Was thinking about this the other day.. and it seems to be that they ar really touring to max as much cash as possible.. none of them actually need any more but look at the way we are treated with the ticket prices etc

a few years ago for VL if i wanted to see them i just phoned up and bought some tickets.. now to get the pre-sale and the best seats i have to sign up and buy that first.. after doing that i can only use that once.. they KNOW we go to more than one gig but make us buy the pre-sale more than once

with all the make from sponsors and merchandising they could sell tickets for £10-£20 but instead it's £100 or more

then you have the ABB album after it came out i've now seen the special edition version which wasn't out the same day as the album release so now i have to buy it twice

when you think about it makes it look like this is more about the money than just playng and touring for the music

As far as I know, the Stones had always the most expensive ticket in Show business, since 1969...

So it´s no new deal

very easy, both, they have earned the right to charge these prices
people can choose too buy or not too buy, and they wouldnt do it at
this stage in life unless they really enoyed it, so thats why i say both

(before i get any trash for this long rant let me just say sarcasm and debating are a fun combo. i enjoy this discussion topic on occasion and for some reason i feel compelled to rant, so here goes...)

i've said it before but i'll say it again... in my opinion, this is the last 'big' tour we'll ever see. after this romp we wont have any more giant mammoth stones tours to look forward to. i'm sure they'll still play the occasional show (ala chuck berry style, except less grumpy) but there wont be anymore stadium gigs. so basically this is the last time to see them at their peak (just like every tour since 69).

btw, i recomend giving away your old copy of ABB to some halfass rock enthousiast in hopes that you might turn them on to the ethical rocknroll band of this century.

as far as they playing just for the money and no longer for the music, i'm willing to bet people would say that regardless of the ticketprice. let me give you a real life example...

i run an independent festival called "Zerofest". the first year we charged $7 admission at the door, no presale/online tickets. obviously as $7 no one could complain for a single day concert with 15 bands. the next year we made it a weekend-long event from friday til sunday. over 55 bands over 3 days. we charged $15 a day and $30 for a weekend pass. this year we cut it back to one day, did it indoors, had 23 bands on 3 stages and did presale tickets for $8 online and at local outlets, and $10 day of show...

every year we've had somewhere between 50-150 people come who have never come before. this is regardless of ticket price. however, every year we did it (including this year) we always get complaints about the initial price. if we say 10, everyone says it should be 7. if we say 7 everyone will say 5. if we say 5 everyone says it should just be free. well thats just great... now because i listened to everyone who supposedly 'wanted' to come, i've made my event free, have no way to pay any of the bands or promote the festival or do anything else for that matter.

my point? anyone who has genuine interest in the concert will come. this is REGARDLESS of the ticket price. if someone digs local bands, has $8 to spare and a free weekend, they'll order a presale ticket. the people who bitch about the ticket price are the people who wont come anyway, so i could care less, and so could the stones. they attach a value to their music, just as we do as fans. they are indeed the greatest rock band in the world. aside from the superbowl (which is a single day event, not a traveling circus) there is nothing that compares to this ticket. maybe the world cup for everyone outside the US.

aside from my longass post above i'd bring one more argument to the table. all of us have heard the dialogue before...

"whatsup man"
"whatsgoin on"
"not much, went to see the stones this past weekend"
"REALLY??? where at?"
"chicago. soldier field. it was kickass."
"man i'm envious. were your seats good?"
"for a stones show heckya!"
"how much did you pay?"
"$125 a piece"
"i bet it was worth it"
"you know it. they finally broke out Flight 505, She Was Hot and Had It With You on the floating bstage."
"floating bstage?"
"yeah, now the stage moves down the field, parks in the center while they play some tunes, then a helicopter flys overhead, attacks to the bstage, and lifts them above the crowd. the stones play a few songs up in the air flying around the stadium and its pretty kickass. the sound sucks though cause the PA is on the helicopter."
"man, you'd think that they'd be able to fix the sound issues by now"
"yeah but what can you do. atleast they had a good ending with fireworks, and the rollercoaster in the middle of the stage was pretty cool. they charge $10 before and after the show to ride on it, $200 to ride it during a song. the coaster rolls inverted above watts so occasionally he'll just highfive everyone as they fly past his kit."

money, although I'm sure that Keith also likes to play

cmon drake , its been the last big tour since steel wheels, sooner or later
that prediction is going too come true

Keith will tell you that he loves the music and the life.Mick states that they can go on forever like all of the old blues guys...but it helps that there is alot of $$$$$$$$$$$$$

"very easy, both, they have earned the right to charge these prices".

No disrespect intended Milello - but no they have not.

I understand it's business, but one could be forgiven for believing that they have their eye on an auction that's in possesion of the Holy Grail.

"Keef I gotta have it!"

"Mick we can't afford it!"

"Well then how much next tour? 1 or 2 bill?"

"Well yes. 1 AND 2 bill accumulated! But only if you stop making cds ala 'Dogshit in the doorway'.

In other words stop wasting time. Let's puncture the hearts of every wallet and purse, not to mention credit card, we can get get into the Rolling Stones orbit".

"Hey keef"

"What?"

"How much would a vile of crack sell for snorted from the Grail?"

"Who knows Mick? But there's definately money in it"

"Excellent!! "But what about the music?"

"So what would that be then Mick???"



kyle m

Have you ever lent somebody $20 and never seen them again? It was probably worth it.

70% for the money, 30% for the music. Or even less. I don't really think that, after all these years and tours, they still have that mch fun playing the same ol' tunes every other night. Money makes it easier. They don't do in for the music. If, they would play better and different songs. It's all show business, very Las Vegas. I can't see any blues roots anymore. That's ridiculous. It's long gone. But it's okay for me. I don't complain...

Depends on which member of the band you speak to:

Mick: Money
Keith: Music
Charlie: b/c he doesn't want to upset the glimmer twins
Ronnie: in hopes that one day he'll get royalties

the rest of the band: b/c they're touring with the rolling "f**king" stones

stonesctl Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Depends on which member of the band you speak to:
>
> Mick: Money
> Keith: Music
> Charlie: b/c he doesn't want to upset the glimmer
> twins
> Ronnie: in hopes that one day he'll get royalties

so you're implying that they charge high ticket prices just because ONE guy in the band (who has no more of a vote than any of the others) wants to?

Dont think so, somehow



>Are they touring for the music or the money ?

going by the setlists and the ticket prices on this tour, that may well be the easiest question ever asked on this board

it´s definitly not just for fun!!! sure they wouldn´t do that without fun.just for fun would meen more club-gigs without that huge number of warhorses. they would play songs they really like.. they would do more cover songs. they must be sick and tiered of playing their greatest hits.
mick does it for the money
keith likes playing music
charlie wants to take his mind off his worries about his cancer
ron-don´t know

nice to get a few replies to a thread i started.. with the price of tickets and all the fan club pre-sale stuff it does seem to be more more the money than the music these days with keith being the exception

would love it if they just did a b stage set list for 2 hours and only charged 30-40 pounds to get in but can't see it happening

was talking to a few people at the weekend who wanted to see them play but couldn't afford it

sherer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> it does seem to be more more the
> money than the music these days with keith being
> the exception

I dont buy that "Keith would do it for nothing" yarn for one second....

Actually, Keith does it for free this time. A few minutes after the press conference, I called Jane Rose and said "hi Jane, my name is Pal and Keith just said I could have the money". I gave her my IBAN, et voila...

Sorry Gazza, but I have to disappoint you. The one who looks for the money is Mick, but the one who's after the money is Keith.
And clearly statements exist that he's in it for the bucks and for the music, because he likes to play.
I like Keith very much, but to often the people tend to think that Mick is the big money collector, but he's also organising the whole thing and Keith makes (in German it would be: HOHLE HAND) so you know what I mean.

Going by the set lists and effort in general this tour it can be easily concluded that its for the money. I think they still enjoy playing but money is what it comes down to. Look at the second release of ABB, that is nothing more than money as well.

Rockingfan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sorry Gazza, but I have to disappoint you. The one
> who looks for the money is Mick, but the one who's
> after the money is Keith.

??


> And clearly statements exist that he's in it for
> the bucks and for the music, because he likes to
> play.

so thats proof, then??


> I like Keith very much, but to often the people
> tend to think that Mick is the big money
> collector, but he's also organising the whole
> thing and Keith makes (in German it would be:
> HOHLE HAND) so you know what I mean.


actually, I havent a clue what you mean. That lost me completely!

Anybody out there who plays in a band,that believes in it's music, knows in their hearts that The Rolling Stones do it for the music.
Playing music for the people and getting a good response is the most wonderful feeling in the world for a musician and getting wonderful feelings are very addictive........ok so they get shit loads of money.....thats cos they are the most exiting band in the blooming world and at least one of them has a business brain [mick].....you can hardly blame them for maximising their potential can you?...........and you people on here who complain at high prices....you don't have to pay you know!?!?

easy answer: both.....their love for the music goes without saying....and their name carries a premium ($)....so they'll take whatever the "market" will bear

so you're implying that they charge high ticket prices just because ONE guy in the band (who has no more of a vote than any of the others) wants to?

Dont think so, somehow

---------------

No, I'm not implying anything. I think what I wrote was straight forward. Mick does it for the money (that has nothing to do with ticket prices; if it was $50 dollars of $500 dollars for the ticket, Mick would still be after the money).

Obviously for the music!
Can you imagine being their age and pushing themselves THAT hard for more wonga? How many latest bands tour for that long, that regularly of that many countries????
Look at Rod Stewart, Elton John, Macca etc. etc its in the blood. None of them need more cash!

$$

££

thought I'd have a go!

if it was just for the music then surely the ticket prices would be cheaper and instead of this pre-sales stuff we'd just phone up and say i want tickets for this show and that one and that one too ..

i wonder how much of the money generated actually gets to the stones and how much is just the greed of the record execs and tour sponsors etc

i'm sure the special edition of ABB is down to virgin.. why couldn't they release that the same day as ABB or at least let me know when i bought out there was a special edition coming out later then i would have waited

-



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 2007-12-23 00:51 by cirrhosis.

Come on guys... If the Stones were playing ONLY for the money they could make a lot of money without spending 2 hours on stage every night for a year. Just one way (out of 100 or more, i suppose): releasing every 6-8 years some old unknown stuff, something like "Free As A Bird" of the Beatles (despite the fact that John never liked the song - what a "grave robbing" !!).

Rock and Roll always had been both. Music and Music Industry. Passion and Money. Both. Always. Just remember the "prices" in Woodstock (Hendrix took $18,000 to play, Baez $15,000, Who $12,500, CCR $10,000, etc). Just remember how Dylan sold his precence at Isle of Wight Festival.

Who truly believes these millionaires at the age of 62 torture themslves doing somethig that they don't like anymore?? I think the stage is a kind of "breath" for them. I appreciate it and appreciate the result too...

Hey guys, don't forget that mick is a businessman. He loves Music but a businessman. Keith needs money a lot, he don't know the value of the money. For him $100 a piece of bread is certainely the right price. He always had that he wanted. His mother paid him all he needed. He is the only child of the family. If you watch a separatly interview with same questions for keith and mickin Berlin 90, you 'll listen:
At the question, what is the difference bewteen $1 million and $10 millions,
- keith answered: it's nothing, just one zero in more
- mick answered: your're richer.
That's all and if you want, at your death, you could give him your heritage, he'll spend it in one day.
So ticket prices are scandalous. Reality of rock'n'roll is in the past. Same with all these luxurioux books about Ian Stewart or Nellcotte. They could print issues in quantity and would sale a cheaper price and the editors and writers 'll the same. Not in fact, these books are snobism.

cirrhosis Wrote:
If you could do
> something you loved and be paid millions for it,
> would you stop?
>
>

Nobody says they don't love the music. But, that's not why they tour, IMO. The more revealing question would be, if they could only take in, say, one-quarter of what they draw in for a tour like this, would their "love of the music" propel them to tour anyway? I think we all know the answer....

Of course they do it for the money. But I still figure out that they still want to keep that @#$%& title of Greatest Rock and Roll band in the world. And that is what is pushing them all over the globe. And to my great satisfaction planning a massive tour in stadiums in Europe, South-America and the Pacifics to demonstrate to everyone that they can attract more people than U2, Coldplay, Springstenen or Macca. Why can't we we imagine for a second that they, let's say, in 1 show out five enjoy playing with each other. Is not it for music somewhere that Charlie is drumming like mad after his severe health problem ?
Is not Keith still "happy" while riffing like hell on Jumpin'? Isn't Mick so proud of himself to show that he is still the greatest frontman vs a Robbie Williams per say ,