What Ticketing Might Mean

Bono has gone on record to show fans that they’re aware of the current economy and that the band is trying to work out a way to offer more affordable tickets for their upcoming stadium tour. As quoted by Tiscali, “We’re trying to work on some cheaper ticket prices because this is the recession. We’re also going to have some very expensive ticket prices because rich people have feelings too!”

This poses some very interesting scenarios for fans and for the band.

By offering this type of breakdown, it makes the band (and Live Nation to an extent) look like they’re working on the side of fans (yay!) to offer some much needed affordability with regard to the tour. Given that the third leg of the PopMart tour did not sell out – and in some places there were more empty seats than filled seats – the band needs to make sure they can sell every seat in the stadium. By offering more tickets at a more affordable price, they will succeed in that quest.

For the fan, as long as the tickets are available for purchase at face value through either fan club presale or day-of sale, then everyone wins. However, once you factor in the secondary ticket market, having more cheap seats means more money to the ticket resellers. That seems to be a no-brainer, right?

To me, as long as the tickets sell then why should the band care? Why should Live Nation care? The tickets are sold. The anticipated cash is in their pockets and they’re happy. For the fans, as long as those who really care about getting the tickets get the ones they want then why should they care either? I firmly believe that after everything that has happened with the U2.com sale in 2005 that they will have precautions in place to ensure their paying fan base is taken care of. Stadiums sort of allow that to be handled better based on the size of venue.

For the ticket reseller, let them buy up the tickets and then realize they can’t sell the tickets for the price they’re looking for. U2 fans know that there are ways to avoid the ticket reseller and still get good tickets the day of the show for face value.

On March 9, I hope to hear from Arthur Fogel or from Paul McGuinness what plans they have for the ticket distribution. Will they go with a paperless ticket? Will they require ticket holders to show ID or the credit card (or gift card) used to pay for the tickets? Will the fan club tickets be scrutinized and canceled out should they appear in a resale site? What protections, if any, do they have in place to stop the resellers? Do they care about the resellers? Should they care about the resellers?

The staging plans that Bono’s been alluding to should mean more people will have stadium floor access, as well as opening up the seats that would traditionally be behind the stage. What will be interesting for the North American tour will be if they can sell out the dates – PopMart was a tough sale. Sure, they’re popular again and their successful arena tours in 2001 and 2005 rebuilt a fan base, however as Bono pointed out, their fan base changes every 5 years. I’m looking forward to seeing how this all plays out during the next month. European dates will sell out without question. The big dark cloud is over the North American dates. I can’t wait to see how it all develops.

Last 4 posts by U2isABLE

4 Responses to “What Ticketing Might Mean”

  1. Miro 1 March 2009 at 11:37 am permalink

    You captured the excitement very well…and I agree with everything you say.

    Here’s hoping U2 2009/10 is a great success.

  2. David Comay 1 March 2009 at 11:47 am permalink

    Nice article, Sherry. The other question in my mind is with respect to the time of year – early Fall may not be the best time weather-wise for outdoor stadium shows.

  3. Brian 1 March 2009 at 4:34 pm permalink

    Great piece, Sherry… One thing I think will work in the band’s favor this time is that the US tour will start a full six months after the album’s release, giving it more time to develop some traction in the states.

    As for the “tiered” ticketing, this is nothing new for U2, with each of the last two tours featuring tickets ranging from cheap (floor and nosebleeds) to expensive (lower level seats). Look for the same thing this time around.

  4. brett (macmango) 4 March 2009 at 6:10 am permalink

    Agreed. But once I get two fanclub tickets, then it’s off to the races again. It will be interesting to see if they zone out the pitch (that would be a brand new ticketing path to navigate).

    I commented in the forum that if you are going to sell a $400 ticket, you must provide a bang for the buck. I personally wouldn’t want to be in a upscale, stale, seated VIP area, even if it is right up on the side of the stage. Give me a standing GA tix anyday, even if they bump ‘em up to $100.