(MSc) Sebinomics

Mr. Big is one of my all-time favorite rock bands and I was very happy to read that they are reuniting. Billy Sheehan, bassist of the quartet, has been a great musical influence to me and I love everything he has done over the past decades. Now, I can’t wait to check Mr. Big’s tour schedule and decide where I want to go see them playing live. The only thing I am really afraid of is that Mr. Big will follow into the other reunited rock giants’ footsteps and charge horrendously high ticket prices.

Mr. Big reunion, 2009

Do you remember how much fans had to pay for a The Police concert ticket for their reunion tour? I even missed out on the Genesis reunion tour because I found their prices insanely high, and I love Genesis! One can say, rock giants such as The Eagles or Van Halen are worth every coin (many, many coins infact) you spend on a concert ticket. And if you compare ticket prices of reunion tours with those of today’s pop and rock stars, there might be no significant difference. Event organizers are also charging very high ticket fees for established artists like Metallica, P!NK, Tina Turner, and Madonna.

Artists could claim that since the business model in the music business has changed and artists get less money from physical music sales, they have to make it up with gigs and merchandise. Somewhat understandable. But, let’s say a band sells 10,000 tickets for one show at $100, which is about what a ticket for a reunion could cost or even more. That is 1 million dollars coming in, not considering the hundreds of T-shirt sold for $30 or (usually) more.

Sure, there are many people that have to be paid from the proceeds. But with a couple of dozen of gigs and 100,000+ fans coming to the concerts, there must be enough money around to make everyone involved in the operation more than happy. Except the fans, who in the end do not get anything more than “just a concert.”

An article in bombippy.com said, “The ticket prices will continue to rise until people get fed up and stop coming to shows. Then the music industry will blame poor attendance on concert DVDs and home theatres.” One can claim that this is simply a free market economy and that is how it works, and as long as there is demand, there will be supply. Very true. It is also very true that people are starting to get fed up with it and are seeking alternatives. Many small music clubs are filling up again and open mics are celebrating a revival in Europe.

With every movement there is a counter movement and I am sure that in these times where our economy is individuals a hard time, people think twice before spending a crazy amount of money for “just a concert,” when they can have a more personal experience at a music club closeby or an interactive experience online where they might be one of the main artists.