I can get so aggravated with the tiniest itsy bitsy issue, simply because of the principle of it, or lack thereof. Yes, this is going to be that kind of article, a principles based one.
Let me set the table. I love live music. I go see and listen to a lot of live music. If I kept all the money that I spend on live music, well it would be a fair amount. Yet I am glad because, as some researchers have found, live music does something to our brains that releases a happy thing. I agree, it sure does! This is not surprising, generally doing anything you enjoy releases those endorphin things, but I digress in getting too deep in the science.
The positive and outright elatement occurs at the point of ticket purchase, at least it used to. Here is where I join the Pearl Jam camp in a way. I never had an issue with ticket fees, for the most part. I did grow up in a time when I slept out for concert tickets, so perhaps this affects how I feel about fees. Back then, it was miniscule, generally $2 on top of the ENTIRE ticket order. For example, if I were to buy 2, 3, 4 or more tickets at $20, the grand total would come to $42, $62 or $82. Not unreasonable.
Then the online thing occurred and I rejoiced. No more sleeping out and having to explain I am not homeless, nor do I need your change, but thanks anyway and find someone who can use it please.
I keep things, a lot of things. Perhaps, when I am near death, I will open my drawer with all my ticket stubs and reminisce. When I look back at some early online ticket purchases, it was the same as “the old days”, with a small fee added to the entire order. This is back in the 90’s, when I made my first online ticket purchases. In the early 2000’s, in crept a couple more fees, but again minuscule and added to the entire order. Someone has to pay for the servers and bandwidth, I suppose.
Here we are in 2017 and my ticket purchases are way down, like 10% of what I used to shell out, and it has been this way for about 5 years now. I just don’t go see as much live music that requires a ticket purchase beforehand. Yes, I do know if I went to the box office generally they remove most of those fees, however, plenty of shows I go to involve a 2 hour drive to Toronto or Detroit, so this is not a reasonable solution.
I still go see a lot of live music, it just now happens to be local bands that I pay a small cover for, and no fees whatsoever. You see I am thoroughly outraged that somehow this gouging has crept in. I recently went to buy 2 tickets for a band that I would love to see again having gone to their show twice before. Tickets are $35 each, a tad steep for a club setting, but worthwhile. Upon adding to my cart, the total comes to $94. $10 per ticket in one fee and $2 per ticket in another fee. Per TICKET fees irk me! This is akin to buying an almost complete 3rd ticket or a roughly 33% tack on in fees. This is not right and I am just not going to buy tickets with that much of a percentage tacked on top of the order. I can think of 8 shows I chose not to go see this summer alone, because of this extravagant addition in fees. What would I consider reasonable? Add $10 for every $50 of total order, this is fair. You see, I do not expect zero fees, as there are costs to doing business and I get that. I have done my research and 7 out of the 8 shows I left tickets in a cart rather than buying were half sold or less in some cases.
Here is where I quote the K.I.S.S./KISS principle. For one, keep it simple smart/stupid (insert another S word here) and, furthermore, KISS for over 40 years has sold-out many venues year after year because of their low cost to entry. They would rather sell out the show and get more people buying merchandise etc. Yes, I know they have extravagant meet n’ greet tickets, but that is your choice; there is always a very low cost of entry overall and they sure give you your money’s worth in a show. That said, I still think $20 tickets with $10 in fees is ludicrous per ticket. Another business principle: volume. Look it up, promoters/ticketing agencies.
So my solution has been to supplement my need for live music with local music and my endorphins are much better for it, as is my wallet.
Another Reason I (And You Should Too) Support Local Bands More Than Ever!
I can get so aggravated with the tiniest itsy bitsy issue, simply because of the principle of it, or lack thereof. Yes, this is going to be that kind of article, a principles based one.
Let me set the table. I love live music. I go see and listen to a lot of live music. If I kept all the money that I spend on live music, well it would be a fair amount. Yet I am glad because, as some researchers have found, live music does something to our brains that releases a happy thing. I agree, it sure does! This is not surprising, generally doing anything you enjoy releases those endorphin things, but I digress in getting too deep in the science.
The positive and outright elatement occurs at the point of ticket purchase, at least it used to. Here is where I join the Pearl Jam camp in a way. I never had an issue with ticket fees, for the most part. I did grow up in a time when I slept out for concert tickets, so perhaps this affects how I feel about fees. Back then, it was miniscule, generally $2 on top of the ENTIRE ticket order. For example, if I were to buy 2, 3, 4 or more tickets at $20, the grand total would come to $42, $62 or $82. Not unreasonable.
Then the online thing occurred and I rejoiced. No more sleeping out and having to explain I am not homeless, nor do I need your change, but thanks anyway and find someone who can use it please.
I keep things, a lot of things. Perhaps, when I am near death, I will open my drawer with all my ticket stubs and reminisce. When I look back at some early online ticket purchases, it was the same as “the old days”, with a small fee added to the entire order. This is back in the 90’s, when I made my first online ticket purchases. In the early 2000’s, in crept a couple more fees, but again minuscule and added to the entire order. Someone has to pay for the servers and bandwidth, I suppose.
Here we are in 2017 and my ticket purchases are way down, like 10% of what I used to shell out, and it has been this way for about 5 years now. I just don’t go see as much live music that requires a ticket purchase beforehand. Yes, I do know if I went to the box office generally they remove most of those fees, however, plenty of shows I go to involve a 2 hour drive to Toronto or Detroit, so this is not a reasonable solution.
I still go see a lot of live music, it just now happens to be local bands that I pay a small cover for, and no fees whatsoever. You see I am thoroughly outraged that somehow this gouging has crept in. I recently went to buy 2 tickets for a band that I would love to see again having gone to their show twice before. Tickets are $35 each, a tad steep for a club setting, but worthwhile. Upon adding to my cart, the total comes to $94. $10 per ticket in one fee and $2 per ticket in another fee. Per TICKET fees irk me! This is akin to buying an almost complete 3rd ticket or a roughly 33% tack on in fees. This is not right and I am just not going to buy tickets with that much of a percentage tacked on top of the order. I can think of 8 shows I chose not to go see this summer alone, because of this extravagant addition in fees. What would I consider reasonable? Add $10 for every $50 of total order, this is fair. You see, I do not expect zero fees, as there are costs to doing business and I get that. I have done my research and 7 out of the 8 shows I left tickets in a cart rather than buying were half sold or less in some cases.
Here is where I quote the K.I.S.S./KISS principle. For one, keep it simple smart/stupid (insert another S word here) and, furthermore, KISS for over 40 years has sold-out many venues year after year because of their low cost to entry. They would rather sell out the show and get more people buying merchandise etc. Yes, I know they have extravagant meet n’ greet tickets, but that is your choice; there is always a very low cost of entry overall and they sure give you your money’s worth in a show. That said, I still think $20 tickets with $10 in fees is ludicrous per ticket. Another business principle: volume. Look it up, promoters/ticketing agencies.
So my solution has been to supplement my need for live music with local music and my endorphins are much better for it, as is my wallet.
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