I dunno. I certainly would like to believe (and actually do believe) that the guys are doing this for more than just the coin. Seriously - what does Sting have, like, seven houses?
My guess is it's more for their kids, and maybe just for good old times sake. That said, I doubt they'll be giving away tickets for rock-bottom prices, but I'm not sure we'll be seeing the $300 or so tix the Rolling Stones are putting out.
Let's just hope they avoid the U2 cautionary tale:
http://www.u2station.com/news/archives/ ... _presa.php
[quote]U2 fans who paid the band's fan club for a membership late last year were told that the membership would allow them to gain priority access to tickets, including the coveted low-priced General Admission tickets that proved so popular on the band's Elevation tour.
The band's organization emailed patrons a personalized password late last week along with links to a page from which fans could choose a specific show. Unfortunately, when fans attempted to link to the page this morning, many were unable to get through.
Though this is far from typical (a fact to which those who have dealt with Ticketmaster in the past can attest), the problems did not end when fans arrived successfully at a purchasing page. Those lucky enough to arrive at a purchasing page discovered quickly that the allotment of coveted GA seats was sold out (in less than one minute for most shows.)
This left those interested in General Admission seats with the option of purchasing more expensive tickets (which ranged from $98 to $165) or waiting for the public on-sale. Those who chose to search for more expensive tickets ran into some problems that have plagued Ticketmaster ever since they began selling tickets online: Passwords that did not work, pages that froze, interminable waits, and transactions that were mysteriously canceled even after the sale appeared to go through.
Even those who purchased tickets successfully reported that there were significant problems with the ticketing system. A number of buyers reported that the Ticketmaster seating charts they consulted during the purchase were changed later in the day and fans who thought they had prime seats next to the stage (at a cost of more than $175 each including service charges) found themselves in the back corner of the arena. Others pointed out that the seats that were offered were often the worst in the house.
U2 fan Emily Worth summarized the feelings of many of supporters of the band. "U2 backed out on a promise to their most loyal fans," she said. "We joined the U2.com fan club under the premise that we would have priority ticket buying. Well, I'm a member of the fan club, but [three] hours after the pre-sale began, I am still ticketless. U2 have clearly not allotted for enough tickets to accommodate the fan club members. This treatment is unethical and has hurt the people that have funded the band's career for the past 25 years."
This ticketing snafu especially distressed those members of the fan club who were previously members of Propaganda, the band's fan club, which handled ticket distribution for years before closing after the conclusion of the last tour. In the past, ticket sales were handled in much the same way that bands like Pearl Jam handle fan-club ticket sales: Prior to public ticket sales, fan club members received a letter listing the forthcoming tour dates. Fans would then check off the show (or shows) they wanted to see and sent in money for the tickets.
For this tour, U2.com took over the fan club and associated presale chores and attempted to use Ticketmaster and Fanfire to coordinate the sale. Longtime fans were especially distressed. On the message boards at interference.com, U2 fan adenoid_hynkel wrote, "The band took a reliable fan-friendly service like Propaganda and replaced it with a poorly-managed company."[/quote]
