Coldplay Presale Purchase Question

[nomad0186]

While I bought GA Pit ticks for Coldplay, what wasn't available in the presale was several reserved rows at the front. Why? Because Coldplay is doing a VIP deal where if you pay $175 for a tick, you're guaranteed a seat within the first 20 rows, private entrance, premium parking, limited edition merch and some other sh*t. These tickets are on sale for all of their shows on this tour right now. Coldplay's management is scalping their own tickets essentially.

[Bags]

Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
  uh sorry but thats pretty flawed logic, even flawd would agree.  if tickets getting in the hands of ticket brokers is what drives up the cost of tickets then the band, it's management and  promoters need to figure out methods of preventing that from happening...

But that's not what he's saying.  He's pointing out that OVERALL, if market prices for this show are in the $60 - 100 range (ie, that's what enough people are willing to pay for every seat -- ie, a sellout), then why shouldn't the band profit on their product's market price, rather than scalpers.  
 
 Sure, sometimes scalped tickets go for insane amounts, but not enough to sell out a show.  So, if a scalper can get $300 for a good Coldplay ticket, but only from 100 fans, that's one thing.  But if 5,000 (or whatever capacity at Merriweather is) are willing to pay $70, then that's really the concert's market price.  [Scalpers aren't setting the overall market price, but instead are capturing price peaks]  
 
 At some point, you can't get a critical mass to pay a certain amount - maybe that price point is $80.  BUT, I dont' think you can fault a band for trying to capture the general market price for their shows.
 
 Okay, let the pelting begin.

[Bags]

Originally posted by LenardYorkton:
  Coldplay is doing a VIP deal where if you pay $175 for a tick, you're guaranteed a seat within the first 20 rows, private entrance, premium parking, limited edition merch and some other sh*t. These tickets are on sale for all of their shows on this tour right now. Coldplay's management is scalping their own tickets essentially.

No they're not.  It's their show, therefore they can't scalp.  If Coldplay were one of my favorite bands, I'd buy this package in a heartbeat.
 
 If you start arguing that pricing keeps "real fans" out, the same goes for a $30 ticket -- that's tough for a college student or someone with a great non-profit job to pay as well...

[GabrielG54]

bags, thanks. you have been enrolled into the school of common sense.
 
 
 people just ask yourself this. if you created something and your financial advisor said - statistics show that although not every person can afford to spend this much, you are still guaranteed to sell out of your product at this price point - would why would you say "no thanks. make it cheaper. we'll let others sell them on the black market for more money".
 
 call them greedy. call them businessmen. i dont care. i willingly paid 70 bucks. there are 20,000 other people in the area that will as well. big whoop.

[vansmack]

Originally posted by Bags:
  then why shouldn't the band profit on their product's market price, rather than scalpers.

Because they resepct their fans, especially the poor ones that can't afford to go to the show (ie, students)?  
 
 They resepct them so much that they don't let scalpers dictate the market, they think outside the box and come up with innovative ways to keep scalpers from making a profit.

[sonickteam2]

jacking up prices so that you can "eliminate" scalpers is the fucking dumbest thing i have ever heard.  listen to yourselves people.
 
  Coldplay is just being greedy. and sooner or later, if everyone follows thier little standard, we will all be saving up for those 3 shows a year we go to, and only people with good paying jobs or rich parents will be going to shows.
 
  the point is, if you wanna go see a show, you get tickets. and if you wanna pay more, pay more.  but dont just charge $70 to everyone. thats wikked lame.
 
   now, are the lawn tickets $70 too?
 
 coldplay at Nissan?   why are we even discussing this?

[HoyaSaxa03]

Originally posted by Bags:
 BUT, I dont' think you can fault a band for trying to capture the general market price for their shows.

i agree wholeheartedly ... and the market price for coldplay is upwards of $60 because their US fanbase has shifted from
 
 a) anglophiles and "early adopter" rock fans who listen to a lot of music (indie or not) and liked the first album ... these types (like a lot of people on here) go to a lot of concerts, many of which are in the $10-$30 range
 
 to
 
 b) "casual" rock fans who found out about the band on the radio or vh1 or those abc "yellow" ads a couple years back and have catapulted coldplay to one of the biggest rock bands in the US ... these people don't go to as many concerts, perhaps have larger disposable income than "rock nerds" (although that point isn't as essential), and therefore don't have any qualms spending upwards of $60 per ticket
 
 if these people in category (b) went to every hot brit band that comes to this area (using the UK merely as an example here), then they'd spend $60 seeing a few "new" bands instead of spending that money seeing one band they like and are familiar with
 
 coldplay is an enormous band now, they've crossed over to the mainstream in spectacular fashion and their fanbase now largely consists of people from category (b), so why not charge what they can afford and expect?
 
 now, if coldplay wanted to maintain their "outsider" status among "early adopter" rock fans, then this probably wouldn't be the best way to go ... but obviously they could give a shit about that, and would rather be a big time "people's band"
 
 nothing wrong with that.

[kosmo vinyl]

ok so 90% of the tickets bought endup in fans hands at $30 a pop, but because the other 10% might be brokered  at $100+. that "lose" of revenue to brokers  dictate the price of the ticket needs to be higher so the band makes more money on the 90% who would have been happy paying $30 to begin with?

[vansmack]

Originally posted by GabrielG54:
  people just ask yourself this. if you created something and your financial advisor said - statistics show that although not every person can afford to spend this much, you are still guaranteed to sell out of your product at this price point - would why would you say "no thanks. make it cheaper. we'll let others sell them on the black market for more money".

Oh, so they are in it for the money, thank you for clearing that up because  Chris Martin indicated otherwise.   It's a good thing he's got spokespeople like you, otherwise people would think he was actually doing this for the music.

[distance]

Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
  uh sorry but thats pretty flawed logic, even flawd would agree.  if tickets getting in the hands of ticket brokers is what drives up the cost of tickets then the band, it's management and  promoters need to figure out methods of preventing that from happening...

well the reason that coldplay's ticket prices have gone up is that they're obviously charging more per appearance.  i think we all remember the clearchannel band cost list that circulates every spring..
 bands like tool and the dixie chicks charged 200,000-250,000 and such... but when were their ticket prices $69 before fees? i know tool's weren't and i doubt the dixie chicks' prices were that high.  i don't want to even imagine what the rate for coldplay is.
 
 the band or their management are at fault for the prices.  if they're just in it to make as much as they can as fast as they can, that's fine.  but they won't be getting any more of my money and i think they've probably pissed more people off than i think they thought they were going to... but that doesn't mean that the shows won't sell out.

[Julian, Alleged Computer F**kface]

Originally posted by GabrielG54:
  people just ask yourself this. if you created something and your financial advisor said - statistics show that although not every person can afford to spend this much, you are still guaranteed to sell out of your product at this price point - would why would you say "no thanks. make it cheaper."

I agree entirely with this, although I know I'm surely in the minority.
 
 The scalper thing has nothing to do with the main point which is "every human, by nature, if offered $X or $X++ for the same work would choose $X++," and to bring scalpers into it only obscures the point. Who here would go to their boss and go, "No, that's OK, cut my salary by $2/hour"?
 
 I can't begrudge Coldplay for making the most $$ possible when I do the same. Now, I might not buy their tickets, but still, I can't rise to the level of moral disgust or whatever some of you are going for.

[sonickteam2]

Originally posted by GabrielG54:
  bags, thanks. you have been enrolled into the school of common sense.
 
 
 people just ask yourself this. if you created something and your financial advisor said - statistics show that although not every person can afford to spend this much, you are still guaranteed to sell out of your product at this price point - would why would you say "no thanks. make it cheaper. we'll let others sell them on the black market for more money".
 
 call them greedy. call them businessmen. i dont care. i willingly paid 70 bucks. there are 20,000 other people in the area that will as well. big whoop.

oh like millionaire athletes?  nice.

[BookerT]

i think we all remember the clearchannel band cost list that circulates every spring..
 

i was just thinking about this ... i know it was posted here a while back, can someone post it again? sorry to take us off topic. wait, no i'm not.

[HoyaSaxa03]

Originally posted by sonickteam4:
 oh like millionaire athletes?  nice.

people willingly spend billions of dollars on sports ... where should that money go?  the owners of teams?  give all the players a $100k salary?

[distance]

Originally posted by GabrielG54:
  bags, thanks. you have been enrolled into the school of common sense.
 
 
 people just ask yourself this. if you created something and your financial advisor said - statistics show that although not every person can afford to spend this much, you are still guaranteed to sell out of your product at this price point - would why would you say "no thanks. make it cheaper. we'll let others sell them on the black market for more money".
 

let's not leave this part out of the equation.
 when said thing comes up, you are already a multi-millionaire and probably have more money than you'll be able to spend unless you start buying up small islands and such.
 
 there just comes a point where a person that seems to be as 'for the little guy' (3rd world countries) as chris martin wants people to think that would be like "no.  our shows don't need to cost that much money."  doesn't that seem a bit reasonable?
 
 godspeed you! black emperor could have charged way more than $12 for the last tour.  but they charged $12 for every show.  and the canadian shows were $12 CDN(which meant a GREAT deal for those of us coming from the US).  other bands set a price that they think is a reasonable amount for people to pay and don't try to milk their fanbase for every single possible cent that they can.