I swear, most music venues (and ticket sellers for that matter) think we are idiots. They think we are the swollen masses flocking to venues because we can’t live life without seeing a band that they book/sell. Those days are long gone. That was so 80’s. Most people don’t follow bands around everywhere. If a band has a week-long residency, 99.97% of people will only see them once. Shows aren’t hyped like they used to, and unfortunately, live music isn’t either. Now, there’s still a huge following for live music, but its slowly becoming underground. People are more concerned about their pocketbook than their favorite band, and when the time comes to click submit on that ticketmaster order, people are checking their bank statements before they’re checking their calendar. That’s where the folly starts – not on the listeners part (they’re doing what they have to to make ends meet), but on the sellers part. Ticketmaster, LiveNation, StubHub and all the other places (not to mention venues themselves) get off on financially raping their customers. They don’t believe (for the most part) that people are concerned with prices, fees, or location – and they’re dead wrong. Except for a few phenomenal cases like U2, The Police, etc where people will spend their rent money on tickets, people don’t live and die by the acts anymore. They can just as easy buy their music online, or hell, torrent it for free if you have the know how and some balls (somewhere I hear geeks screaming F*** the RIAA, but I digress).

This doesn’t stop these companies though, and it won’t, until they’re flat broke. Look at Ticketmaster – high and mighty, king of the ticket world, falls on hard times, yet instead of dying and leaving us the opening for something effective, they were bought out by LiveNation. LN had an insane opportunity…turn this ship around and give the fans what they want. But no – they allowed TM to continue, charging their fees and raping their customers. Live Nation did do one thing right though – they SLIGHTLY recognized the fact that fans aren’t made of money, and occasionally they have “No-Fee Wednesdays” and “1/2 Off Shitty Acts at Lame Arenas” days.  At least they’re trying, and I’ll give them credit for that. It’s hard to love them though, when I buy tickets for 24 bucks each and they end up being 48 each after all the fees. Seriously – what the f***? Can’t they just give us the real price? Convenience charge. Ticketing fee. Location Fee. Terrace Fee. Distribution Charge. Just give me my damn ticket! It doesn’t cost you $8 to print the thing, or mail it, or do anything else with it. That’s why Ticketfast took off. People would rather keep track of their own tickets and not pay the bullshit fees for nothing.

I’ve been behind the scenes of these places. You know what they do with those fees? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. They go in the same bucket that pays out their employees, their wait staff, their cleaning crews and their IATSE crews. Its just a way to break up the charges so you feel like the ticket prices are lower. They think we’re idiots, and we’re allowing it – by paying them! One of the most sensible inventions in modern day ticketing is the 4 pack lawn seats. The venues that have lawn seating occasionally sell 4 packs at a discounted price to encourage more buyers. And it works – WELL. Lawn hosting venues realize that their lawn seats aren’t worth as much, but they also realize something else – the lawn is where the party is. Its where the drink sales go, the nacho sales go, and even the last minute drunken purchase of merch goes. That’s the real money makers. If you go to a show to relax and watch the performance, you buy a seat. If you go to party with your friends, get trashed, rock out and have one hell of a time, you buy lawn seats. It’s brilliant to support that. Not enough venues are.

Some venues (like the Pacific Amphitheater in Costa Mesa, CA) have gone the opposite way and have closed down their lawn for the last 10 years. Bad move. The shows in that arena used to sell out and rock. They hosted some of the best acts in current music….in 1994. Now days they host 80’s music has beens, with the exception of 2-3 somewhat name acts. They sell the big names out, sure, but how much more could they sell if they opened back up the lawn! The people in the community complain that the extra sound needed for lawn seating is too loud. Are you kidding me? The concerts end by 10pm – and lets face it, that arena was there long before most of these people moved in – tell them to shut the hell up! Take it to the city – the venue will win! But no, they roll over, close off the lawn, which in turn drives ticket sales down, which in turn causes them to not be able to afford big name acts, which in turn drives ticket sales down even more. What are you left with? A washed up venue with tons of potential, no marketing pizzaz, and frankly, no balls. That amphitheater is currently under negotiation for possible demolition…..all because they closed the lawn.

I’m reminded of a Bon Jovi concert I attended years ago at the Staples Center. Half way thru the set, Jon ran up onto a hidden platform 3/4 of the way up into the arena. He was 30 rows from the scaffolding, and he shouts to the crowd, “Who’s got the good seats now?” He played the rest of the show from that location. Even the acts know where the heart and soul of their fan-base is!

It could all turn around if people would just remember the cheap seats! Sell em out, by whatever means necessary. Open the lawns. Cut the ticket prices in half. Get rid of the damn fees! THAT drives people in. Fans want the experience, not the high-class listening environment. They want the speakers too loud, beer spilled in their laps, sweaty friends all around, holding their iphones up as lighters. That’s a concert – on the lawn or in the pit. But it starts by being business-savvy enough to hook the fans up with decent prices and good acts. Take the risk – it’ll bring the market back to the venue. As fans, we can only boycott over priced shows and continue to buy the music. When good deals pop up, jump on them. Your money speaks louder than your voice does. Just like the housing market, the auto industry, and wall street, this monopoly of ticket holders, arenas, and record companies will eventually fall when the fans realize they don’t need to put up with it anymore. Until then – there’s always the cheap seats.