The ticket business is a microcosm of the oligarchy we live in. It isn't an accident that wages have fallen way below the cost of living rates. It's not fair but its the mess we have. I have to spend a lot of money to see the Stones, but in this mess, I'd rather they get the money.

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TornAndFried
For reference, the AVERAGE ticket price for the Stones 2012 show at the Barclays Center in NYC was around $525 which was a record for an arena show by anyone up to that point.

I'm embarrassed to admit how much I paid for a ticket at the Prudential Center in 2012, and it wasn't even in the best section!

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latebloomer

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TornAndFried
For reference, the AVERAGE ticket price for the Stones 2012 show at the Barclays Center in NYC was around $525 which was a record for an arena show by anyone up to that point.

I'm embarrassed to admit how much I paid for a ticket at the Prudential Center in 2012, and it wasn't even in the best section!

Don’t worry I did the same thing. But I did get a blanket with it.

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MileHigh
Check out the pure magic with Rod Stewart doing Maggie May at the Royal Albert Hall in 2003. With guest guitarist Ronnie Wood.

[youtu.be]

This is the kind of thing the Stones fans need for a last hurrah. Not watching TV from a mile away. They don't need the money.

Also, have online ticket sales only with some kind of algorithm to give everybody a fair shot. Just one portal, no multi-level marketing crap.

That's an excellent DVD to get. Nice to see Ron guest star but the star of that vid is J'anna Jacoby playing the mandolin. She also plays violin. She is still part of Rod's band, saw him last year.

I'm in the stadium camp if the alternative is indoor arenas.

As folks have said above, arena sound is often terrible and they are very little more intimate than stadia in terms of the scale or vibe .

The only relative negative with stadia is if the weather doesn't behave itself.

The problem is that they're still far too big a drawer to satisfy demand by playing theatres... so if you're happy that they're still a huge act, it's catch 22.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2019-06-10 10:00 by Spud.

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More Hot Rocks

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latebloomer

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TornAndFried
For reference, the AVERAGE ticket price for the Stones 2012 show at the Barclays Center in NYC was around $525 which was a record for an arena show by anyone up to that point.

I'm embarrassed to admit how much I paid for a ticket at the Prudential Center in 2012, and it wasn't even in the best section!

Don’t worry I did the same thing. But I did get a blanket with it.

me, too. i spent $750 for a mediocre seat but did get the cool blanket, haha. was worth it for mick taylor on midnight rambler. not so much for katy perry on beast of burden. i spent that much to see them at the joint (hard rock vegas) on the licks tour but that was a 1200 seat venue at the time. great show but they were actually better at mgm grand the next night. that mgm is high up on my all time stones show list. stripped down "brown sugar" on the little stage was unbelievable. RIP bobby keyes!

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crholmstrom

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More Hot Rocks

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latebloomer

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TornAndFried
For reference, the AVERAGE ticket price for the Stones 2012 show at the Barclays Center in NYC was around $525 which was a record for an arena show by anyone up to that point.

I'm embarrassed to admit how much I paid for a ticket at the Prudential Center in 2012, and it wasn't even in the best section!

Don’t worry I did the same thing. But I did get a blanket with it.

me, too. i spent $750 for a mediocre seat but did get the cool blanket, haha. was worth it for mick taylor on midnight rambler. not so much for katy perry on beast of burden. i spent that much to see them at the joint (hard rock vegas) on the licks tour but that was a 1200 seat venue at the time. great show but they were actually better at mgm grand the next night. that mgm is high up on my all time stones show list. stripped down "brown sugar" on the little stage was unbelievable. RIP bobby keyes!

Heck, I didn't even get a blanket! Yeah, crholmstrom, getting to see Mick Taylor and Bobby Key one last time did make it somewhat worth it...and it's only money, right?

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Cooltoplady
Arenas have bad sound. Watchng a show in the balcony is not an option. Ever time Im in one I just see a hockey rink with people on the floor.

I've seen indoor shows in hockey/basketball arenas and college/NFL stadiums, outdoor and domes.

I've never heard an awful show in a stadium, indoor or outdoor, or arena. My biggest complaint is the volume - McCartney was great at the Smoothie King Center but was too quiet.

So I dunno why anyone is saying it sounds awful - you know you're not going to a show in your living room.

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georgeV
A buddy and I were talking about this the other day. We were wondering why they went back to stadiums after they did the arena tour in 2013. I thought arenas were the way they would end their career but then they went back to stadium tours.

Also the Arena in Paris is an indoor stadium by North American standards. Arenas here are at least half the size and used for hockey, basketball etc. Pretty sure you could play a football game in the Paris arena. Same name, different meaning.

That's a really good question. There was a 50 & Counting part III planned in Europe with about 20 arena shows in the fall of 2013 but sadly this never worked out and was finally turned into the 14 On Fire stadium world tour.

This is bv's post from summer 2013:

"They are drawing a tour where they use the current stage in arenas sized 20,000 or so people, as it seems. Not so many of those arenas in Europe, but there are some in Germany, the new one in Amsterdam and so on. I am expecting the same concept of 18 or so shows, we will see how they do it, but the arenas are booked and it looks good, very different from the spring time lookout. I think they realized how much energy there was in the band, and how many European fans that did actually travel to UK and to North America for shows."

[iorr.org]

It's so sad this was scrapped a few weeks later.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2019-06-10 15:32 by Stonesfan2146.

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Stonesfan2146

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georgeV
A buddy and I were talking about this the other day. We were wondering why they went back to stadiums after they did the arena tour in 2013. I thought arenas were the way they would end their career but then they went back to stadium tours.

Also the Arena in Paris is an indoor stadium by North American standards. Arenas here are at least half the size and used for hockey, basketball etc. Pretty sure you could play a football game in the Paris arena. Same name, different meaning.

That's a really good question. There was a 50 & Counting part III planned in Europe with about 20 arena shows in the fall of 2013 but sadly this never worked out and was finally turned into the 14 On Fire stadium world tour.

This is bv's post from summer 2013:

"They are drawing a tour where they use the current stage in arenas sized 20,000 or so people, as it seems. Not so many of those arenas in Europe, but there are some in Germany, the new one in Amsterdam and so on. I am expecting the same concept of 18 or so shows, we will see how they do it, but the arenas are booked and it looks good, very different from the spring time lookout. I think they realized how much energy there was in the band, and how many European fans that did actually travel to UK and to North America for shows."

[iorr.org]

It's so sad this was scrapped a few weeks later.

Large open air venues are the best solution: prices are kept lower, and no seats.

The experience for those in the pit or "Gold" section (or equivalent), is the same as in an arena.

The difference is all for those in the back, but at least the democracy of the "first in first served" rule applies, and you do not have to spend a fortune to buy the ticket.

C

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liddas

Large open air venues are the best solution: prices are kept lower, and no seats.

The experience for those in the pit or "Gold" section (or equivalent), is the same as in an arena.

The difference is all for those in the back, but at least the democracy of the "first in first served" rule applies, and you do not have to spend a fortune to buy the ticket.

C

Spot on ....Exactly this .

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MileHigh

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daspyknows

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MileHigh

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slewan
problem is that arenas will result in even higher ticket prices.
(Arnhem, Dusseldorf and Paris in 2017 were not really areans but stadiums with a closed roof)

The greed levels are embarrassing. 20,000 people x $30 a ticket is $600,000. It's not a huge amount of money but it sounds like enough to put on a show and get to the next gig if you can be rational in the way you plan it.

WTF? You have no clue how the business works. Aside from the fact those $30 tickets would be on Stubhub for $500, there are a lot of costs putting and keeping a major touring act on the road. A band like the Stones doesn't need the money but If Mick is making $10k a show and sleeping in a tour bus he is not going on tour.

How come the cost of tickets is so out of whack with respect to inflation over the years? It's because of greed. If you suck all of the disposable income from a family that means they can't spend their disposable income in their own community and that hurts a lot of people.

Yes, the "price point" is to maximize your revenue. And that might translate into a show that sells out or nearly sells out with the highest tolerable ticket prices. I know that it's an old debate. My pitch is one last time you do a short arena tour with fair ticket prices. Why not?

Reality check: <<< (USA) According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index, prices in 2018 are 500.73% higher than average prices throughout 1972. The dollar experienced an average inflation rate of 3.97% per year during this period, meaning the real value of a dollar decreased.

In other words, $8 in 1972 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $48.06 in 2018, a difference of $40.06 over 46 years. >>>

If you can't afford it stay home.

Reality check, the cost of doing business is now MUCH higher. More people are required for security, logistics, light, sound etc.

Your purchasing power example isn't applicable at a macro level either. This is specific to each person. When I was 16 working I made $3.25 per hour. I worked 3 hours to buy a ticket. Now I make an hourly rate where it still costs 2 to 3 hours for my ticket. Not a real world example either but my situation. I can afford to work for a client for $50 dollars an hour but I don't need to work so I will turn down work unless it is worth my time. Is that greed? No, if its not worth my time I will do other things that I enjoy more. Could the Stones do such a tour? Yes. But why should they?

They don't need to do a short arena tour for modest prices, so they won't. This is simple economics. Either pay or don't. If no one pays prices drop.

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MileHigh

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daspyknows

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MileHigh

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slewan
problem is that arenas will result in even higher ticket prices.
(Arnhem, Dusseldorf and Paris in 2017 were not really areans but stadiums with a closed roof)

The greed levels are embarrassing. 20,000 people x $30 a ticket is $600,000. It's not a huge amount of money but it sounds like enough to put on a show and get to the next gig if you can be rational in the way you plan it.

WTF? You have no clue how the business works. Aside from the fact those $30 tickets would be on Stubhub for $500, there are a lot of costs putting and keeping a major touring act on the road. A band like the Stones doesn't need the money but If Mick is making $10k a show and sleeping in a tour bus he is not going on tour.

How come the cost of tickets is so out of whack with respect to inflation over the years? It's because of greed. If you suck all of the disposable income from a family that means they can't spend their disposable income in their own community and that hurts a lot of people.

Yes, the "price point" is to maximize your revenue. And that might translate into a show that sells out or nearly sells out with the highest tolerable ticket prices. I know that it's an old debate. My pitch is one last time you do a short arena tour with fair ticket prices. Why not?

Reality check: <<< (USA) According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index, prices in 2018 are 500.73% higher than average prices throughout 1972. The dollar experienced an average inflation rate of 3.97% per year during this period, meaning the real value of a dollar decreased.

In other words, $8 in 1972 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $48.06 in 2018, a difference of $40.06 over 46 years. >>>

My opinion:

Ticket prices have gotten out of control b/c:

a) Easy access to credit...(literally) anybody can get a credit card and charge 1000s of dollars now. That was not the case in the 70s, 80s or even 1990s....credit cards were actually HARD to get at one point....cash was once king and if Ticket Prices were too high, people literally couldn't or wouldn't buy them b/c of lack of cash (or the psychology of spending cash vs. using credit preventing people from spending...this is well-documented)

b) Online Scalping (StubHub etc.)....no street scalper would dare to ask the prices StubHub does....and nobody would bring that much cash to a concert (see above point)...it was always 2x Face Value whenever I scalped and that was a "fair" rate.....since Online Scalpers can ask outrageous prices (and get buyers to pay them - see Easy Access to Credit above), the promoters increase the price of tickets to insure the "act" doesn't see a $30 ticket turn into a $1000 profit for a scalper

c) Greed...you're right. If I can get you to pay $10,000....why would I charge you $50? B/c I care about your family? Capitalism is based on greed.


To answer your question: Why not?

....because the Stones are greedy.

....because if they charged a "fair" price, then StubHub would earn more profit than the Stones do when they jacked the price up 10,000%...which is a not a business model many people follow.

the fact that you can't make as much money with record sales as in the past also plays a role. To generate income touring has become more important.

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latebloomer

Heck, I didn't even get a blanket! Yeah, crholmstrom, getting to see Mick Taylor and Bobby Key one last time did make it somewhat worth it...and it's only money, right?

Hey latebloomer - this might help you see in the Pit. [www.happiest.net]

Wasn't looking too good, but I was feeling real well.

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Spud

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liddas

Large open air venues are the best solution: prices are kept lower, and no seats.

The experience for those in the pit or "Gold" section (or equivalent), is the same as in an arena.

The difference is all for those in the back, but at least the democracy of the "first in first served" rule applies, and you do not have to spend a fortune to buy the ticket.

C

Spot on ....Exactly this .

Stadiums don't have seats? HA!

Altamont didn't have seats.

This is their last NA stadium tour. As old as they are, they're possibly starting to realize that they are getting old enough and too expensive enough to warrant renting a stadium for the amount of time required to have 2 or 3 stages going around - even the Stones have a cut off as to what they're willing to spend financially. They put up X amount for doing a tour... and if sponsors start backing out because of their age, there's no fixing that.

That's just being logical. Insurance combined with getting old, considering Mick's heart valve issue - a wake up call for the concert industry that has plenty of old timers tooting around - it will all come to a point of NO MORE.

So maybe they'll do the few arena tours or shows or club tours or shows... and do one or two big stadium finales.