3121 suggest we look at this.

We all get ripped of it seems!

How many times you heard Prince onthe radio lately?
21 nights with 20,000 folks, so surely tsome of us wanna here his songs.

TicketBEEP are charging £235 for a ticket in the same area as i paid them £31.21 for the other week and my seat was in row D! What the Funk is that all about, are they really going to give me £200 worth of hospitality, i think not!

We are ordinary people who just wanna see Prince & the Band perform & not get ripped of by big money makers.

Its not Princes fault, he tried to do the right thing by us with his one price tickets & free CD and undisputably we have had a Hell of a good time. Thanks!

So as we lick our ticketBEEP wounds, think of Prince & all the other musicians out there who are stomped all over too by big corperations too.

Life sucks sometimes!

Fair point, and it's been made many times now. But a few of things have to be remembered -

Its the PROMOTER and not TM who decide to sell the tickets at those prices and add 'vip' treatment.

As long as people are willing to pay those prices they will charge those prices.

Ultimately Prince is his own man, and i believe if he truly wanted full control over ticket prices etc. he'd have it. So it really does have to come down to him. He could have signed a contract with AEG which stopped them wanting to charge more than £31.21 if that is what he wanted to do.

So, in short, it is Prince's fault.

Yes, Prince could sign a contract that determines the maximum ticket prices as £31,21. How many promoters would jump for the chance of making a measly few quids from each ticket instead of waiting for a more lucrative band to make the profit for their entire year?

That extra £200 the promoter gets from the VIP ticket sales means they will get about twice as much profit from these dates, and that makes it worth their effort.

This is the way capitalism works, and there isn't much we can do about unless everyone decides to boycott all professionally promoted concerts.

Prince knows all about the ticket scheme, and he's been working with this particular promotor for a few years now.

FunkyAphrodite said:

Believe what you will, but when your opinion is based on assumption rather than fact, then don't expect it to be correct.

Why do people think that Prince is this all-powerful musical and business behemoth who can have and control whatever he wants?? Its ludicrous. AEG/TM simply wouldn't agree to the demands you suggest and Prince does not have the people to do the job of AEG/TM. In the "real world", do you do eveyone else's job at work in order to benefit your clients/customers? Of course not!

So, you really think that Prince has sway over promoters and tickets agents? Do me a favour! Also, I would much rather have Prince focussing on the music and rehearsing a great show that getting bogged down in all the business aspects of the tour. He has enough to do without having to get involved with all that stuff. Have you any idea just how much work is involved in advertising, printing, distribution of tickets, seat allocation etc etc None of this is the job of a musician.

Mindflux said:

I don't nescessarily think he's the top dog that can cover all departments - but i do think he has more control over most (if not all) of his career than lesser artistes. Madonna, U2, the Stones.... They are all 'big' enough and wealthy enough to pick n chose and to make certain demands. If they so desire.

If he really wanted to he could stipulate tickets not to cost more than £31.21 (as was originally advertised in the NPG posters and flyers etc.). Ok, he may not get the same size advance or payout he has probably got from AEG, but it could have been done. And if it's something he really wanted and couldn't sort himself he could hire someone.

Since leaving WB he (or whoever) has managed to negotiate record deals that he seems happier with and that suit him better. So it can be done. Don't like the AEG deal? - go with another promoter. I'm sure there are many out there just as capable of doing the job and who will not sting fans with silly 'vip' prices if that was what's demanded/requested.

Remember - this is the guy that cancelled the Wembley Sign 'o' the times gig due to rain! Who refused to record/release any 'new' music for WB. Who clamps down on clips appearing on Youtube. Who can play an 80 or 90 minute set one night and a 120 minute set the night after. Who feels like playing an aftershow or not depending on how he feels.

I do think this VIP business is a bit of a piss take especially as floor seats come up at face value once the powers that be decide they wanna give up on making the extra 200 quid per seat on any given night but I guess that's business. From what I've read it seems pretty much everyone on here has managed to get very good seats at face value to at least one night so all in all - it's a bitch but before I'd point fingers at promoters/artists I'd be more worried about scumbag touts who make a living out of ripping off music fans and depriving them of their right to see their favourite artists at the prices said artists or their management/promoters have set.

I fucking hate touts and I hope the karma gods rain enough shit on them to make up for the numbe rof us who still don't have tickets to the 21st.

FunkyAphrodite said:

Control over his career, yes - but not complete control of a tour, or even his own business interests. He has many people employed to take care of things for him, he could not possibly have the time to do it himself. And the other artists you mention obviously choose to fleece their fans with outrageous ticket prices instead, so not sure why you mention them. They clearly don't choose what you are suggesting.

He hasn't negotiated record deals at all. He has simply used major labels to handle the distribution - why? For exactly the same reasons that promoters and agents are used for the ticket distribution. Its a lot of work and for it to be done properly, you need a specialist. "Don't like the AEG deal...." you say? Well then pretty much kiss a 21-night residency goodbye. AEG are likely the only company in the UK well-equipped enough to handle such a massive ubndertaking. So, which is it? Do what I (read Prince) want to do and do a massive 21-night stint at a cheap rate so as many people as possible get to see me, or do 5 nights at a small venue with tickets at £100 a pop?

Yes, he cancelled SOTT, but lots of gigs cancel due to bad weather. Also, Prince is the main loser there, as he lost a lot of revenue. Given this was during his heyday, he could afford to. Also, touring is very much the artists remit, so his decision to cancel is exactly that - his decision. That doesn't show any real power on his part. Erm, he did fulfil his contractual obligation with Warner - maybe most of the music wasn't new, but it was released. Clamping down on YouTube clips is standard copyright - there are clips of me performing on YouTube too and I have the right to make sure they're removed - am I suddenly as powerful as Prince??!! And with regard to show length and aftershow appearances - as stated above, touring is the artists responsibility - he is not contracted to play any specific set length, or play at all - the artist chooses what to do and runs the risk of losing revenue if they don't play at all.

You may think he can do what he wants, but this is only true to a very limited degree.
[Edited 9/5/07 7:14am]

Threads with replies this long I can never bring myself to read, so I'll make my point even if it's been made before.

Yes the VIP tix etc are overpriced. However you can get a VIP or a Suit seat for a simular price as you'd pay to sit and watch Ms Striesand (skuze spellin) or Mr John and yes those are in big venues also! Look at POlice Prices at the NEC £65 for the cheap seats!

yip the ticket thing sucKs & im sorry i brought it up again.

But if you watch the video on myspace you will see that basically, the music guys are peed off too! & Prince seems to agree with these guys.

Organ grinders & monkeys.

A lot of valid points have been made. I am just saying that, at the end of the day, WHOEVER it is who does the negotiations an artist as big as P can express their wishes, make demands or requests.

My point regarding Madonna etc. was just that due to their power they are in a position to pick and choose and make whatever demand they want. And yes, they don't seem to mind very high ticket prices.

I agree that the promoters do have a decent amount of power, but so do artists. If i remember correctly (and don't ask me how i remember!), Take That stated that their ticket prices would be no more than £40 or £45 so that all fans can get a chance to see them. They are also playing the O2. I would guess that to 'hire' the O2 would cost pretty much the same whoever you are as there would be standard costs that need to be met. Yet Babs had tickets up to £500, the Stones £170 but Take That only £45ish and Prince mostly £31.21. So it would seem that the artist and promoter would get more per show if more per ticket was charged.

Obviously i have no idea, but the fact that the statements from 3121/NPG mentioned ticket prices being £31.21 i am guessing that this was part of the deal/agreement with AEG. So that must have been negotiated and agreed by someone at some stage.

I am just saying that there is always a way.....

Aaaanyway.... i don't even know what i'm worrying about! I haven't paid £235 for a 'vip' ticket and have managed to have great seats each time i've been for £31.21! And enjoyed the shows v much!

LOOK AT this there is lots of F8ck in it but perhaps you will see that they have a point, but like they say they still love to make Music!!!
its worth a watch a few times over to see what they are saying.

You can see why Prince likes this. he is a non conformist too

Basically its all wrong only !

http://www.youtube.com/wa...oNPqtznoXk