on this. They sign off on 10% of the tickets being sold for "premium" prices to rip off fans at 4-5 times the cost. Why would they sell all those good seats for $185 to the ten club members when they can sell them for $1000 to stupid desperate people who log on and find that's all that's left when they get through the queue? It's a scam. The band AND ticketmaster are in on it. The band is making more money, too.
Don't believe me? The Cure toured without premium seats, and everything was affordable with their top ticket prices being around $130, lawn $25, t shirts were $25. And somehow they did this for every show on a huge tour all last summer. It was probably hard but it can be done, but management (I'm guessing) doesn't want to do it. Weak.

That is exactly my point, though. Pearl Jam fought Ticketmaster, and Ticketmaster has won. Whether it's the actual band members making these decisions or they've turfed it off to management with tacit approval, the fight is over (probably has been for some time).

Probably one of the reasons Kelly Curtis "retired".  It was probably too hard seeing the fans not being prioritized.

Ticketmaster did not win. They came up with a business plan that takes money away from Stubhub and puts it in the artist's pocket. The band said yes to that plan. Truthfully they could charge much more and still sell out most arenas. I think the band took a medium path capturing some of that revenue but not totally gouging the fans.

How is that not Ticketmaster winning? Non-transferable digital tickets accomplish the same thing. Nothing is stopping someone who bought a MSG "premium" ticket from selling it for twice as much on StubHub if they think they can get that much. Also, I think one of the things people are pushing back against is the idea that a band that's so often railed against greed is now interested in "capturing some of that revenue".

I don't see the band capturing revenue that would otherwise go to resellers as greed. Resellers are basically leeches that contribute nothing of value to the product and just drive up the price to enrich themselves at the consumer's expense. If some people are going to pay inflated prices regardless, the artist is unquestionably the more deserving recipient of that money. 

Those tickets don't HAVE to be "Premium" though. If the artist has a way to sell them at the same cost as the rest of the venue AND make them non-transferable, resellers aren't making anything. How is it anything but greed to say, "Wow, people are selling these seats for $400... WE could be making that!" instead of "Man, these resellers are screwing our fans, let's make sure ALL the tickets are a fair price." Maybe "PJ Platinum" keeps tickets from being even more expensive, and that's really what I hope the band believes, but if it's the band trying to "capture revenue", well, that's them acting just like Ticketmaster.

The issue isn't 10% of the tickets being premium, or, not entirely. A big part of it is that 10 Club no longer gets the best seats. That used to be one of the main perks of membership - tickets first, and the best seats. The last couple of tours, they started to sell "PJ Platinum", taking some seats away from 10 Club. This tour, entire sections are greyed out. Pearl Jam keeps making concessions to Ticketmaster, not the other way around. Ticketmaster is a behemoth, and they will keep taking and taking.

Honestly, I'm not sure it's actually greed on PJ's part. They are dealing with pretty much the only game in town to put on shows. Ticketmaster has the power. They don't care about Pearl Jam, or PJ's fans. They see the dollar signs.

They don't have to be premium but the resellers already figured out how to circumvent the non-transfer option. So making all the tickets a fair price doesn't work. And eliminating platinum would just make all the tickets more expensive. They can either let the parasites profit or prevent that from happening, to some extent. There is a segment of people who want to attend these shows who are going to pay the premium price because they don't know about or don't want to join a fan club or don't want to spend hours watching for face value resale tickets to pop up. Having an option for that segment so that the band gets the money instead of a parasite is just smart. Greed would be ending the 10c allocation entirely and making all of the desirable seats platinum or vip packages, which is what most artists do nowadays. 

SHZA

High Fidelity 2000 said:

mpedone said:

Get_Right said:

mr bungle said:

mpedone said:

High Fidelity 2000 said:

mpedone said:

Ticketmaster has won.

I get tired of people saying everything is Ticketmaster. The band's management signed off on this. They sign off on 10% of the tickets being sold for "premium" prices to rip off fans at 4-5 times the cost. Why would they sell all those good seats for $185 to the ten club members when they can sell them for $1000 to stupid desperate people who log on and find that's all that's left when they get through the queue? It's a scam. The band AND ticketmaster are in on it. The band is making more money, too.
Don't believe me? The Cure toured without premium seats, and everything was affordable with their top ticket prices being around $130, lawn $25, t shirts were $25. And somehow they did this for every show on a huge tour all last summer. It was probably hard but it can be done, but management (I'm guessing) doesn't want to do it. Weak.

That is exactly my point, though. Pearl Jam fought Ticketmaster, and Ticketmaster has won. Whether it's the actual band members making these decisions or they've turfed it off to management with tacit approval, the fight is over (probably has been for some time).

Probably one of the reasons Kelly Curtis "retired".  It was probably too hard seeing the fans not being prioritized.

Ticketmaster did not win. They came up with a business plan that takes money away from Stubhub and puts it in the artist's pocket. The band said yes to that plan. Truthfully they could charge much more and still sell out most arenas. I think the band took a medium path capturing some of that revenue but not totally gouging the fans.

How is that not Ticketmaster winning? Non-transferable digital tickets accomplish the same thing. Nothing is stopping someone who bought a MSG "premium" ticket from selling it for twice as much on StubHub if they think they can get that much. Also, I think one of the things people are pushing back against is the idea that a band that's so often railed against greed is now interested in "capturing some of that revenue".

Exactly this. "Hey, Stubhub sellers are screwing the fans! Wait a minute... WE could be screwing the fans!" Well, approximately 10% of them anyway. The band has to be willing to say no like the Cure did. 

Only some Cure shows had $400 first row (which by the way, is kind of a bargain for first row compared to a lot of Premium Platinum bullshit, don't even get me started on the Chili Peppers prices), some the whole front sections topped out at $130 or $150 something, I can't really remember at this point. Decent/good reserved seats were under $100. Anyone can do it if they want to, they just don't want to. They most likely get shown a dollar figure from the Live Nation for so many shows and say wow sign us up. Why do you think Beyonce and Bruce and Madonna and everybody and their moms did a huge tour last year or this year? They found out how much they can make/how much people will buy tickets for. Chili Peppers are the biggest frauds in all this. Lawn seats for $120, pit for $420 or "early admission pit" for an extra $200. It's all a scam.

They could say no to platinum, but why is that necessarily better for the fan? Plenty of fans who attended Cure shows paid platinum prices--they just did it through Vivid, stubhub, and seatgeek instead of ticketmaster. So the ticket brokers made the money instead of the band. Why is that a better system?