Dynamic Pricing vs The Working Class Fan

Is live music becoming a luxury item reserved for the wealthy? Let's talk about it, this time on Voice Thoughts. The following program is a Purple Pit Studios production. Hey everybody, welcome back to the program. Welcome to Weiss Thoughts. Weiss Thoughts is a virtual campfire sit-down where we gather and you can hear what's on my mind. And if you like the program, won't you visit WeissThoughts.com Just make sure you spell my name right. W-Y-C-E WeissThoughts.com There you can listen to each and every episode of said broadcast and comment on the show and shares with your friends and family so grab a comfortable spot around our virtual campfire grab a beverage of your choice and let's dig into this week's topic on weiss thoughts shall we Hey, everybody. Welcome back to the podcast. Welcome to Weiss Thoughts. I'm Terry Weiss. And hey, if you like what you hear, would you do me a solid, do me a favor? Would you share us with your family, friends, and pets? We'd appreciate it very much. 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Is that what they call it? The winter solstice? I don't know. I'm not hip on all these things with terminology. But anyway, I hope you're having a great day, a great week so far. And we thank you for tuning in to Weiss Thoughts. Now, go ahead. Get your chair or log. Pull it up around our virtual campfire. And today we're talking about live music. Specifically, why taking your family to see a concert now costs roughly the same as a four-year college degree. Yeah, you know, it's weird. And, you know, it's almost like the ticket buying has become like the Hunger Games. Remember when going to a local venue, buying a $ 25 ticket at the door and enjoying a show? Remember those days? Well, they're gone. Now, buying a concert ticket is like participating in the Hunger Games. It really is. You sign up for a verified fan presale. You get put into a digital waiting room with about 40,000 bots. And then when you finally get in, a nosebleed seat in Section 300 is listed for like $ 650 or so, depending on the performer. It's dynamic pricing. And it's really... It's really a burr in my saddle, this dynamic pricing. Whoever thought this up ought to be taken out and just have cold ice water, you know, poured over them continually for like five hours because this dynamic pricing garbage has got to go. Now, I know some of you out there will make a strong argument for it. You'll say, hey, Terry, you know, I got to do this for the venue because sometimes a performer won't sell out or there's unused seats, et cetera, et cetera. And I've heard other you know, explanations as I do air quotes here in the studio today. However, the ultimate loser is us. We are the ultimate losers, the consumer. Dynamic pricing, you know, and mystery fees. I mean, it's a fancy corporate term for we see that you want this. So we're going to jack up the price like every five seconds plus fees. I mean, A $ 100 ticket comes with a $ 35 processing fee in some cases, a $ 15 facility fee, and a $ 10 digital delivery fee? I mean, what is a digital delivery fee? You know, a lot of times they'll email you the QR codes or have the website. Why do I have to pay for the privilege of using something that you've already built and have in place? I don't get it. You know, you didn't send it by carrier pigeon. I mean, you know, in the olden days when I used to go to concerts, you know, we went to the local ticket hubs, drove to a facility and bought them in person. Now it's really convenient. I mean, come on. It should be easy for these venues to do it digitally. But yet... They make it seem like it's a big inconvenience and start tacking on all these fees. I mean, it's like I say a lot of times on this program. Everybody is trying to get their hand in your pocket and grab every last nickel they can. I talked about it on past episodes of the Weiss Thoughts podcast. We talked about it with monthly subscriptions. Now there's a subscription for everything. You know, from these streaming platforms to, you know... software you use on your computer, apps. Cars now are even coming with monthly subscriptions. If you want heated seats, you pay for it. It used to be if you wanted heated seats in an automobile, it's something you paid for at the time of purchase. You paid a premium. Now they get you on the premium to have the, quote, air quotes, ability to have heated seats. And some of these manufacturers are now putting it as a subscription. Well, we got to generate more revenue. How about just making a good damn product and people will buy it and you'll sell more? Like I said, everyone's trying to get their hand inside your pocket to grab every last nickel they can out of you. I mean, what's next? You're going to go somewhere to buy something and there's going to be robotic arms come down and grab you by the ankles and flip you up and shake you upside down until all your credit cards and your money falls out on the sidewalk and then they can scoop it up? It's crazy. It's absolutely crazy. I wanted to go see a couple of concerts that were coming up to our area and they were from decent artists. Okay. Not somebody world famous. You know, it wasn't like Paul McCartney was coming. Okay. Who would demand a premium or Bruce Springsteen? I mean, these are, I don't know, dare I say, Not B-list performing artists, but people that are, you know, they're known enough, but they're not like I would say in the top 10. And even their fees. Now, again, I don't know if this is the artists endorsing this or they're those who represent the artists, their management team or management company. Some of them have management companies or sign on with organizations or if it's the facilities or it's the ticket. Who knows? I mean. It's such a labyrinth of things to try and find out information and things like this. But for tickets that were virtually very far away from a stage where you would have to actually probably watch on a large TV screen, which why the hell can't I? I'll just pay and watch it at home then. Mine's well. but I'm going to be watching something on a big TV screen. Why should I be paying $ 300 a ticket to watch something on a big television screen? That's ridiculous. I want to pay for the experience. People say, well, it's the experience. You're there in the arena with everybody. Well, for $ 300, I can forego that experience unless I'm sitting within reasonable distance to actually see the show. Not sky high, you know. Three and a half miles, it seems, you know. From there. I mean, fees upon fees upon fees upon fees. It's just... It takes away from the excitement, I feel, of going to a live show and seeing an artist perform and doing the memories. And while I'm on the... soapbox of going to see live music, one of the last shows I was at, everybody's got to take out their cell phone and record them. Record the band performing or the artist. Really? How about you just do like we did in days of yore and watch the show and enjoy ingest the atmosphere and make memories for your mind and brain. And then you can tell people about what you saw and, Oh, he did that song or she did this song or, Oh my God, the band, they did a version of this, you know, one of their classic hits or one of their new hits. They did a different version. Oh my God. It was so amazing. Why do you go there? You pull out your phone people and you start recording. You're not being in the present moment. This is something I talk about a lot too. Living life, not just going through life, but living life being in the present moment. Be there to experience it and enjoy it. You're not a cameraman for a major network. You're not making a music video. Enjoy the show. I mean, you're paying top dollar if you go to these shows. Ingest everything, the smells, the sounds, the sights, instead of playing amateur camera person and recording. To me, that just seems like, to me, again, just my opinion, seems like a large waste. Hell, give me three or $ 500. I'll go to the show and I'll record it on my phone and I'll email it to you. It's just counterproductive to what I was just ranting about, though. I don't know. I mean, a few years back, some of the gentlemen I play music with, we wanted to see the Eagles when they were rambling through town here. This is going back a few years when all the original band members were still alive. But their tickets were outrageous. Absolutely outrageous. It's like, do I pay my mortgage for the next two months or do I go spend five or six hours and then have a concert event? I mean, literally, their tickets were that expensive. And I'm not just singling them out, okay? And don't get me wrong. I love the band. I love the artists. These people are talented. They've worked their whole life to become who they are, what they are, and make the music or, you know, put on the play or work in comedy or what have you. But the cost to see these performers live is getting out of control. It really is. I mean, there's a loss of live culture. Live music used to be for everyone. Now it's becoming an exclusive luxury for people who can drop two grand without looking at their bank account. And let's face it, not a lot of us out here can do that. I mean... Basically, the industry is pricing real fans out of the room and just making it for the uber wealthy. And that's not what music and the arts are supposed to be about, my friends, at least in my humble opinion. It's supposed to be for the masses, something to bring us together. So what have I done? I've found myself supporting more local venues and indie bands. Folks, I mean, the beer is cheaper and you won't have to mortgage your house again for a ticket. I mean, there's a lot of great local talent in your areas. Look for it. It's there, my friends. It's there. You just got to look around because Like I said, when it costs two mortgage payments to go see a well-known artist, you have to, I guess, start rethinking your priorities. Hey, thanks for listening to the program today. I truly appreciate each and every one of you out there. And remember, to see a change in the world, you have to be the change in the world you want to see. It all starts with you, the person looking back at you in the mirror every morning. Remember to be kind to yourself. Be kind to others. If you want to tweet at me on Twitter, it's at Terry Weiss. Stop by the website, weissthoughts.com, just to make sure you spell my name right, W-Y-C-E-S. WeissThoughts.com. And hey, leave us a positive rating and review on your favorite podcast provider, won't you? Tell your friends, tell your family, tell your pets about Weiss Thoughts. And I look forward to gathering yet again around the virtual campfire with you real soon. Take care.