Invisible Sum?

[BongoBoy]

I guess I had high expectations when I forked up the $100 to join.

I have used the same system before but it was free.

Bob Dylan gave codes free - got great seats.

Van Morrison gave codes free - got great seats.

The Police had to pay $100 - got nosebleed seats against the wall at the top of the stadium.

This is the Police so I had to, but Boy! this is testing even the most die-hard fans.

I was willing to payout cash, no problem. When you find out that BestBuy has cleaned out all the good seats the day before...corporate sponsor before fans?.

I think they hurt a lot of fans, I'm sure they have no idea about it. It is all big business and I realize a lot of dough is needed for these tours but...don't screw US over!.

I feel like S%#T !!!

sigh.

[mez728]

Here is my 2 cents for what it's worth. I knew that getting tickets to these concerts were going to be near impossible to begin with. The best Buy presale (which I was able to get tix for the 8/1 msg show much to my own amazement) and fanclub presales give some people a chance to get tickets that otherwise they would not have. To pay $100 for a better chance to get tickets to a show you waited 21 years for is not that big a deal. Especially considering that I thought I would HAVE to go through a ticket broker to see the shows. And believe me that would cost alot more than an extra 100.00. And as far as ticket prices go, 225.00 is less than you pay for alot of other artists. I'm just glad they're back and I have an opportunity to see them one more time.

[mez728]

Oh forgot something.......Ebay. 100 bucks is nothing compared to what these people are asking (and will probably get) for tickets.

[nathanarizona]

Hi all,
Like tomkin I'm a long time site visitor but new member/poster.

Generally speaking, I'm pretty much in agreement with the sentiments expressed on this thread. I mean, I paid 15 bucks to see The Police in Austin in 1983 (and 15 bucks for the concert jersey too!) so it's certainly disconcerting to see the prices that are out there now. But that was 24 freaking years ago. All you can say about how it's done today is, "It is what it is."

The notion that all of us can get together and refuse to pay the membership fee to send a message is unfortunately unrealistic. An item is worth what it brings on the open market - if they can get people to pay 100 bucks to join the fan club and then 225 bucks for a good seat... As much as I hate it, and as big a crock as I think it is, I still joined the dang thing (although I split the fee with friends who are trying to go too) in the hopes of getting a good seat. And like some others have already stated, a total of 325 bucks for a seat will beat what the brokers and eBayers are offering. (Get back to me if the membership still doesn't get me tickets.)

I always said I'd pay just about anything to see The Police again (mainly because I thought they'd never tour again!) so here I am. Yes, I'll pay too much but that's the way it goes.

Anyway, this site and its members rock. Stewart rocks even more. See you in Dallas in June...

[ceebab]

[quote="tomkins"]"Plus there's transportation of the band and the gear and some of the crew, the venues have their cut that is probably set fairly high, the local promoters, the record company, Best Buy gets a cut, Ticketmaster gets a cut... the list goes on."

This is why I think $225 for a show of this magnitude is really not so bad."

Yes, but weren't these very same standards in place back in the dark ages when a ticket to see the Police, or Sting, or Peter Gabriel, or whomever, was something around $30? Inflation notwithstanding, I don't believe that promoters are selling $225 tickets (or $450 tickets to see 4/5 of the Stones or, for that matter, $350 tickets to see 1/2 of the Who) because they MUST in order to make up for costs. This is about people making lots and lots of money. And it's not as if "industry" people are worried about this tour NOT making money-- don't must folks agree that this tour is going to be the biggest thing ever? Short of a Pink Floyd reunion, the Police were the last of the classic bands in which all of the members are still alive and mobile. I think the heart leapt out of the touring industry the minute Bill Graham died ...

But really, NONE of this stuff bugs me as much as the $100 fan club fee. It's just foul, in my view.

Also, I suspect that the real reason Peter Gabriel "doesn't tour anymore" is because the guy has become so damn slug-like. You really need to light a fire of some magnitude under his ass to get him to do much of anything these days-- or at least that's how it appears.

Finally, I hope I'm not coming off as supremely bitter here![/quote]

Someone else brought up a really good point which is record companies and bands aren't making as much on record sales anymore because of all the internet options, so this has become more of a revenue stream than a promotional thing.

Also:When the Police were big before, the 70's gas crunch was over and gas prices were nothing like they are right now. Shows have become automated, and those automated boards are expensive, plus you have to have a tech with a brain in case it goes down during the show. And, most importantly, Ticket Bastard did not rule the world. If you really dig in to the whole Pearl Jam story, you'll see just how much they have to do with price setting.

Peter Gabriel is still working a lot, he has just moved into world music and is mostly producing and running his own record label.

[jedsoon]

Man, i feel really bad for the people that regret their decision to join. I was sooo close to just whipping out that credit card, at first i barely questioned it, due to the euphoric state i was in. I'm glad i waited and thought about it first. I have to admit really that i'm *still* thinking about it. I sincerely hope the additional perks of the site itself have a lot to offer those folks. Unfortunately, exclusive videos don't mean too much to somebody on dialup like me

Maybe, just maybe, if they put a lot into the site it will justify its own cost. Meanwhile, i want to express that i definitely don't begrudge the people who did join nor do i endorse any sort of mass boycott, even tho i personally have chosen to do pretty much just that. In fact, i feel pretty dependent on policetour.com folks now, since a lot of breaking news could likely emerge first over there.

This page is where i've been coming to check on my favorite Policeman for qutie some time now, and even to Gio's old page without the message board. I can still remember how tickled i was to see him and the team here install this feature, because i really wanted to be able to contribute at least SOMETHING to it.

So here i am. And here i'll stay!

[jedsoon]

Peter Gabriel these days i think is more about promoting other artists. He gets very little press stateside for his efforts. Did anyone think it strange to not hear about him being involved with Live 8? I did, and did some digging in the dirt to discover that he actually was. He helped organize and put on a show that same day in Africa, featuring mostly indigenous artists; he himself didn't perform, tho. As you can imagine, that doesn't play as well on the news as a Pink Floyd reunion (i won't lie; i'm in the same camp myself). As far as his own work goes, he mostly just seems to license out his songs to generate profits for himself and Realworld (his label).

As for the Who, i will probably pick up their new album next time i'm in Best Buy (of all places) for the bonus disc it includes. It's a double album that also comes with a bonus dvd. Fourteen bucks for four discs! Now THAT'S a bargain!

[Divemistress of the Dark]

Hey guys? Just a thought. You really might consider going to some of the gigs in cities where the demand won't be so intense (Columbus, Tampa, St. Louis.) You'll have a much better shot at getting better tickets for face value and will still come out ahead, even after plane tickets, as opposed to paying scalpers three times the tickets' original price.

[ceebab]

Yeah, that's exactly what I'm hoping, Dive.

I actually did shoot for this week's show, but only as a sort of dry run to make sure I knew how the system worked. All these people are freaking out that you can only do one presale, but I think it's worded pretty clearly that if you don't buy tickets you can try again later.

If I had found the kind of tickets I wanted (Fenway field A or B) then I would've gone for it.

I really don't care where I see them. We have to go on a Fri or Sat due to hubby's schedule, but I'll go anywhere I can get good seats.

I'm kind of hoping for Vegas (my cousin lives there) or NOLA (just to be supportive of the city) but really I'll take what I can get.