promoter

Ticket sales: What the fans say

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There have been many other occasions on which some parts of the fans have been ranting – thinking of the RoxBox in particular, and some other releases as well as of course some tour problems. There is always something to complain about, but this time it seems the hardcore Roxers out there all think the same: This is a rip off and I won’t join in this time. So please, if you want it like this, no fans in the front rows or there at all.

We just collected some of the fans’ reactions that came on Facebook, have been written on the Roxette Official wall or have been posted in a “Roxette Tour Group” on Facebook. And yes, it’s all there: disappointment, anger, frustration, desperation, resignation – and over all the decision not to get on that ship and rather buy no tickets.

Tanja:

 it’s gettin’ insane! To pay a fortune just for front row in a standing section, which usually is occupied by hardcore fans, is now sold to snobs and hipsters!

Katja:

Rox in Halmstad was my biggest dream since many years, it never worked but 2015 it should come through. All was checked and planned: Babysitter, Holiday , Money – but now when i think about the reactions after the last shows and the prices for the different tickets, i don’t know if it is that worth i’m very sad and feel helpless at the moment.

Claudia:

With all these developments, I have just lost the interest in going at all. And I am sadly not the only one.

Maria:

I believe this is not really the aim of this Roxxxette 30th Anniversary; many of us hardcore fans have been making many efforts for the last years to follow you almost everywhere possible, we spent tons of money and time because we really enjoy and love being on tour with you but with this situation coming up, it’s becoming more and more difficult or at times impossible to be there for you, just a pity since this should be a tour for everybody but certainly also for all of us who have been there for you for such a long time!

Tina:

Maybe you should consider changing the name of the tour to “$$$ – The Rip-Off Tour”, seems much more fitting! I never thought I could be so disappointed in a band I’ve been a fan of for 20+ years… *sighs*

Marcelo:

This is so very sad. I WOULD pay a fortune to see you if I had the money, but I think it’s unfair to all your fans/supporters throughout the world. We were there for you when Roxette returned. We gladly paid all we had in our wallets to see our Queen and King of Swedish pop music throughout the Neverending Tour, but it was AFFORDABLE. This is NOT affordable, it’s so freaking EXPENSIVE! I humbly ask you to review this issue and reconsider what can be reconsidered. We are always waiting for you, but I’m afraid 90% of us won’t make it this time around.

Neil:

Unfortunately this is the way ticket sales work these days, especially with live nation as a promoter as this is the way they work. They probably didn’t have all these packages last time as they didn’t know how many tickets they would sell, but now they see that Roxette still have great selling power they will chance their luck. I understand peoples frustrations, but in reality moaning to Per will achieve very little, as he will have very little to do with setting ticket prices. They will have a contract with live nation and will be paid a certain amount and it is live nations job to make that money back and make a profit for themselves. Even if Per wasn’t aware and complained to live nation it would be too late to change anything, as as soon as these tickets are sold, you can’t go back and tell these people they can’t be at the front, even though they paid a premium for it. For me personally, it does mean I will go to a few less gigs. If I go abroad for a concert I want to be at the front, and there are only so many early entry tickets I can afford….especially so close to Xmas. Also disappointed that I don’t have tickets to london yet, and I might not be able to get very good tickets, especially since that venue is an hour away from my house…..but that’s life!

Tim:

I laugh at the people who say ” If you don’t like it then don’t buy it” because that’s the easiest way out of the argument. It takes ZERO brain power to come up with that. For me I don’t care to be up front because I miss the ” big picture” of the concert. I love a wide view. Ticket prices are high because we as consumers set them high. Stop buying pricey tickets and the market will go down. It’s that simple. Two examples where I live was when the Rolling Stones played in LA and prices were outrageous! $400.00 got you back of the arena and the nose bleeds cost $200.00. People were pissed didn’t buy and for the first time the Stones didn’t sell out the arena. Weeks before the show they cut the prices from 200.00 to 80.00 and 400.00 to 150.00. That’s when they sold out. The same thing happened to the Who. They over priced their last tour 2 years ago and people didn’t show up. The had to use a discount ticket company to sell tickets at 60% to 75% off face value. For their 50th year tour in 2015 they price tickets at affordable prices and people are back.

Sandra:

Having been to 184 Rox/Per/Marie/GT gigs I have to say I was never as dissapointed as with the actual ticket selling policy.

First lots of presales where the good places couldn’t be bought or people haven’t been informed that other tickets with Early Entrance will pop up later which didn’t gave them a chance to chose because they didn’t knew all terms. And then prices where I choked when I first saw them.

380,-€ for a hot seat (=front of stage) in UK. 200,-€ for one in Paris and in Sweden Early Entrance tix for around 150,-€ and 169,-€ for Amsterdam????

Is that the way to treat the devoted fans for their loyalty and support throughout the years??? And of course the hardcore Roxers are the aim with that policy because no one else than them would be willing to pay a lot of their well saved money for this opportunity: to see their beloved idols as close as possible.

Now I also have to reconsider what concerts I will go to because I simply can’t afford it. And travelling through Europe to go to concerts with rhich people in the front who don’t need to care about money but who also don’t know how to party and sing along is nothing I want to see. That’s why the average ticket to a lower price is useless for me and many other hardcores. Then I also rather skip those concerts and try to find some with normal ticket policy instead.

I planned to go to 24 gigs. 10 are already crossed out now (so far). Unfortunately also Sweden which is a pitty since I love to be there and have vacation combined with some concerts. But 150,-€ x4 plus vacation is nothing I could afford and imo it’s also not worth it. I guess that’s the point where my support ends. I am no gold donkey for anyone. Sad about this development. Really. But I hope you will still have fun at your concerts with some familiar faces in the front.. if there are any left.

J:

I had planned fix 5 shows, with about 5-10 more ‘probably’. I think it will be just 4 in the end, which solves the problem with some ‘conflicts’ I had regarding number of holidays etc.

Usually one celebrates an anniversary with the ones one loves/likes, family and friends who are around for good and bad, this seems to have become a party for VIPs only, well, have fun, without many of us.
I have never seen so MANY angry fans before. Sad but true.

Funny how, after the concerts in NY and Boston I had the feeling something had ended, or a book had closed. I remember Per messing up Things will never be the same in Boston, the last I saw, and though that may be a funny sign. Well.

If you don’t like it – don’t go: A ticket price rant..

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This is just a blog post, WARNING, no news included.

In the middle of the ticket presales that started this week the fans have been surprised by not so nice things. One of the “things” popping up was an issue already months ago when the ticket sales in Australia started. Australian fans were – let’s say – surprised when they found out that the prices for tickets in the front rows were high above what they were willing to pay. A check today made clear the prices never changed, even though many fans complained about them on Facebook, Twitter, official sites and elsewhere. So, a “hot seat package”, which probably means you have a “hot seat” in front of the stage costs around 212 Euro. And then there is a “VIP package” which costs around 280 Euro. And of course, there are normal tickets – even in the front row, if you are lucky enough to get them. In the end that means that someone who paid 90 Euro could easily set next to somebody who paid 212 – a really bad thing and a trend that cannot be stopped it seems since there are always some people out there who pay every price they have to. For those who want to see more than one show it’s even harder.

However, prices in that range were hardly imaginable in Europe, but today we learned better. A front row seat for the show London costs around 380 Euro and a ticket for the also seated show in Paris is around 200 Euro. But this is not the only problem regarding the ticket issue. Many fans wondered why there are “exclusive presales” when it’s not possible to book and buy the best possible seats. This problem showed up for the show in Mainz (seated show, tickets costs 86 Euro which is pretty much for Germany and starting from row 3) and Paris (tickets from row 7 only). So yes, the question is: Why exactly do they offer an “exclusive presale” when it’s not possible to get the best tickets? Who else but hardcore fans buy tickets on an “exclusive presale”? Seriously?

A quick poll among fans showed what even hardcore fans are willing to pay. The German Roxette fan site Planet Roxette asked their users on Facebook about that. Many would definitely pay more for their favourite band but then buy less tickets and see less shows. For the German fans 80 Euro seems to be the magic limit. Compared to let’s say Romania this isn’t much. The tickets for the Romanian show cost 60 Euro, but please keep the ticket price-salary relation in mind. 200 Euro for a ticket is about 1/6 of a monthly average salary. 60 Euro in Romania are 1/7.

Another short story from yesterday/today. The Swedish presale via coop and comviq yesterday didn’t include the possibility to book tickets with an “early entrance” option. Today suddenly this option appears – for some extra 90 Euro. We wonder: What happened to the numbering system? Is it really all because of the money? And why is it necessary to totally rip off the fans?

Throughout the day many fans were clearly irritated about the increasing prices for concerts, prices which are not much longer affordable.  In the end, it’s pretty easy: “If you can’t afford it, don’t buy it. If you don’t want to afford it, don’t buy a ticket.” But maybe it’s not that easy in this case. Many fans save their money for concert tickets for months, waiting for this one concert, this only chance to see their favorite band on stage. Everybody in this world should be able to do so. It’s clear that this is not Roxette’s fault but certainly a big fault of the promoters. Or maybe really their intention. In the end it means that at least some foreign fans don’t travel to Swedish Liverpool, because they are not willing to pay 190 Euro to stand in the front.

Just a short note: The German promoter Marek Lieberberg blocked the two front rows for the Mainz concert for themselves – no chance for fans to get in the front row. And not many people are willing to pay 86 Euro for a third row ticket.

This feels wrong. It probably shouldn’t be like that – neither the prices nor the way the agencies deal with the tickets they give away.

UPDATE, November 14th:

This is getting more and more absurd. Not only in Mainz but also in London the front rows are already blocked for American Express customers. So it says on the website: “”American Express Invites® Reserved Tickets.” If this is the future of pop concerts, then no, I don’t want to be part of it anymore.