Just curious now the dust is settling, how much damage do people think the ticket pricing and Hyde Park fiasco do to the Stones relationship with their fans?

I was offended but not surprised by the prices, I concluded (rightly or wrongs) a while ago they were mostly in it for the money and didn't respect their fans much. But what do others think?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-07-16 12:04 by sonomastone.

Zero in my opinion.

The whole thing about prices, they want keep their status... number 1 band then, they want be treated like the number 1 in the payement, nothing more.

People pay much more for a good football (basketball or other kind of sport) match, people pay more for a normal festival of music with a lot of bands, people pay a lot more for a lot of things..... I prefer 2 hours with the Stones than 3 days in a festival with bands I don´t know.... I prefer 2 hours with the Stones than 2 hours seen to Messi and Cristiano in the same match.... or seen to Vettel, Hamilton etc.

People talk about of shit about the Stones and the prices, but forgot about the rest of things than they pay....

Just a difference between Stones and the rest, they give everything in their shows, nobody can doubt it.

And hey, I´m the kind of 1000 euros salary guy who need to quit off a lot of things in my life for go to the shows. But I know what I get... satisfaction guaranteed.

I think £95 was fine for HP, we had the chance to come further up front than we eventually did. But that is about how much I am able to pay, especially if I want to see more shows. Which I of course do! FOS totally up front would be great, never had that. I would of course expect to pay more for that, if needed...

That said, ticket prices are unfortunately rather high in general these days. For sports events, concerts, entertainment of all kinds. I do wish it was not so, as I would afford much more than I do if it was cheaper. But I suppose that is what it´s like nowadays.

Zero as previously written.
For the US shows you got the 85$ chance or you waited outside the doors and got a very good seat quite under face value. If you were desparete beforehand you went for the expensive go.
If they continue there will be mostlikely the same mix as with the US shows this year.

None whatsoever.

We might not like it but it's par for the course these days.

The money in the music business now has to be made on stage as there's no longer any real money in the recording studio.

0.00% damage

Any damage comes from the fact they set a new precedent. That & I don't see how variable pricing for the same seats is good. Someone could pay $300 for a seat & end up sitting next to someone who paid $100. Doesn't seem fair. I don't blame the Stones though. The onus goes on the promoters. Similar things are going on with seats to baseball games, etc. As I understand the HP model, that seemed fair.

The promoters copied this ticket pricing strategy from the Airlines. They have been doing it for a long time. They put all tickets up at high prices and as the flight date gets closer they lower the prices to fill the plane. This works for them because of the limited number of seats on a plane. My feeling is if the Stones decide to do more shows the fans will just wait for the ticket prices to go down. I sat in my $600.00 seat in Boston next to a couple that bought their tickets a few days before the show for $300.00. I can assure you I won't do that again!

No effect. As Grison says, those with $$ who want certainty will fork out when the tickets go on sale and those with fewer $$ and/or nerves of steel will hang on in there for the later "bargains".

I don't know if it did any damage really, can't say I was surprised when ticket prices were announced. Plus, in the US they did the $85 seat thing. That being said, personally I wouldn't spend much more than £100 max on seeing a band. I paid £90 in 2006 for Twickenham and £95 for Hyde Park this year and thought that was good value. Paying £300 for any band is crazy IMO, even the Stones.

I guess the reason for higher prices was fewer tour dates in smaller venues than the last tour. Didn't want to do as many dates but wanted a similar paycheck. Plus, as ticket prices have soared up in the last couple of years I guess they figured they could get away with it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-07-16 14:12 by Seb91.

They damaged themselves...promotors won't pay them as much as AEG did anymore.. and that's good for us, hopefully

...or maybe I should say they damaged AEG



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-07-16 14:26 by Harm.

I think it did a lot of damage when it comes to attracting music fans in general. People who want to have a good time without having the feeling they are being robbed.
Went to the Werchter Classic festival last saturday (Stones played it in 2003), with Bruce & E-street band as top of the bill. Carlos Santana and Ben Harper were 2 of the other acts. cost me €83, general admission. Went there on time and got a wristband for the pit. Boss & co played their hearts out for nearly 3 hours! I had a whole day of music and good times for €83.
I love the Stones music more then anyones, But I wont go to their concerts with these prices. If I did I'd have to go alone, because none of my friends would be mad enough to spend over €125 to see one band doing the same act they've done fore 20 years now, and I have to agree with them.
But it's good to still have the choice.

yes, zero. It ws a big deal for awhile; it has long since disappeared as an issue.

none for the stones

a LOT if you buy tickets in the future as other acts will do the same and we will all pay even more for tickets...

Macca,Bruce,The Who and many other top acts keep the tix prices to a reasonable level.
O.K. you can get the soundcheck,platinum,hospitality and other premium tickets and packages,but anyone is able to get a lower price ticket.
The $85 tix for The Stones was a great idea,but you take yer chances.
Let's see what happens next with the forthcoming European Tour.

"They damaged themselves...promotors won't pay them as much as AEG did anymore.. and that's good for us, hopefully... ...or maybe I should say they damaged AEG"

Harm, with respect, but all this talk about the promoters being terriffied of the Stones is just ludicrus. Before tour's start, AEG expected gross between 4$ and $5 million per show, as company's deputies had stated. This would be a good gross level for AEG - unless anyone believes that the company did the estimates without counding what the Stones were asking as guerantee...

And finally, on the northamerican leg of the tour the average gross per show was $4,860, 855! Close to the MAXIMUM of AEG's expectations...

How the hell could promoters be displeased?

Zero

Quote
crawdaddy
Macca,Bruce,The Who and many other top acts keep the tix prices to a reasonable level.
O.K. you can get the soundcheck,platinum,hospitality and other premium tickets and packages,but anyone is able to get a lower price ticket.
The $85 tix for The Stones was a great idea,but you take yer chances.
Let's see what happens next with the forthcoming European Tour.

Yeah, and also Roger Waters' Wall shows aren't/weren't crazily expensive and that show must cost a fortune to put on.

I guess it boils down to the fact that they charge those prices because they can. If no one bought them then they wouldn't.

Still, if they do the UK again I'll be seeing them in the nosebleeds no doubt, I don't think the prices will change all that much.

Business damage : none.

Image damage : significant.

I mentioned elsewhere that at the start of the tour the ticket prices generated a lot of bad will from what i could see. However, the high quality they delivered on this tour seemed to cancel that out. If they'd been crap they could have done some serious damage to their reputation but they didn't. Given their respective ages and physical condition they were frequently shit hot and that largely left arguments about ticket prices in the dust.
Speaking as a Beatles fan you Stones fans are extremely lucky. The fabs (probably) would never have been as good if they were all still around because their music is so vocal dependent.
I really hope the Stones (+ a more involved Taylor) embark on another tour in a few months. If i can afford it i'll be going.

For me personally, plenty. First time since 1981 I didn't go see them.

Interesting perspective, ASH, coming from a Beatles fan. I'm a Beatles fan too...never felt the need to hide that fact although many Stones fans seem to think they MUST hate the Beatles....I agree that the quality of their performances was mind-blowing really...not even considering the age factor...take age right out of the equation. The Stones KICKED ASS! This fact shut up a lot of folks who were appalled at ticket prices. I still did feel staggered by the $600+ price but admit to feeling less terrible about paying it after witnessing their shows...3 times on this recent tour...wish I had gone to a few more.
I also did not honestly expect their shows to suffer in the quality department because I rely on the fact that Mick is such a PRO that he would never risk being an embarrassment. My only complaint was not utilizing the incredible talent that Mick Taylor has....2 songs was barely a taste. I saw 3 tunes one night and I was left wanting so much more!

Been seeing every tour at leaast once since 1989..
Been buying every new and compilation album, official book concert DVD and/or film doc since before that.

I didn't buy GRRR! Why? I have every song on it multiple times, except the two new ones - which suck.
I didn't even bother to try to see The Stones this year. Why? I've seen the tour before in it's many incarnations of samenes. Yes, seeing Mick Taylor would have been cool, but not $600 cool, and I wasn't going to bother to drive to Montreal to risk the $85 lottery, miss work, and get to see the same $%&*ing songs I've seen before - except the new ones - which really suck.
I didn't buy that 50 Anniversary book. I MAY have bought some kind of 10-year supplement for the 40th anni book that I have - which is pretty much the same freaking book - again.

By the post_Bigger Bang 5-year lull, I was already pretty much done with them and their cash-grabbing ways. Not being impressed with either the Bigger Band album OR having to spend $350 in 2005 for the exact same seating spot as 1994 (which was $60), A 2nd 4-dics DVD set (not that different from 4 Flicks), and the whole Shine A Light On The Fake Hot Fans We Hired fiaso nearly pulled me out of fandom completely. Then Keith wrote a book on why he hates Mick, and I realize that they haven`t functioned as an honest band for nearly 30 years.

The next couple of years were strage though... I WAS into the bonus tracks from Exile and Some Girls, and I was RIGHT into the bootleg series (minus the dismal 2005 club show and the 1982 one I didn`t even bother with).

THen GRRR! came... adn the announcements for the tour. Then the pirces for this tour. "Are you $%&*ing KIDDING me???"

I don't listen to or watch them much at all anymore, I don't even like covering them at pub shows. The ONLY thing I do relatively Stonesy these days is post here. As a fan, I'm OUT.

Why do I post here still?
The same reason why atheists call religion on its BS to help wash away the brainwashing hype out of peoples eyes and ears. It's poison, just as The Stones are poison to the music industry.

[thepowergoats.com]

jamesfdouglas, it seems like you think that the planet turns round yourself...

No damage. There were tickets available for the rich and poor.

jamesfdouglas:

I agree wholeheartedly. I've been following them since 1976 and seem to be in the minority here about being totally pissed off and turned off by the way this last year went down. Pathetic, souless cash grab. Crappy duets with lightweights. Taylor on only two songs. Uninspired setlists.

The Stones died in 1981 but the corpse still twitches.

Pathetic viewpoint Spod, for one on a STONES BOARD!

I can't even imagine why anyone would take time out of their lives to post at length on the board of a band they don't even like, except--oh yeah . . .

To whom?

It's the Stones, mannnn. They used to piss anywhere. Now they charge anywhere.