Ticket prices: rant

[Glamourpuss 29,062]

23 minutes ago, Haroon said:

Is it a sin to want to earn more from aspects of your job though?  Rich people have higher expenditures so it's natural that they'll need larger amounts of money to continue living how they are. By all means take a stand and don't purchase the ticket, if enough people disagree with the ticket prices then the shows won't be selling out and earning as much as they are, but clearly there are enough people who are okay with parting with their money for shows that have high ticket prices

Movies may still be making millions and breaking box office records but that doesn't mean illegal downloads should be okay or ignored (I download illegally sometimes and I'm aware of the risks and negatives of my behaviour ), that is money that should've gone towards people involved with the movie. Just because a movie has earned a lot and actors/producers/etc have recieved a hefty amount from it that doesn't mean they don't deserve the full amount. I disagree with the mentality that's like "meh they're rich anyway, what's not having a bit more going to change?", it's not your earnings so it's not your place to determine whether someone needs it or not (general "you", not you specifically).

I saw that you used Gaga during TMB as an example before but I think that's apples and oranges because that was quite a few years ago and she doesn't charge those same prices now. Same with Madonna when she was newer and same with Taylor Swift when she was newer and so on so forth  At the end of the day, what's "worth it" depends on the consumer and shouldn't be for others to dictate

When is it going to end though? Everyone else could increase their tickets to Madonna prices and Madonna could increase hers by an extra hundred or two and we'll just accept it. Like I said earlier, our salaries aren't increasing but the cost of living is changing dramatically. I know that attending a show is seen as a luxury but it's just not fair for the fans that have supported from the start, buying singles, buying albums, merch, etc and then get slapped with an extortionate price. 

I already said that I don't think we should get things for free so I don't know why you felt you need to explain about the movie analogy because I've said multiple times that art should be paid for. 

Fair enough Gaga was just starting out when she charged those prices but those prices were pretty much average for everyone at the time. I still believe that she is the only one apart from legendary artists who can get away with charging large amounts. 

[monster4life231 4,304]

I had to buy mine on viagogo which are really overpriced.

[littlepotter 72,847]

nothing could ever convince me that people who sing deserve to make millions of dollars a night while the rest of the population suffers

[DontDoubtDavid 1,181]

Tours are also incredibly expensive to maintain. All the props, effects, and traveling must be ridiculously expensive. Depending on the expected audience size, they have to charge enough to at least break-even and then some (for income for all involved). I think the prices are fair most of the time. The only prices that frustrate me are meet and greets because the prices are many times way overinflated imho.

[Eddie A Michael 362]

Well, it’s a business, so it follows supply and demand. Not a charity. 

[MeloArtDramaPop 789]

Im amazed that concert tickets in the us are around 100-200 dollars. In my country, for someone like Gaga or Taylor, the vip is around 400-500 dollars

[StrawberryBlond 13,286]

I don't really care how rich an artist's audience is - I believe they shouldn't overcharge. Their show should cost the price that suits what they're providing. If they can sing live, sing well, play instruments and sing all original material, maybe even dances, along with having a really visually entertaining show, they can charge a bit higher than usual, to a point. But once we start hitting the 100 mark, they've gone too far. But if they lipsynch or rely too much on backing track, can't sing well, don't play instruments, sing songs they didn't write/covers, can't dance and don't even have an interesting stage, then they should keep prices down. Some acts that have lots of young fans (Ariana Grande, Shawn Mendes, 5SOS, etc) are known to have cheaper tickets, as befits the limited funds of their demographic but usually, it doesn't make much of a difference, they'll still make parents pay through the nose. And I really think that's wrong. When your fanbase is of an age that cannot work, of course the pressure is on the parents to pay whatever price to please their little darlings who won't stop going on about this concert. I don't think it's right to take advantage of that to bankrupt the parents. Personally, when I was growing up, I wasn't allowed to concerts and no way would they have shelled out for an expensive ticket anyway but times have changed. Now kids are expecting this, so parents are feeling the pressure to comply to keep them quiet. And yes, I understand that some acts have a huge production (which requires backup dancers, props, a lot of stage crew and huge planes and buses to transport all this) and therefore have to charge a bit more to cover the costs. But in that case, they need to tone the show down a bit. The audience don't need sculptures as tall as the sky and a set that's so big it can only fit in a stadium in order to enjoy a concert. The MB tour had a small, standard set and I loved that show. Artists just get caught up in the superficial now and want to outdo each other by being bigger and better and then, oh! now this makes the show really expensive to put on, so we'll have to hike up prices! I know their game.

It may be a business, but I believe that this shouldn't be at odds with being ethical.