Trent Reznor On Ticketing
Special thanks to Graham for passing this along to me.
Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails has taken time out to update NIN fans about how ticketing has been working for their upcoming summer tour. It’s not every day that an artist will come right out and lay things on the line in with an educated, informed and (most importantly) clear message to their fans about how ticketing – especially the secondary market (or, as Reznor puts it “scalper) – is impacting their band and their fans. Sure, Springsteen came out when things went awry for his tickets – but in his explanation he admitted that he wasn’t aware of some of the issues as that’s the business side of things.
Reznor not only comes out to oppose the Ticketmaster / Live Nation merger, but then goes on to explain to their fans about how the ticketing players work. I am in awe that he came out and called it like he saw it, as well as explaining the steps they’ve taken to try to protect their fans as best they can.
Here’s some of what he said:
Here’s the rub: TicketMaster has essentially been a monopoly for many years – certainly up until Live Nation’s exclusive deal ran out. They could have (and can right now) stop the secondary market dead in its tracks by doing the following: limit the amount of sales per customer, print names on the tickets and require ID / ticket matches at the venue. We know this works because we do it for our pre-sales. Why don’t THEY do it? It’s obvious – they make a lot of money fueling the secondary market. TicketMaster even bought a re-seller site and often bounces you over to that site to buy tickets (TicketsNow.com)!
NIN gets 10% of the available seats for our own pre-sale. We won a tough (and I mean TOUGH) battle to get the best seats. We require you to sign up at our site (for free) to get tickets. We limit the amount you can buy, we print your name on the tickets and we have our own person let you in a separate entrance where we check your ID to match the ticket. We charge you a surcharge that has been less than TicketMaster’s or Live Nation’s in all cases so far to pay for the costs of doing this – it’s not a profit center for us. We have essentially stopped scalping by doing these things – because we want true fans to be able to get great seats and not get ripped off by these parasites.
I assure you nobody in the NIN camp supplies or supports the practice of supplying tickets to these re-sellers because it’s not something we morally feel is the right thing to do. We are leaving money on the table here but it’s not always about money. Being completely honest, it IS something I’ve had to consider. If people are willing to pay a lot of money to sit up front AND ARE GOING TO ANYWAY thanks to the rigged system, why let that money go into the hands of the scalpers? I’m the one busting my ass up there every night. The conclusion really came down to it not feeling like the right thing to do – simple as that.
Take a moment out and read the full message Reznor left for fans – this is something that I wish more artists who care about their fan base would not only come out and state, but show the steps they are taking to combat what the industry is turning into.
Last 4 posts by U2isABLE
- Live Aid Funds Spent On Guns - March 4th, 2010
- Ticket Scammers Beware! - March 3rd, 2010
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I think it is interesting to see Reznor publicly commenting on this kind of stuff when Bono (allegedly) back pedaled on it last week per this article…
http://blogs.suntimes.com/derogatis/2009/03/bono_on_the_ticketmasterlive_n.html#comments
“Don’t buy from scalpers, and be suspect of artists singing the praises of the Live Nation / TicketMaster merger. What’s in it for them?”
He is referring here to bands like U2. I have never had a problem with bands – like U2 – selling their products in an aggressive way. Why not…it is their right.
The problem comes in when they collude with the dodgy record industry types against the interests of their fans. U2 got their $25 million from Live Nation as part of the deal they signed last year. No wonder they are not saying anything about this…
What is the change Bono would write such an honest note to his fans? Practice what you preach Bono!
This is why I LOVE TRENT REZNOR! He is not afraid to speak his mind and take on the music industry! I wish more bands were like him! Not only is his fanclub FREE but he offers pre-sales and your ticket has your name on it when you pick it up the day of the show PLUS those fans get a special entrance that they enter in on the day of the show before the general public so they can get their spot.
I LOVE U2 dearly but I wish they would do something like and be more innovative with their fanclub. Now I know that U2 has more fans and is more popular but they could do something like this to ensure that the fans only get these tickets and get to enter through their own special entrance!
I love Trent Reznor, too, but let’s face it. His band is playing theaters and small concert venues. It is not playing Soldier Field or Wembley, unless it’s as part of a bill. So, you can’t just pick up his business model and layer it over U2. We’re talking two completely different ends of the scale.
That said, if U2 wanted to adopt some of his ideas, I would be happy about it. Anything to make things a little more democratic. I was trying to figure out whether I could afford $50 to join U2.com in order to get the presale code, and realized it’s what I will spend this week on groceries. So, I guess not.
Why can’t U2 adopt some or all of his models? Yes, U2 is a bigger band playing bigger venues BUT the fans can pick their tickets up either the day before or the day of the show with their credit card that they purchased them on along with their ID and we know that there is more than one entrance to get into a stadium so then the fans who bought tickets thru the presale get to line up, go in their seperate entrance before the rest of the people are let in. U2 and Paul McGuiness signed a deal with Live Nation, the band got their 25 million or whatever and now they are at the beck and call of Live Nation. Whatever Live Nation wants to do they can do now since the band signed a contract with them and if that means screwing over the fans, oh well. U2 used to have a great fan club and great ticketing system. I was a fan of Propaganda since the late 1980’s and I remember for ZOO TV getting letters from Cecilia (Larry’s sister) corresponding with fans and helping them get their tickets and they were HUGE then as well. The band could still utitlize these resources and keep in house, with the family, etc…I would think it would be easier for a band of their size with has much money as they have to do this. Smaller bands are gonna have to hire people and convince people to help them out. I don’t want people to think I am critical of U2, I love them dearly, its just I believe that there is a better way to accommodate the fans.
Silvrlvr,
While that’s true sometimes, it’s not true all the time.
When I saw U2 on the Vertigo Tour, they played at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Great show, but getting tickets online and waiting in the GA line sucked (especially because “security” wouldn’t let us pee or throw footballs around).
I saw NIN at the Palace a few months ago. Same venue and same huge crowd != different end of the scale.
The presale was easy, FREE, I still have my awesome-looking ticket with my name on it, and everything worked out well. I was ten feet from the band, at least until the music started, and completely satisfied with both the show and the preshow experience.
U2 can learn much from this man but won’t.
Miro,
I was basing my answer on this tour, which is going to be all football statiums, not arenas. I have no doubt that U2 could adopt some of these practices, if the venues are similar. Would they? Not unless they saw a significant drop in demand/goodwill, and if the European ticket sales are any indication, that hasn’t happened yet.
I don’t know why the band’s organization seems to have such a tin ear to dealing with its audience, whether downloaders or ticket buyers, but perhaps other bands can show them how it’s done.
I wish U2 would reserve some of the best seats for fans as NINs does. For last tour, I only did GA but for Elevation and Vertigo, I went with seats – through Propaganda. In all cases, they were far from the best in that price range. Sounds like those getting seats through presale in Europe are also very disappointed in the selection.
While I appreciate Reznor’s commitment to stopping the reselling of tickets and, I suppose, keeping prices down, I will say again that I find it very hard to believe that they’re preventing scalpers from reselling fan club tickets. I do believe it’d make it harder, but for the money they get/ticket, it’s not a big deal. Ticket Brokers have employees, so they’d get some tickets in the employee’s name. Each employee would walk in one person, and the other would get in with a nosebleed seat. Once inside, they both sit in the seat they bought.
Alternatively, they get people who put down big deposits for top seats and put those people’s name on the tickets…and buy them with their credit card (plus a healthy fee for the broker (a separate charge, of course).
What I especially appreciate is the free fan club and reduced fees (remember when u2 sold tickets with reduced fees?).
As for the reference to U2 on the merger, why does anyone think they’d weigh in against it? When PJ was fighting TM in the 90’s U2’s silence was deafening.
I love the band, but anyone that doesn’t think U2 is much more than a major music corporation is fooling themselves. Look who they’ve signed up with for the last 12 years: Cole/SFX/Clear Channel/TNA. The guy that runs TNA (as well as Michael Cole, who left the company) were the ones who brought the inflated ticket prices we see today.
Fogel recently said how much he loves tiered pricing, because it’s good for fans, but that’s a crock of shit. He loves it, because they make more money that way. You charge a fortune for the good seats (2.5 million or more each show just for the 250.00 seats) and charge high prices for most of the other seats.
On Elevation, G.A. was the best seat in the house if you put in enough time. Last tour, that wasn’t the case. The Lottery ensured that the lines would remain long but the payoff wasn’t there.
Give me the springsteen model: most tickets are the same price (about 100 bucks, which is still high)….if you want seats, you get seats…want GA, you buy GA.
I am so pissed off that in a world that we live in so much art depends on money and you’ve sold it’s ticket. If you truly want to send a message to the fans how about starting with setting an example? I have been a fan of U2 for nearly their whole career and it honestly disgusts me that they charge over a hundred dollars plus taxes and fees for crappy seats. Is this really the message you want to send to the world in our times. It’s no wonder you have the resources to contribute to AIDS in Africa and other various causes given these ticket prices. U2 has been one of my top 3 favorite bands given their background and musical message but where are you leading the masses when the average american cannot afford you? You wish to target a younger crowd with black eyed peas opening but do you really believe they are making more than minium wage? I am outraged that you appear to reach out to the world but keep your art for the elite. What happened to go old fashioned art at a rate that all can appreciate? I’m ashamed of you. Might want to take off those shades Bono so you really see the light.
get your facts right before you complain dickhead. 100% of profits of these tickets will go to charity.