http://online.wsj.com/art...lenews_wsj

It's Only Rock 'n' Roll -- at $15,000 a Seat
By HANNAH KARP and SAM SCHECHNER

This summer, promoters are offering a new service for VIP concert-goers: eliminating the riffraff altogether.

A new five-concert series called "Social" will debut in East Hampton, N.Y., in July, with a pass to all five shows costing $15,000. (Tickets aren't available for individual shows.)


WSJ's Sam Schechner on a concert series featuring Prince and Billy Joel, a pass to all five shows costing $15,000; and the growing buzz for the New York band Battles.
The series is a new extreme in the concert industry's increasing attempts to woo big spenders. But it also reflects promoters' attempts to cash in on demand that's pushed prices on ticket-resale sites like StubHub to the stratosphere. This way, promoters can price tickets at the same level -- and keep the money for themselves.

The Social lineup is hardly cutting-edge -- it includes Prince, Billy Joel, Dave Matthews, Tom Petty and James Taylor. (Bulldog Entertainment, a two-year-old promotion company, says it sought mainstream artists with the help of former Warner Bros. and DreamWorks record executive Michael Ostin.) Then again, it's not just about music: At Social, artists will exhibit, celebrity chefs will cook, parking will cost nothing and seating will include daybeds, ottomans and Moroccan pillows. Social will be marketed as a lifestyle, says Bulldog, to Wall Street executives, Hamptons socialites and the ultrarich.

Of course, other music festivals have introduced luxuries for their VIPs, though never with ticket prices like these: Lollapalooza now offers cabanas on Lake Michigan and mint-infused cooling treatments; and in Washington state, Sasquatch this year offered a $500 festival pass that comes with hot showers and air-conditioned bathrooms.

The prices of Social, which work out to $3,000 a concert, may not go down easily, some music-industry analysts say. Barbra Streisand's Las Vegas show was last year's most expensive regular ticket in the U.S., at $1,000 a pop, concert-tracking company Pollstar says. Tickets for Alabama's farewell tour also cost $1,000 but included meeting the band and an autographed guitar. "You're definitely pushing the outer bounds with this," says Gary Bongiovanni, editor in chief of Pollstar, "even with prime rib and lobster."


But Joe Meli, Bulldog CEO, says prices are in line with the secondary market. Tenth-row tickets to the Jimmy Buffett concert at New York's Madison Square Garden this September, for example, are being offered for $2,995 on StubHub. Though no one may be willing to pay that much, a buyer from Omaha, Neb., did pay $11,000 for two front-row seats at Elton John's 60th Birthday Bash in March at Madison Square Garden.

Each of the musicians is likely to have a seven-figure payday for his appearance, according to several managers of high-profile acts not involved with the concert series. The stars' representatives either didn't respond or declined to comment on their pay.

Mr. Meli says some of the 1,000 passes to all five concerts have already been sold but declined to say how many, and also declined to say how many tickets he needs to sell to break even.

The concert site, East Hampton's Ross School, will put its set fee from Bulldog into its scholarship fund. But, says Mr. Meli, "We're not obfuscating what we're doing by calling ourselves a charity."




[Edited 5/18/07 14:22pm]

We got a bargain deal Chrissy!

UCantHavaDaMango said:

I know but once U get a taste U have to have more and more and more.....

hopefully this world tour thingy will come close to us and be a little cheaper than the normal price like he did for the London ppl

Dam!

babooshleeky said:

I know. This is certainly not a normal event. It's totally meant for upscale audiencs, and they plan to cater to their lifestyle. I guess it's cool that they want Prince to be a part of it, but it's just so much money.

Upscale People

Geez....
looks like I'll have to put in some serious over-time turning trix this weekend.

I hope that Prince doesn't think these shows count. This is worse than Butter.
Next time we request NY, we're gonna have to be more specific.

anon said:

anon said:

No kidding. "Be careful what you wish for" has a whole new meaning.

He is finally coming back to NY and this is how much is being charged? That's too much for me and any other regular person!

jess555ja said:

By regular person you mean riffraff, right?

anon said:

Yeah. He wants to play for rich people! I want to see Prince, but $15,000 is tuition, room, and board for school. This is crazy to me!

I just hope that he also does a more affordable show when he comes to NY as well as this show.

anon said:

I know, right. This was not really what I had in mind when I kept saying "come to the east coast." It makes Vegas (flights, hotel, tix) look cheap!

I'm bummed, but I don't think Prince will forget about his less rich fans. I keep hearing rumors about 7/7/07 and the perfume in NYC, so maybe we'll get a week of concerts leading up to this. Honestly, I wouldn't want to party with a Hamptons crowd anyway.

jess555ja said:

i think he just wants to play for people

parishilton said:

Too bad you'll be in jail and have to miss it.

parishilton said:

Yeah, but how many people are going to drop $15,000 for this? If he wanted to play for more people, the price would be much lower.

DevotedPuppy said:

DevotedPuppy said:

Vegas. It makes London look cheap.

jess555ja said:

you'd have to ask him, but i still think he just wants to play for people. Not more people or rich people or poor people or 'whoever' labelled 'however'...

from what i can gather, he's a simple-hearted kinda guy whether he's che chinging or just plain singing. yay we rhymed

jess555ja said:

Really, this is a good move. I won't be there, though. Imagine paying 15k for a show and then having to share your daybed with a stranger. Or what if the daybeds and ottomans are all taken and you end up with a pillow?

I love Prince to death, but that amount = my college education. Chica is trying to get her Bachelor's in Journalism (with a minor in teaching the childrens...what?! ) and then later on her Master's. Maybe when I get famous for a novel I'll pay that much.

LadyLuvSexxy said:

Same for me. These prices are not for us college students.

Illustrator said:

Prince is ALREADY my pimp, the way I be travelling to see him and giving him ALL my money. Just stay offa my corner!!!

jess555ja said:

In New York??? A lot of people, maybe not Prince fans, but with all the bluebloods and entertainers in the apple you can best believe this shit will sell out. For people like this it's not about the show itself rather the whole experience and they will pay the money to feel special and elite. They want to be able to say that they went to a show where they laid on a daybed with Moroccan pillows while Prince hand fed them grapes. Shiiiiittttt, now that I think about it I might pay $15k for that right thurr. It may not be fair or right but it is what it is. Besides, I doubt this would be in an arena. So, I say let the lil man get paid by the fat cats which allows him to sell more concert tickets at $31,21 or $75 or even $125 to his most devoted supporters.

anon said:

Worse than Butter? Butter was only $121.03 when he gave that private party last year which awesome!

SCNDLS said:

The rich in NYC will definitely pay for that...the rich folks, I mean the really rich folks will shell out that kind of money. If they can afford to live in $1 million + condos, they can afford to pay that ticket price.

2elijah said:

Oh, definitely!