Poppy Dog wrote:
I remember for the big gigs at Hammersmith Odeon a week or so later - they extended the booking from two to five nights - so supply exceeded demand - and held back some tickets that were released / sold a few days before the show - perhaps as a move against touts.
I think this is happening more often now. I also see a few smaller promoters/venues holding back a small number of tickets for walk-ups on the night.
One thing that bugged me about the Cohen tickets was that I queued up for three hours outside the venue, was first to be served and could still only get tickets on something like row T. A couple of days before the gig, more tickets were made available via Seetickets, most of which were for seats on the first two rows... No doubt they had been reserved for various VIPs who knocked them back - a bum deal for the people who really wanted to go and booked time off work to secure tickets.
I think all the above illustrates the point that *venues* and *promoters* need to start looking after the punters who keep their businesses afloat. It's all very well them taking the easy option of off-loading a load of the more desirable tickets to agencies to sell on at a profit but I think music fans will soon tire of it and the people who treat gigs as purely social events will find cheaper ways to get drunk and socialize. Then they'll have to face up to the embarrassing slashing of prices or, much worse, venues actually going out of business having been priced out of the market.
The record industry treated its customers like shit for years and now faces extinction because of a generation (or two) of consumers who see little value in what they do. I know live music is slightly more protected than a song or record but I think the principle still applies: treat customers badly and they will find other ways to spend their money.
Rant over. And I've not even mentioned booking fees and wildly inflated (uninsured!) postage costs...