Empty Seats High Ticket Prices Bad Economy
 

I know this is a tired subject but I thought I would weigh in
after hearing that there were thousands of unsold tickets in
New York last night.
With the quality of the performances lately - there is no reason
why these shows shouldn't be sell outs.
So I have to blame it on the absurdly high ticket prices
in a historically bad economy.
Why is it that I can get excellent seats for $80 or less to see
Wilco or Bruce Springsteen - the two other amazing American
bands on the road this summer.
$179 for the best sections is ridiculous in this economy.
I can afford that, but clearly thousands of fans couldn't.

I would love to see the band do a tour in smaller venues.
If an arena tour means 200 dollar tickets, I'll stick with Wilco
this summer.

one of the most xpensive tickets i've ever paid for was last night at MSG..checked ticketmaster day of show and 2nd and 3rd row are just waiting to be bought..Bruce tries to keep them always at the same price but this summer def has alot of crazy prices

The reason why there were thousands of unsold tickets last night is because FM had NO business doing a repeat trip to the market (and at MSG of all places) so soon. (between the poor MSG sales and the AC near-abortion, its obvious why they didn't add the egregiously bad pre-planned Holmdel gig) Its the most expensive venue in the country to play with all the overhead/union bull****, and they lost big $$$.

Of course, Fleetwood Mac needs their $800K g'tee. If they lowered their demands, maybe last night's show could have been a raucous sold out crowd at Radio City Music Hall. The point is- they need their fee. They don't want to play smaller venues- they would rather stay home. They would rather play to 1/3rd-1/2 empty houses (with the upper level completely curtained) than lower themselves to playing 2500-3000 seaters.

I'm surprised there wasn't some discounting going on for MSG like some of the other shows.

I don't necessarily think it's the pricing, cause in a bunch of markets you could have seen the show for probably 30 or 40 bucks with the fees included... I mean if you are stuck for cash and can't afford the top price, 30 or 40 is really reasonable I think....

I'm one of those who could fork out $179 for tickets if I wanted to, but won't, because I have higher priorities right now in this crappy economy. There are MANY other bands that I could see this summer who are not charging these ridiculous prices for tickets. I've never had less respect for FM than I have right now. It just sickens me that fans have to pay for this bands' pampered lifestyle. Where's the gratitude at from this high maintenance, money grabbing machine we call FLEETWOOD MAC? It disgusts me!!

There is none ..that is why even though I could have afforded it I sat out both bay area shows..I did have ambigious feelings about going for awhile although the "greatest hits" abomination did sicken me from the get-go.They have sunk to the depths of the money grubbing Eagles no doubt.

I totally agree.
I went to the box office right at show time just to see what
was available. I didn't go for the incredible single tickets
available because the prices were really offensive to me.
I think I just also have grown to hate arena shows.

Instead I walked down 7th Ave, went to Whole Foods and spent
$25 on some groceries, and called it a night.

I think I was hoping for a little of the magic from the
1979 Tusk tour shows in NY. But I just felt almost gluttonous
paying those prices.

Fleetwood Mac needs to make music their priority again.
Lose the predictable greatest hits setlist and get out of the arenas!
Neko Case, Animal Collective, Wilco, Spoon...
Too much good music happening right now.

I understand your frustration but if this turns out to be the last Fleetwood Mac Tour you just might wish that you had went. It really is a very good live show, sequenced perfectly. And just watching Lindsey's energy and enthusiasum(did I spell that right??) is amazing.

Plus, all this bitching is a little hollow. In all venues, there are tickets for $50 or so $$$ or less. Some have been about $20, which I suggest is affordable to almost all and if you can't afford $20, you shouldn't be going in the first place as you likely are struggling to put food on your table. What people are really bitching about is they want to sit on the front row for $20 :shrug:

As for the tour making money, it seems to me that Live Nation, et al, have lots of people who figure out the state of the economy, the draw of FM, etc., and work the numbers through that economic model. In other words, the price point of profitability of the show is not based on 100% occupancy :shrug:

I agree - I would have just agreed with you, but I did not see your post :cool:

Then why did they play the similarly sized sheds on the SYW tour and some of The Dance :shrug: I suspect they would have on this tour, but it started too early for many of the sheds.

I'm not bitching about sitting in even a DECENT seat for $20 or even $50, I just want it to be reasonably priced, like a lot of other GOOD bands offer. I don't begrudge anyone seeing FM on tour this time around. I'm sure they put on an excellent show. If you want to pay that much for tickets and can afford it, more power to you.

I thought the prices were a bit high, BUT I couldn't pass up seeing them. I went to 1 of the Chicago shows, paid $200.00 for that ticket, then went to Vegas and paid $385.00 for that one. :shocked: The Vegas seat was worth it tho, I would have liked the seat to be front row for that price, but :shrug:, it was great anyways !! In Vegas I was REALLY close to Lindsey, so it was well worth it to me! :lol:

The point is if you want to see them and are short of cash, you can and any argument to the contrary (which is not your argument above) is bogus. You are complaining that you can't sit in a decent (subjective) seat for a decent (subjective) price. I suggest that the subjective nature of that test can never satisfy everyone. But, i agree with you in that I wish seats were less expensive overall and at all levels.

On edit - I have to wonder if anyone here would actually volunteer to work for less than they thought they were worth. How many people have actually gone to their bosses and said "You know - this company makes a product that benefits the world - so lower my salary by half." I suggest none or very few think that way. So, IMO it is ridiculous to fault FM for asking what the market says the price should be :shrug: Thus, I go back to my argument that most people are moaning and groaning because they want to sit in a better seat for less, not because they actually were priced out of going, though some may have been as $20 or so is a lot of $$$ these days for many.

More than the price, the whole scam with the brokers upsets me more. I wish, if we were all at our computers logging into Ticketmaster at 10 a.m. when they went on sale, that we would all have an equal chance to get great seats.

It's maddening that we have to wait days before the concert to see tickets released to the "normal" people when they never should have been held back in the first place. That injustice puts me off more than anything else, especially when I read that Azoff and, by proxy, Fleetwood Mac are benefitting from it.

As for the prices, they don't bother me. I was laughing looking at old interviews when the journalists were questioning Mick about exorbitant $40 tickets. It's just a sign of the times.

Michele