No wonder so many are in financial woe.

What gets lost in modern fandom is the event is expensive itself ie tickets, food, concessions etc. but many travel around the country to see big events or follow a team or celebrity like a cult which means travel expenses on top of that.

I know some who did that off and on a few times a year. It caught up to them with a bankruptcy 2 decades later. They were coy but one of the events had scalped tickets going for 2k each. They always wanted to be part of the action or party. They also went through a period where they seem to make all the big local concerts along with regular sporting events. Fandom was their life.

I remember when one could stand in line for a big event like Black Friday shoppers and actually get tickets. As soon as these sports teams started putting up new stadiums and arenas is when ticket prices started surging. Online sales also made locals compete with out of towners not in driving distance to go stand in line.

Most of my concerts were Saturday night bar bands and used to balk at cover charges.
 

Nothing to do with concerts, but the other day I was in line in a convenience store and an old man in front of the line was trying to pay for something with his credit card. The store clerk handed the card back to him saying. "I'm sorry but your card has been declined." He asked the clerk to try swiping it a second time but same story. Card declined. I felt so bad for him I wanted to offer to pay for whatever he needed but he left the store so dejected looking, I wondered if I would make him feel worse? The economy is terrible and I feel horrible seeing things like this. 😥
 
chic said:
Nothing to do with concerts, but the other day I was in line in a convenience store and an old man in front of the line was trying to pay for something with his credit card. The store clerk handed the card back to him saying. "I'm sorry but your card has been declined." He asked the clerk to try swiping it a second time but same story. Card declined. I felt so bad for him I wanted to offer to pay for whatever he needed but he left the store so dejected looking, I wondered if I would make him feel worse? The economy is terrible and I feel horrible seeing things like this. 😥
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It isn't always the card with a problem ... those machines have issues at times, and just quit working properly.
Some clerks just can't be bothered with it.

I've had my perfectly good credit card get declined ... and I demand they figure out THEIR problem ... and surprise! they do.
 
Lewkat said:
Yet people will rush out to buy the latest iphone for a couple of thousand dollars or more. How in heaven's name does the average joe afford this?
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Like ads I've seen for phones- at first glance they don't seem expensive.. til you notice that's only what it costs PER MONTH for a couple of YEARS!!!
To each their own, but I think it's ridiculous.
 
Here’s an explanation for the dynamic pricing that many performers are using.

Superstars like Swift are increasingly using "dynamic pricing" that shifts ticket prices constantly like airline seats. But is it the future of the industry?
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Swift has adopted “dynamic pricing,” where concert tickets – like airline seats – shift prices constantly in adjusting to market demand. It’s a move intended to squeeze out the secondary-ticket market – but it’s also left many fans confused as they’re asked to pay hundreds of dollars more than face value. “Basically, Ticketmaster is operating as StubHub,” says one concert-business source.
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Source: https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/ne...-brilliant-business-or-slowing-demand-630218/
 
Alligatorob said:
Why not? Its just business, supply and demand.

If there is fault to be placed, it should be on the consumer who is willing to spend this kind of money for such a thing...
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That was one of my thoughts- maybe the tickets were genuine and their original prices.. if people weren't batty enough to fork over that amount of money, ticket prices would start to come down to something more reasonable.
 
Back when we were attending concerts, artists made most of their money from recording contracts and if they were lucky, album sales. Concerts were just a way to promote the artist and the record that may have just been released. That business model no longer exists and most artists now make their money from concert revenue and the merchandise sold at the concerts. I would not pay that much for any artist but apparently the demand is there for it.
 
I was curious as to why people would spend that much money to see a pop star, so I read an article written by a Taylor Swift fan. She explained that the appeal is not so much the performance; she was excited about being there with 1,000s of other Taylor Swift fans, all singing along to the hits. So it was more about the party than the entertainment. They could probably accomplish the same thing with a DJ playing her hits.

Maybe that's a statement about how much the world sucks right now that it's worth it to pay 100s of dollars for an escape from the doldrums.
 
Lewkat said:
Yet people will rush out to buy the latest iphone for a couple of thousand dollars or more. How in heaven's name does the average joe afford this?
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As many that do it even companies like Apple people aren't rushing to buy the latest as fast as they did in the past. Part of it is competition in price & features but that still comes down it became too expensive for many
 
I pretty much stopped listening to music when it all
went to video's, cd's, etc....so only one "concert" was
Little Jimmy Dickens LOL!!!!! Would not, could not pay
a bunch of money to stand in middle of hundreds of
other screaming folks...not my thing....
 
I would pay good money to not have to attend a Taylor Swift concert.
hawkdon said:
I pretty much stopped listening to music when it all
went to video's, cd's, etc....so only one "concert" was
Little Jimmy Dickens LOL!!!!! Would not, could not pay
a bunch of money to stand in middle of hundreds of
other screaming folks...not my thing....
Click to expand...
May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your...you know the rest. Little Jimmy Dickens, haven't heard that one in a long time. Back when AM radio was so much fun, you would hear a song like that, followed by Frank Sinatra, then the Beatles, then the Supremes...
 
Think those prices were bad? McCartney did a recent tour, front row was $6K.

Jeff Lynne of ELO fame came through Portland, OR. $1,175 front row. $65 nosebleeds....
 
I paid $17 to watch a Credence Clearwater Revival concert. In my living room! Of course, it is on Netflix, so I have to put up with their piece of %$#@! app, but WOO-HOOoo! It's gonna be great!

I'm saving it for my birthday. :)
 
hawkdon said:
I pretty much stopped listening to music when it all
went to video's, cd's, etc....so only one "concert" was
Little Jimmy Dickens LOL!!!!! Would not, could not pay
a bunch of money to stand in middle of hundreds of
other screaming folks...not my thing....
Click to expand...
Last concert I saw was in a stadium and the acoustics made it meaningless. I think a lot of people just want to say they were there or saw such and such.

Some especially decades ago may have wanted to score drugs at a concert. I've been to some big mega events when I was alot younger and that was enough for me.

I can't even tolerate the experience of going to routine sporting events. Sitting in traffic for half hour or so in parking lot waiting to leave is just a fraction of the time and expense that make one really question what they are doing.
 
JimBob1952 said:
I would pay good money to not have to attend a Taylor Swift concert.

May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your...you know the rest. Little Jimmy Dickens, haven't heard that one in a long time. Back when AM radio was so much fun, you would hear a song like that, followed by Frank Sinatra, then the Beatles, then the Supremes...
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And if you recall ... you could call the station & request a song.

My sister wore out the dial on the phone doing that.
 
Took my son and two of his friends to see R.E.M. for his 16th birthday at Jones Beach. I think the tickets were $50. That was a long time ago, no more concerts for me.
 
Yes, concert tickets are very high but at the same time it is a once in a lifetime opportunity for many. I am more surprised at the cost of paying tickets for a sporting event. I am not talking about a Super Bowl ticket or a ticket to the World Cup, I am talking about tickets to a regular season ticket to a sporting event which can also be viewed on TV. Some of the prices are outrageous.
 
MarkinPhx said:
Yes, concert tickets are very high but at the same time it is a once in a lifetime opportunity for many. I am more surprised at the cost of paying tickets for a sporting event. I am not talking about a Super Bowl ticket or a ticket to the World Cup, I am talking about tickets to a regular season ticket to a sporting event which can also be viewed on TV. Some of the prices are outrageous.
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So true. Some years DH & I go to Phoenix for a few days to take in some Spring Training games. Inexpensive tickets for great seats, reasonable or free parking, and food prices that don't break the bank. Same is true of going to UCLA men's baseball and women's softball games.

The last concert we saw was Jeff Lynne (ELO) just before the pandemic. Can't remember how much the tix were, but it was somewhere around $100. He's good, but stiff with the audience.

About 5 years ago we saw Metallica (Hardwired to Self Destruct tour). Tix were about $85, sat with our kids, and enjoyed a ROCKING concert. I'd definitely lay down money to see them again.
 
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