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.
