European Tour Sales = Desaster

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  • dignindignin Posts: 9,337
    Good on the Europeans for not paying these extreme prices.

  • Personally, I can just about stomach/afford standing for Manchester at 160 gbp, it is however outrageous that the back row of the upper tiers are the same price and I’m not surprised they aren’t selling. 
    London, I’ve begrudgingly paid for a good lower tier seat, again tens of thousands of rear seats still available and over priced. These come down to 50-70 gbp they will sell. At 125-160gbp, they won’t. 
    I’d planned on doing London with my partner but at 160 quid, she’s out. We’d also planned on doing Berlin or Barcelona, but at the price they are, they’re out too. 
    So from an original plan of 2x Manchester, 2x London and 2x Berlin or Barcelona tickets we’ve landed with 2 for Manchester and 1 for London. 
    Simple economics - I’ve a budget and it’s covered 3 tickets rather than the 6 we’d hoped. I’ll go, I’ll enjoy the shows but I hope they aren’t sold out to send a message 
    On the pricing itself something is very, very wrong when I’m paying more for pearl jam than green day, foo fighters, Springsteen and taylor swift this summer. 
    The inflation and increased cost arguments are utter rubbish in my opinion
    its greed. 

  • ilockyerilockyer Posts: 2,271
    On the pricing itself something is very, very wrong when I’m paying more for pearl jam than green day, foo fighters, Springsteen and taylor swift this summer. 
    The inflation and increased cost arguments are utter rubbish in my opinion
    its greed. 

    Here's some shocking perspective based on cheapest tickets to get you through the door for a band with an unmatched love of money, The Eagles. (info on the Eagles from See Tickets)

    Eagles £75.00 (£87.08 inc fees)
    PJ £130.00 (£160.00 inc fees). 
    The secret to a happy ending is knowing when to roll the credits
  • TO42596TO42596 The Netherlands Posts: 143
    The main issue I believe is that the evolution of ticket prices has been completely different in the US than in EUR. Taking the US prices, which have become acceptable (if I go by the comments on the board) in the US and switching the $ for EUR looks to be a misjudgment...enough of us (the hardcore fans) are still, grudgingly, willing to pay, but for the more casual fan the prices are too much. We'll see, the good thing about dynamic pricing is that the prices can "dynamically" be lowered. Supply and demand will meet somewhere...
    2000 London I
    2006 Arnhem & Prague
    2012 Amsterdam I & II / EV Amsterdam II
    2013 Buenos Aires & Wrigley Field / Brad Utrecht / Soundgarden Oslo & Amsterdam
    2014 Amsterdam I & II, Vienna, Berlin & Leeds / Soundgarden Santiago, Utrecht & Tilburg
    2016 MSG I & II, Quebec City, Fenway Park I & II
    2018 Amsterdam I & II, Krakow & Berlin
    2022 Stockholm, Copenhagen, Amsterdam & Toronto
    2023 Austin I & II
    2024 Manchester, Barcelona I & II
  • kaw753kaw753 Posts: 860
    I did the Europe tour in 2012 and 2016. The thing is these are the same cities and festivals as they played on those tours. Dublin looks like a poop show to get to, London is a big no thanks due to the massive stadium for unknown reasons, and I am a hard pass on big GA festivals like NOS Alive.

  • jimjam1982jimjam1982 AZ Posts: 1,433
    Soybeans said:
    willwall said:
    I’m so happy that this has backfired on them. 

    Things that are ok in the US, doesn’t mean it’s ok to do here. 

    Manchester is 50% sold. London is easily less than 50% sold. You reap what you sow at the end of the day.

    Those saying it’s not the band and that they are entirely blameless are wrong. They’ll know what’s going on. At least Springsteen had the bottle to come out and own up to the Dynamic pricing and what he was doing. 

    Can see a lot of these shows being reduced or even on offer in a few weeks time.
    Is already happening. The prices for Barcelona are coming down. Barcelona uppers down $30, lowers have come down by $50.

    But it's too late for many. Scanning the sad comments on the socials, it's clear that our proud Spanish PJ brothers and sisters are done. Sadly,  I have to hope these arenas remain half empty at show time. 
    If its half empty the show gets cancelled. Be careful what you wish for if you have tix
  • kaw753kaw753 Posts: 860
    Soybeans said:
    willwall said:
    I’m so happy that this has backfired on them. 

    Things that are ok in the US, doesn’t mean it’s ok to do here. 

    Manchester is 50% sold. London is easily less than 50% sold. You reap what you sow at the end of the day.

    Those saying it’s not the band and that they are entirely blameless are wrong. They’ll know what’s going on. At least Springsteen had the bottle to come out and own up to the Dynamic pricing and what he was doing. 

    Can see a lot of these shows being reduced or even on offer in a few weeks time.
    Is already happening. The prices for Barcelona are coming down. Barcelona uppers down $30, lowers have come down by $50.

    But it's too late for many. Scanning the sad comments on the socials, it's clear that our proud Spanish PJ brothers and sisters are done. Sadly,  I have to hope these arenas remain half empty at show time. 
    If its half empty the show gets cancelled. Be careful what you wish for if you have tix
    If they cancel a show due to poor ticket sales because the prices are too high, you don't think the fans who have booked travel and vacation time from work might be just a bit upset? 

    I saw Arcade Fire on a Monday night in Vegas in an arena with like 3000 people. They just play the show and lose some money. They are already paying the crew, hotels, etc.
  • BloodMeridian80BloodMeridian80 Seattle Posts: 670
    If the venues are half empty when the shows occur, then there’s a story here. 
  • SHZASHZA St. Louis, MO USA Posts: 3,957
    edited February 24
    kaw753 said:
    Soybeans said:
    willwall said:
    I’m so happy that this has backfired on them. 

    Things that are ok in the US, doesn’t mean it’s ok to do here. 

    Manchester is 50% sold. London is easily less than 50% sold. You reap what you sow at the end of the day.

    Those saying it’s not the band and that they are entirely blameless are wrong. They’ll know what’s going on. At least Springsteen had the bottle to come out and own up to the Dynamic pricing and what he was doing. 

    Can see a lot of these shows being reduced or even on offer in a few weeks time.
    Is already happening. The prices for Barcelona are coming down. Barcelona uppers down $30, lowers have come down by $50.

    But it's too late for many. Scanning the sad comments on the socials, it's clear that our proud Spanish PJ brothers and sisters are done. Sadly,  I have to hope these arenas remain half empty at show time. 
    If its half empty the show gets cancelled. Be careful what you wish for if you have tix
    If they cancel a show due to poor ticket sales because the prices are too high, you don't think the fans who have booked travel and vacation time from work might be just a bit upset? 

    I saw Arcade Fire on a Monday night in Vegas in an arena with like 3000 people. They just play the show and lose some money. They are already paying the crew, hotels, etc.
    When they postponed/canceled due to Covid on the day of the show, the fans who traveled and took vacation time were upset. Yet they've done it multiple times. 

    I tend to think they'd bite the bullet if sales were poor for one particular show but if it's an entire leg, I could see multiple shows being canceled. Hopefully with enough notice to cancel travel plans 
  • ilockyerilockyer Posts: 2,271
    edited February 24
    Soybeans said:
    willwall said:
    I’m so happy that this has backfired on them. 

    Things that are ok in the US, doesn’t mean it’s ok to do here. 

    Manchester is 50% sold. London is easily less than 50% sold. You reap what you sow at the end of the day.

    Those saying it’s not the band and that they are entirely blameless are wrong. They’ll know what’s going on. At least Springsteen had the bottle to come out and own up to the Dynamic pricing and what he was doing. 

    Can see a lot of these shows being reduced or even on offer in a few weeks time.
    Is already happening. The prices for Barcelona are coming down. Barcelona uppers down $30, lowers have come down by $50.

    But it's too late for many. Scanning the sad comments on the socials, it's clear that our proud Spanish PJ brothers and sisters are done. Sadly,  I have to hope these arenas remain half empty at show time. 
    If its half empty the show gets cancelled. Be careful what you wish for if you have tix
    With this lovely variable pricing, a show doesn't need to sell out to be break even or be profitable. So long as they sell enough at whatever price to raise the funds for the promoter to cover all costs including paying the band, there'd be no reason to cancel even if 50% of the seats were unsold.
    The secret to a happy ending is knowing when to roll the credits
  • beano.79beano.79 Posts: 765
    Although not a direct comparison 'legend status-wise' but 2 weeks before pearl jam I'm going to see crowded house at Lincoln castle for £55

  • willwallwillwall Posts: 16
    ilockyer said:
    Soybeans said:
    willwall said:
    I’m so happy that this has backfired on them. 

    Things that are ok in the US, doesn’t mean it’s ok to do here. 

    Manchester is 50% sold. London is easily less than 50% sold. You reap what you sow at the end of the day.

    Those saying it’s not the band and that they are entirely blameless are wrong. They’ll know what’s going on. At least Springsteen had the bottle to come out and own up to the Dynamic pricing and what he was doing. 

    Can see a lot of these shows being reduced or even on offer in a few weeks time.
    Is already happening. The prices for Barcelona are coming down. Barcelona uppers down $30, lowers have come down by $50.

    But it's too late for many. Scanning the sad comments on the socials, it's clear that our proud Spanish PJ brothers and sisters are done. Sadly,  I have to hope these arenas remain half empty at show time. 
    If its half empty the show gets cancelled. Be careful what you wish for if you have tix
    With this lovely variable pricing, a show doesn't need to sell out to be break even or be profitable. So long as they sell enough at whatever price to raise the funds for the promoter to cover all costs including paying the band, there'd be no reason to cancel even if 50% of the seats were unsold.
    I get that. But on the other side, I doubt the band will want to walk out to a load of empty seats both from a pride perspective and image of the band. Hopefully they learn their lesson from this tour and go back to how it’s always been and how it should be.
    Manchester 09, London 10, Manchester 12, IOW 12, Leeds 15, Milton Keynes 15, Amsterdam 18, Rome 18, London 22
  • EraserheadEraserhead Stoke-on-Trent Posts: 2,938
    willwall said:
    I’m so happy that this has backfired on them. 

    Things that are ok in the US, doesn’t mean it’s ok to do here. 

    Manchester is 50% sold. London is easily less than 50% sold. You reap what you sow at the end of the day.

    Those saying it’s not the band and that they are entirely blameless are wrong. They’ll know what’s going on. At least Springsteen had the bottle to come out and own up to the Dynamic pricing and what he was doing. 

    Can see a lot of these shows being reduced or even on offer in a few weeks time.

    Where have you seen that the Manchester show is only 50% sold?
    Manchester 04.06.00, Leeds 25.08.06, Wembley 18.06.07, Dusseldorf 21.06.07, Shepherds Bush 11.08.09, Manchester 17.08.09, Adelaide 17.11.09, Melbourne 20.11.09, Sydney 22.11.09, Brisbane 25.11.09, MSG1 20.05.10, MSG2 21.05.10, Dublin 22.06.10, Belfast 23.06.10, London 25.06.10, Long Beach 06.07.11 (EV), Los Angeles 08.07.11 (EV), Toronto 11.09.11, Toronto 12.09.11, Ottawa 14.09.11, Hamilton 14.09.11, Manchester 20.06.12, Manchester 21.06.12, Amsterdam 26.06.2012, Amsterdam 27.06.2012, Berlin 04.07.12, Berlin 05.07.12, Stockholm 07.07.12, Oslo 09.07.12, Copenhagen 10.07.12, Manchester 28.07.12 (EV), Brooklyn 18.10.13, Brooklyn 19.10.13, Philly 21.10.13, Philly 22.10.13, San Diego 21.11.13, LA 23.11.13, LA 24.11.13, Oakland 26.11.13, Portland 29.11.13, Spokane 30.11.13, Calgary 02.12.13, Vancouver 04.12.13, Seattle 06.12.13, Trieste 22.06.14, Vienna 25.06.14, Berlin 26.06.14, Stockholm 28.06.14, Leeds 08.07.14, Philly 28.04.16, Philly 28.04.16, MSG1 01.05.16, MSG2 02.05.16
  • kaw753kaw753 Posts: 860
    I feel like the Monday Barcelona show is the one that makes no sense. Any Spanish person is going to want to go on Saturday night. If you are travelling for the week, you fly home on the Sunday.
  • MarcvHMarcvH Amersfoort, Netherlands Posts: 40
    When I look at the Berlin shows, there is definitely something going on when it doesn't sell out easily. This is the logical location for all those common countries skipped on this tour; Netherlands, Czech Republic, Austria, etc. In fact, AMS1 was first postponed due to Covid and canceled in the last hour in 2022 due to (already known) throat problems. That audience has been without a show since 2018, so that is the audience you could easily have attracted to Berlin.
    Arnhem 2006, Nijmegen 2007, Rotterdam 2009, Nijmegen 2010, Werchter 2010, Amsterdam II 2012, Amsterdam I 2014, Amsterdam II 2017 (Ed Solo), Amsterdam I 2018, Amsterdam II 2018, Amsterdam I 2022, Amsterdam II 2022, Berlin I 2024, Berlin II 2024 and... was on the quest list of Vera Groningen 1996.. but went to my girlfriends father's birthday instead, damned!
  • HoccapukHoccapuk Posts: 532
    I think we are failing to take into account the Taylor Swift effect.  The huge corporations like Live Nation and Ticketmaster (which we know work together) see Taylor Swift selling out arenas in Europe and around the world at crazy prices and say "this can work for other large arena acts". Clearly it can't.
  • just_onejust_one Lisbon Posts: 2,202
    By july Barcelona 2nd show will have almost all tickets and if they dont they wont cancel it 100%. They will do it like katowice in 2000. The 2nd show didnt sold very well and they still played it and it was an amazing setlist.

    Manchester is going to sell out for sure. London will take sometime but by june 29 almost all will be sold , the same will happen with Barcelona 1st night which GA is already sold out(only missing those premium tickets)
  • eboweddieeboweddie Posts: 1,015
    Was same venue in Barcelona played on Binaural tour?. Half full that night 
    .nobody wants to see that happening again 


    i wish i wish i wish i wish, i guess it never stops
  • Leezestarr313Leezestarr313 Temple of the cat Posts: 14,360
    It's not like the US price hike is easy on the stomach either. Since 2016, prices have doubled. If you can't go to all tours because travel in the US is costly as well, you only get to see a show every four years or more, so the price hike feels even worse. I think maybe Americans maybe are faster to buy things on credit, and maybe we are more keen to spend on experiences like that because all work and no fun makes life less enjoyable. I hope prices come down, and I hope PJ has a moment to think of the impact of all of this. I have seen people complain about ticket stuff before but it does not feel like it was this intense in the past.
  • Luckytwn1Luckytwn1 Posts: 513
    edited February 24
    Almost every major touring act receives a guarantee for each show they play (or in the case of LN buying out a tour, one lump sum for the entire tour, which was the case with the disastrous Arcade Fire Everything Now tour referenced above). I assume Pearl Jam is negotiating the same type of deals and if so, the number of tickets sold is a concern financially only for the promoter, not the band. One of the reasons artists are approving the use of platinum tickets is promoters are demanding the use of those tickets to minimize their risk when paying big guarantees.
    Post edited by Luckytwn1 on
  • demetriosdemetrios Posts: 92,978
    mikesbri said:
    the UEFA Euro is also going on in Germany, maybe taking away from the PJ plus high ticket costs.


    That's one big reason. Happening 14 June to 14 July.
  • willwallwillwall Posts: 16
    willwall said:
    I’m so happy that this has backfired on them. 

    Things that are ok in the US, doesn’t mean it’s ok to do here. 

    Manchester is 50% sold. London is easily less than 50% sold. You reap what you sow at the end of the day.

    Those saying it’s not the band and that they are entirely blameless are wrong. They’ll know what’s going on. At least Springsteen had the bottle to come out and own up to the Dynamic pricing and what he was doing. 

    Can see a lot of these shows being reduced or even on offer in a few weeks time.

    Where have you seen that the Manchester show is only 50% sold?
    Just from looking this morning when I wrote it. Just look at the seating map on TM
    Manchester 09, London 10, Manchester 12, IOW 12, Leeds 15, Milton Keynes 15, Amsterdam 18, Rome 18, London 22
  • LizJLizJ Posts: 355
    edited February 24
    I think the cheapest tickets for London were 160 £ when the TM sale started, right? Cheapest on TM are 125 £ now. So it seems same thing that’s happening for the Berlin shows is happening here now too. They are starting to sell the „not so good“ sections for less. 

    And I just checked on the prices for Barcelona and seats in the 300 sections are now 92 Euros. 
    Post edited by LizJ on
  • just_onejust_one Lisbon Posts: 2,202
    willwall said:
    willwall said:
    I’m so happy that this has backfired on them. 

    Things that are ok in the US, doesn’t mean it’s ok to do here. 

    Manchester is 50% sold. London is easily less than 50% sold. You reap what you sow at the end of the day.

    Those saying it’s not the band and that they are entirely blameless are wrong. They’ll know what’s going on. At least Springsteen had the bottle to come out and own up to the Dynamic pricing and what he was doing. 

    Can see a lot of these shows being reduced or even on offer in a few weeks time.

    Where have you seen that the Manchester show is only 50% sold?
    Just from looking this morning when I wrote it. Just look at the seating map on TM
    Dude stop spreading lies.

    Manchester is almost sold out. Only nosebleed seats in the upper seats are available for sale. Then theres a few premium seats and standing and thats it.
  • LizJ said:
    I think the cheapest tickets for London were 160 £ when the TM sale started, right? Cheapest on TM are 125 £ now. So it seems same thing that’s happening for the Berlin shows is happening here now too. They are starting to sell the „not so good“ sections for less. 

    And I just checked on the prices for Barcelona and seats in the 300 sections are now 92 Euros. 
    Upper tier/rear seats in London started at 125 and aren’t shifting. 
    50-75 they’ll sell

  • HaijayHaijay Posts: 388
    LizJ said:
    I think the cheapest tickets for London were 160 £ when the TM sale started, right? Cheapest on TM are 125 £ now. So it seems same thing that’s happening for the Berlin shows is happening here now too. They are starting to sell the „not so good“ sections for less. 

    And I just checked on the prices for Barcelona and seats in the 300 sections are now 92 Euros. 
    Upper tier/rear seats in London started at 125 and aren’t shifting. 
    50-75 they’ll sell

    They are moving a little now with the drop. But ya, get them down where they belong and they will be gone👍👍
  • willwallwillwall Posts: 16
    just_one said:
    willwall said:
    willwall said:
    I’m so happy that this has backfired on them. 

    Things that are ok in the US, doesn’t mean it’s ok to do here. 

    Manchester is 50% sold. London is easily less than 50% sold. You reap what you sow at the end of the day.

    Those saying it’s not the band and that they are entirely blameless are wrong. They’ll know what’s going on. At least Springsteen had the bottle to come out and own up to the Dynamic pricing and what he was doing. 

    Can see a lot of these shows being reduced or even on offer in a few weeks time.

    Where have you seen that the Manchester show is only 50% sold?
    Just from looking this morning when I wrote it. Just look at the seating map on TM
    Dude stop spreading lies.

    Manchester is almost sold out. Only nosebleed seats in the upper seats are available for sale. Then theres a few premium seats and standing and thats it.
    Thanks for the input. As I said, when I wrote the initial message that was what it was. 

    Why are you so defensive? Are you on commission for the band or just blind to any sense of your heroes now becoming the villains?

    The band have been greedy and it’s backfired on them. I for one am happy about that. When they usually come to Manchester it sells out instantly.

    Ever wondered why that’s not the case for this tour? Same for Barcelona, same for Berlin…..
    Manchester 09, London 10, Manchester 12, IOW 12, Leeds 15, Milton Keynes 15, Amsterdam 18, Rome 18, London 22
  • Air23Air23 Roma Posts: 1,376
    Well said, a band of greedy villains
  • Luckytwn1Luckytwn1 Posts: 513
    willwall said:
    just_one said:
    willwall said:
    willwall said:
    I’m so happy that this has backfired on them. 

    Things that are ok in the US, doesn’t mean it’s ok to do here. 

    Manchester is 50% sold. London is easily less than 50% sold. You reap what you sow at the end of the day.

    Those saying it’s not the band and that they are entirely blameless are wrong. They’ll know what’s going on. At least Springsteen had the bottle to come out and own up to the Dynamic pricing and what he was doing. 

    Can see a lot of these shows being reduced or even on offer in a few weeks time.

    Where have you seen that the Manchester show is only 50% sold?
    Just from looking this morning when I wrote it. Just look at the seating map on TM
    Dude stop spreading lies.

    Manchester is almost sold out. Only nosebleed seats in the upper seats are available for sale. Then theres a few premium seats and standing and thats it.
    Thanks for the input. As I said, when I wrote the initial message that was what it was. 

    Why are you so defensive? Are you on commission for the band or just blind to any sense of your heroes now becoming the villains?

    The band have been greedy and it’s backfired on them. I for one am happy about that. When they usually come to Manchester it sells out instantly.

    Ever wondered why that’s not the case for this tour? Same for Barcelona, same for Berlin…..
    Ticket sales today are not designed to sell out quickly. they are designed for maximizing revenue. The promoter and acts don't care if they have to drop the prices. Every sale at an elevated price is extra revenue and if eventually they have to drop the tickets substantially, they've still made much more than they would have if they had priced the show to sell out immediately.
  • SHZASHZA St. Louis, MO USA Posts: 3,957
    edited February 25
    An instant sell out is an indicator that prices were way too low 
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