Gigs are getting rather pricey

honru

The other day I was browsing new listings, and I thought to myself "man, gigs are getting expensive". Yesterday I had a look through old newspapers and was fairly chuffed at the prices gigs were generally going at.

I thought I'd do a comparison on concert prices between us and the UK, and it turns out we're paying significantly more than our fellow neighbours... €8 to €10 extra on most counts. Since I only really compared relatively small gigs and newer bands, it does seem a bit much.

Now beer is topping the €5 mark. Makes me very sad.

Of course, when the demand is there, prices will rise. I'm just wondering if other people have noticed it too and if they're cutting down on the amount of gigs they generally go to as a result.

Bluetonic

f®eak s&#169 wrote: »

I thought I'd do a comparison on concert prices between us and the UK... turns out we're paying significantly more than our fellow neighbours, €8 to €10 extra on most counts. Since I only really compared relatively small gigs and newer bands, it does seem a bit much.

There is extra cost involved in a band having to travel over the water to have a gig here, transport, a day or two lost travelling etc.., I think the extra ticket cost isn't that much to be honest.

I would love to see a break down of those ticket prices between the UK and Ireland all the same.

honru

I remember gigs being more or less equal with the UK a few years ago... hmm...

Bluetonic

Back in the 90s when IEP had a good rate with GBP they were a little closer in pricing.

Havinh been to a manys a gig I can't think of many where the same band touring in the UK would have been cheaper since early 90s. One recently (last week purchased tickets) though is The Bluetones, tickets were 14 euro. The the UK they average 13 GBP.

garthv

Aye, its a bit unreal alright,
Tickets for a decent band are, on average, €50 - €60. With rising beer prices and all that malarky its becomign increasingly difficult to get to all the gigs you really want to. I was going to go into a rant about a certain promoter but then i remembered we cant talk about them!

honru

GaRtH_V wrote:

I was going to go into a rant about a certain promoter but then i remembered we cant talk about them!

The MCD ban was lifted Monday.

indiewindy

Gig prices here are comparable to London gigs where they put a premium of a few pounds on anyone who plays London. There are a few cheap ones around. I saw the evens who contained Ian McKaye from fugazi for only €8.5 in Dublin earlier this year, and cursive tickets are only €16.50 including booking fee really cheap for an American band. Dublin is a goldmine at the moment for promoters. I think that of the big gigs this year only Billy Joel failed to sell out so many ads on the radio a few years ago they wolud have had him playing Lansdowne. Booze prices are so dear at venues in Dublin especially the village. You nearly need a bank loan to get a round in;)

Jello

Aye, the tickets for Madness range from €44 - €55 which is quite pricey.

Garret

GaRtH_V wrote:

Aye, its a bit unreal alright,
Tickets for a decent band are, on average, €50 - €60. With rising beer prices and all that malarky its becomign increasingly difficult to get to all the gigs you really want to. I was going to go into a rant about a certain promoter but then i remembered we cant talk about them!

thats a bit of an exageration

and Aikin tend to be dearer than MCD I've noticed

honru

Well most of the immensely popular acts that play The Point are stretching the €50 mark these days... up from the usual "might consider it" €49.50.

Alter-Ego

Garret wrote:

thats a bit of an exageration

and Aikin tend to be dearer than MCD I've noticed

Yeah, Aiken can be dearer, €5.20 for a pint at guns n' roses. Never paid that much at an mcd gig.

But thats not really an exaggeration. Tool tickets went onsale for €52.50, daft punk tickets are at €49.50.

Bluetonic

Jello wrote:

Aye, the tickets for Madness range from €44 - €55 which is quite pricey.

That is Madness.

PiE

Life is pretty pricey in general.

Complain to the government.

SBob

if you follow an act early on you can normally see them for 15-30 euro (e.g. Sufjan Stevens), otherwise ya, you pay big for big acts.

BUT we are getting much much more gigs these days, Ireland seems to be an automatic stop for most acts at the moment, take Daft Punk for example. I would happily put up with pricey tickets considering the choice of gigs we've had for the last few years. Anyway its no more expensive then a normal night out in dublin.

garthv

Garret wrote:

thats a bit of an exageration

and Aikin tend to be dearer than MCD I've noticed

Its not an exageration. I bought tickets to 5 different gigs last weekend and they were all around the 50 quid mark.

ferdi

hasnt been a big name band playing here that i've wanted to see in ages...

Redegg

move out of dublin.. quite simple really.

NIBBS

as Redegg says really, we are one of the most expensive countries in Europe and the rip-off Ireland thing isn't an illusion........

gig price wise we've been getting more and more expensive over the last 4-5 years and have a had a lot more large gigs here, maybe not in quality but certainly in quantity, Ireland is the place to go no to get the extra 20-30% on top of the ticket price that people get charged elsewhere in Europe, it's often cheaper to get a Ryanair flight to France and go to see a band there than to pay the overpriced fee for the Dublin gig.......that's just a fact of life, and we better get used to it, things aren't going to come down in price anytime soon, if it did there just wouldn't be the same number of acts coming here...........

the whole travel thing is more of an issue for the smaller promoters these days, you're not likely to see anyone come over here with a stage show that's not playing a large venue - with a large price tag and on them and the costs well covered by the entrance fee.........welcome to Ireland....

Jonny Arson

I'm fed up of going to overpriced gigs in the likes of the Point, smaller gigs in smaller venues are intimate and is better craic anyway and cheaper too!

miju

it's a bitch all right but ireland is more expensive due to higher staff , travel and insurance costs etc for the big acts

it also doesn't help with ticketmaster putting a double tax on tickets by charging the customer the "booking fee" and then charging the artist the same booking fee per ticket , ohhh yes there are two sides to that coin all right

Creamy Goodness

Redegg wrote:

move out of dublin.. quite simple really.

yeh so we get to see no gigs right?

we still want to go, we are just unhappy at the prices.

RainyDay

It's market pricing - they charge as much as they can get away with - as long as the punters keep paying, they'll keep charging.

Civilian_Target

TBH, pricey gigs are better than no gigs. Can't have your cake and eat it.

Garret

GaRtH_V wrote:

Its not an exageration. I bought tickets to 5 different gigs last weekend and they were all around the 50 quid mark.

Alter-Ego wrote:

Yeah, Aiken can be dearer, €5.20 for a pint at guns n' roses. Never paid that much at an mcd gig.

But thats not really an exaggeration. Tool tickets went onsale for €52.50, daft punk tickets are at €49.50.

there are a few examples, but the the vast majority of gigs are much cheaper
random examples from mcd.ie

Xavier Rudd - €30
Sufjan Stevens - 30
The Kooks - 30
Maximo Park - 25
Goo Goo Dolls - 35

Honestly, 35 is a better estimation for an average.

Still expensive but as someone said pricey gigs > no gigs

tj-music.com

I go and travel to gigs a lot and it is true to say that the prices in Ireland are pretty high.

www.concert-reviews.net

PiE

miju wrote:

it also doesn't help with ticketmaster putting a double tax on tickets by charging the customer the "booking fee" and then charging the artist the same booking fee per ticket , ohhh yes there are two sides to that coin all right

The promoters charge the booking fee. Ticketmaster charge the "service charge"; half of which often goes to the promoters also.

Pacifico

Paul Simon at the point in November, prices will be starting at €75! :eek:

Granted, its all seating and probably the last time you'll see him tour, but €75!!

miju

PiE wrote:

The promoters charge the booking fee. Ticketmaster charge the "service charge"; half of which often goes to the promoters also.

eh no

68 lost souls

Tickets are going to go for insane prices as soon as the auctioning comes into play, basicly its turning ticketmaster itself into a ticket tout and they are going to be selling tickets to the highest bidders. That will suck!

Mr Rivers

68 lost souls wrote:

Tickets are going to go for insane prices as soon as the auctioning comes into play, basicly its turning ticketmaster itself into a ticket tout and they are going to be selling tickets to the highest bidders. That will suck!

And who said this is coming in?

miju

they've done it in the US already , they auction the best tickets with the rest going for face value

mainly aimed at the corporate market though

68 lost souls

They brought it in in america a few months ago for some of there gigs and I was listening to an interview with the editor of Hot Press on the radio and they were saying that it is not a question of IF it is coming in it is a question of WHEN is it coming in, they suggested it would be in within 2 years.

EDIT: Yes at the moment it is based at the coorperate market at the moment, but having heard statements from ticketmaster they are saying that it will let the "most dedicated fans get the tickets" The problem is that not all the DEDICATED fans have money, just the rich ones or even people who arent big fans but have the money to spend.

tracert

I just payed €80.50 + €2.00 booking fee for a Paul Simon ticket. He's playing the point. If this were anywhere but Ireland that would be pure madness.

ChuckProphet

tracert wrote:

I just payed €80.50 + €2.00 booking fee for a Paul Simon ticket. He's playing the point. If this were anywhere but Ireland that would be pure madness.

If you were to put a value on that I'd say about 40 is a fair price. they're screwing us alright.

thebassman

I'll get onto ticket prices in a sec, but as a side note, does anyone remember pre-ticketmaster that part of a gig was purchasing a specifically designed ticket? None of the uniform TM stubs that exist these days.

None-the-less, yes, tickets have gone insanely pricey, especially since TM appeared, and given the expense in putting on gigs and increased costs to bands etc. etc., eit's still huge money to pay. Guess it's capitalism at it best - if people are going to pay for a product, people will be charged for it.

Let's look at four gigs I've been to - all U2. All home grown lads, who would not have the expense of hotels etc when they finish their gig.

1. 1989. Point Depot. £18 seated (£16 standing). A bit steep at the time, but nothing extraordinary as this was one of the first set of gigs in what was then a relatively new gig venue. (see stub by clicking here to see artwork!!)

2. 1993. RDS. £20 standing. Pretty cool gig. Once again, if I recollect correctly, that wasn't too steep. (Click here to see ticket stub. Design getting a bit TM-esque). Incidenally. anyone remember the Golden Horde? They supported at this gig, and broke up soon afterwards. My mate at the gig gave the singer the finger, who reacted quite badly!!

3. 1997.. Landstown Rd. £30 in the stands. This is the frirst time I recollect saying "God! This is a bit steep!!" (Stub cann be seen here)

4. 2005. Croke Park. €70 in the stands. Understanding costs etc, this was steep for Bono and the boys and giving back to the country that made them, along with their recent astude accounting ploy, moving partially their accounts to Holland - but that's another day's story!! (Stub here)

BrianD

I think it's important to note that the promoter does not always set the ticket prices. Even if they do the artist management is fully aware of what is being charged.

We are fortunate that Irish promoters bring in an insane numbers of bands to this country every year. We really do have the choice of gigs here that you wouldn't get in other cities the size of Dublin. It is however more expensive to do business here and there is also the cost of shipping the production needs of a major tour here. This is why you'll notice that a lot of big tours start or end in Ireland. Some tours will ditch a lot of their production before they arrive here as well.

In regard to Ticketmaster. Up to recently they were really the only player in town and, what ever you may say about charges, do a very good job and are capable of handling any size gig. Now there are more players - Ticket Lord, Tickets.ie and even the WAV box office. I think the promoters should make their tickets available to a number of ticket agencies. Then we can start having some competitition on the handling charges and so on.

PiE

miju wrote:

eh no

Oh ok, thanks for clearing that up for me with such insight.

I think it's important to note that the promoter does not always set the ticket prices. Even if they do the artist management is fully aware of what is being charged.

This is a very good point. Maybe complaints to the bands' management themselves might yield better results than complaining to Ticketmaster or the Irish promoters. Doubt it though, they're all in it for the money anyway.

grumpytrousers

tracert wrote:

I just payed €80.50 + €2.00 booking fee for a Paul Simon ticket. He's playing the point. If this were anywhere but Ireland that would be pure madness.

not as mad as you think. the top price ticket in london is £45 (excl charges). Rough rule of thumb that you take uk price and multiply by 1.5 takes you to €68. Chuck in the comment made by BrianD and which i've said before that economies of scale don't apply to a one off Irish show when contrasted with his 'mini tour' of the UK....

RainyDay

This topic is covered in this Sindo article today - free registration required.

Doctor J

Civilian_Target wrote:

TBH, pricey gigs are better than no gigs. Can't have your cake and eat it.

Go see some local bands. There are plenty of quality Irish bands playing venues around the country every night and not charging more than a tenner.

I don't understand people whining about ticket prices but still paying. Why can't people in theis country say "no, that's too much" and have the grapes to decline supporting the system which is ripping them off. I'd like to see Tool but I'm not paying that much to stand in what is a fairly crap venue, which usually suffers from bad sound and deal with the delight that is Irish "security" and still have to pay through the hoop for the privelege? No, thanks. When people stop going to the gigs, the prices will stop going up. People who continue to lap up the price hikes only have themselves to blame. Stand up and say no. Don't go and, yeah, write a letter to the band and their management and explain why you won't attend their gig. That'll make them take notice.

Support your local scene, you might be pleasantly surprised.

MrJones

Exactly. why are people moaning and still paying the prices. put up or shut up as the man himself said.
also there are plenty of local bands and less well known bands that play and are fantastic and the tickets cost very little.

Doctor J wrote:

Go see some local bands. There are plenty of quality Irish bands playing venues around the country every night and not charging more than a tenner.

I don't understand people whining about ticket prices but still paying. Why can't people in theis country say "no, that's too much" and have the grapes to decline supporting the system which is ripping them off. I'd like to see Tool but I'm not paying that much to stand in what is a fairly crap venue, which usually suffers from bad sound and deal with the delight that is Irish "security" and still have to pay through the hoop for the privelege? No, thanks. When people stop going to the gigs, the prices will stop going up. People who continue to lap up the price hikes only have themselves to blame. Stand up and say no. Don't go and, yeah, write a letter to the band and their management and explain why you won't attend their gig. That'll make them take notice.

Support your local scene, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Doctor J

Indeed. Last international gig I was at featured bands from the USA, Australia and three from Ireland, a solid four hours of entertainment. Price?

€24

Oh yes, it was not a gig put on by certain promoters who shall not be mentioned

The last local gig was three bands last Friday, excellent stuff. Price?

€7

If you feel ripped off it is because you allow yourself to be ripped off