Jivinjulie, on 01 November 2009 - 02:37 AM, said:
Hi Vegi
I appreciate the comments but if you read my post at no point did I say it was a secret nor that it wasn't a legal agreement between the promoters LIve Nation and viagogo. But just because something is allowed to happen that doesn't make it right! IMHO all that is happening is that this is yet another way that genuine fan's are being deprived of securing good seats to see artists at face value. People are already complaining on here re the massive hike up in price this year to see MB next year and with the current economic climate many either cannot afford to go or are really struggling and cutting back on other things to afford a ticket to support an artist. So as far as I'm concerned it morally reprehensible that the Promoters think it's okay to go siphoning off premium seats in this manner and then allowing them to be sold at ridiculous prices that your ordinary fan cannot afford.
All that's happening if this practice is allowed to continue is that genuine fans will no longer be able to afford to attend live music events in decent seats anyway and it will be those lucky elite who can afford to pay whatever price the ticket is and I'm sorry if I feel that this would be a sad day indeed. Also many on here, as was the case with the other artist I spoke about, spent time and effort logging on to fan presales in the 2 days before public sale with an expectation that this would allow them the pick of good seats or, like me, queued up at a box office on the day of sale and this is not the case anymore with this arrangement as the really good central premium seats near the front of venues are no longer available via theses routes, only through this secondary agent charging prices most cannot afford and in all honesty shouldn't have to pay.
So as before if anyone wants to share their ticket buying experience with me or has any experience using Viagogo please do let me know because as I said before this might be a perfectly legal thing for promoters to do but it's wrong and I will be continuing to campaign against it happening as I fully believe that the live music experience should be available for all to enjoy, not just those who can afford to pay silly prices.
Thanks
Juliexx
I see that you're new and it appears you joined to talk about the ticket issue. So you've missed ticket discussions in years past, as have the people that are new to Michael. I realize that people that don't buy a lot of tickets may not be aware of how things work. Absolutely nothing is happening here that doesn't happen with most artists. As an artist gets more popular, it's harder to get tickets. There is more of a demand, so not everyone will be able to get tickets. It's only common sense. When I first saw Michael, he was playing for 100 people. Those days are long gone. I couldn't be happier for him that he has achieved many of his dreams. However, I realize that means that instead of hundreds of people wanting the same tickets, there are tens of thousands. Every venue has only a few premium seats; it's not possible for all of Michael's "true fans" to get the front sections. Years ago, that was possible. As one of the top-selling artists in the world, he has millions of fans now. There are not millions of front section seats. It's basic economics. Since there is more demand than supply, tickets are going to be more expensive than when Michael was unknown.
Premium seats have always sold for more money. In the past, it was only the unauthorized reseller that made the money. With licensing deals, hopefully the artist will receive a portion of the price people are paying. Please remember that it is the music Business. Artists want to earn a good living and provide for their families. They deserve that. It's expensive to tour; particularly when you put a big show on like Michael does. It's not like he just comes on stage with no set and an acoustic guitar. It's never been a charity, and artists can't price according to their poorest of fans. The reality is that there have always been fans of all economic levels. I'd love to say I'm a "rich" fan, but I'm not. There have always been fans that have to save up for a long time to afford even one show, while others manage to travel the world following Michael and see literally dozens of shows per tour. Tickets are no different than anything else; some people drive a Mercedes, some an economy car and some people take the bus. Some people live in mansions and some in apartments. It's not fair to expect artists and promoters to not get a fair return for their labors. Michael's prices aren't out of line for where he is right now in his career. I'd like a fancy house and only designer clothes and to be able to attend ALL the shows I want... but life doesn't work that way. The wealthy have always had more access to things, including good seats. It's also not fair to assume that just because someone can afford to go to a show, they're not a "true" fan. How do you judge that? Income? Economic or social status? How long they've supported Michael? How often they've seen Michael? There's no workable way to decide who "deserves" those good seats. If there weren't people willing to spend the extra money to buy tickets from resellers, they wouldn't get the prices they do. Some would argue that the people that are spending so much money to see Michael may very well want to see him the most. Many of us got spoiled when Michael was unknown, but the world has caught on big time. There aren't enough seats, good and bad, to satisdy the demand to see Michael. He's worked really hard to get where he is. Some of us here have worked hard to get his name out there and it's thrilling to see he's made it to the top. Personally, I couldn't be happier for him.