BuffettNews.com

I find it funny that people are using supply and demand and other economic principles in their comments in this thread.

There are many constants in the Buffett economic model. The most important being that, let's face it, no matter what the price of the show is, Buffett IS GOING TO SELL OUT.
[Save your negative replies, you negative nellies who are going to say "What if it's x amount??!!," etc., etc. You know EXACTLY what I mean.]
I'm a New Yorker. 'Everything' sells out here because the population is so dense, but Buffett sells out everywhere, regardless.

So the question becomes, if Jimmy is actually very happy for the support we've given him all of these years--AS HE STATES 'FROM THE HEART' AT EVERY SINGLE SHOW--and feels a 'closeness' with us ParrotHeads, why doesn't he keep ticket prices affordable for us fans?? His ticket prices are ridiculously exorbitant!!

The answer is simple. He knows everything I stated above and wants to grab every last penny from us all. It's sad, because I'll always like his music, but now I'm paying close to $200 per seat to see a guy sing a bunch of cover songs. A glorified tribute band.

Now, let's hear from the naysayers...

Do artists "make an effort to keep ticket prices down" or do they keep them down because they know they can't sell them at a higher price?

Quiet and Shy wrote:Or, Jimmy could just open auction every ticket. I'd bet the average price would go up significantly and then it would be the fans' fault vs. Jimmy's.

A couple of things he could do would be to take a hint from other performers who have made the effort to keep the price of tickets down and do the same. The other would be to implement some sort of plan via a Margaritaville fanclub to help insure some sort of ticket availability to fans. Given he's always emphasized his business acumen over his musical ability I'm very surprised he's never done this, especially when so many other performers have. It's not flawless by any means but it would at least show he's making the effort. Right now the only effort he's exhibiting is one that compells me to spend my concert money elsewhere.

LIPH wrote:Do artists "make an effort to keep ticket prices down" or do they keep them down because they know they can't sell them at a higher price?

You'd have to ask the specific artists that but I'm aware of performers capable of selling out stadiums that chose to keep ticket prices down when they could very well raise the prices through the roof. The fact that they don't choose the latter route shows they have their fans' interest at heart. With all of the money Buffett has made he could very well join them in that effort. That he doesn't is a sign of overwhelming greed.

ParrotHead Elm wrote:I find it funny that people are using supply and demand and other economic principles in their comments in this thread.

There are many constants in the Buffett economic model. The most important being that, let's face it, no matter what the price of the show is, Buffett IS GOING TO SELL OUT.
[Save your negative replies, you negative nellies who are going to say "What if it's x amount??!!," etc., etc. You know EXACTLY what I mean.]
I'm a New Yorker. 'Everything' sells out here because the population is so dense, but Buffett sells out everywhere, regardless.

So the question becomes, if Jimmy is actually very happy for the support we've given him all of these years--AS HE STATES 'FROM THE HEART' AT EVERY SINGLE SHOW--and feels a 'closeness' with us ParrotHeads, why doesn't he keep ticket prices affordable for us fans?? His ticket prices are ridiculously exorbitant!!

The answer is simple. He knows everything I stated above and wants to grab every last penny from us all. It's sad, because I'll always like his music, but now I'm paying close to $200 per seat to see a guy sing a bunch of cover songs. A glorified tribute band.

Now, let's hear from the naysayers...

I'm not trying to be difficult here, but my point in all of this is given how the internet has opened up the market, I really don't think Jimmy has nearly as much say in determining the final price paid by a fan as you're giving him credit (or criticism) for. And, if I have to pay $130 on average I'd rather pay Jimmy than a scalper.

Hey everyone...

I've been watching this debate for a few pages now...and I'm just curious as to what artists have affordable tickets?

I remember seeing the Eagles and U2 over 10 years ago and their prime seats were well over $100....

Tiki Torches wrote:

Quiet and Shy wrote:Or, Jimmy could just open auction every ticket. I'd bet the average price would go up significantly and then it would be the fans' fault vs. Jimmy's.

A couple of things he could do would be to take a hint from other performers who have made the effort to keep the price of tickets down and do the same. The other would be to implement some sort of plan via a Margaritaville fanclub to help insure some sort of ticket availability to fans. Given he's always emphasized his business acumen over his musical ability I'm very surprised he's never done this, especially when so many other performers have. It's not flawless by any means but it would at least show he's making the effort. Right now the only effort he's exhibiting is one that compells me to spend my concert money elsewhere.

Unfortunately, that doesn't always work either....U2 had a fiasco a few years ago when they tried to implement this system....

Tiki Torches wrote:

LIPH wrote:Do artists "make an effort to keep ticket prices down" or do they keep them down because they know they can't sell them at a higher price?

You'd have to ask the specific artists that but I'm aware of performers capable of selling out stadiums that chose to keep ticket prices down when they could very well raise the prices through the roof. The fact that they don't choose the latter route shows they have their fans' interest at heart. With all of the money Buffett has made he could very well join them in that effort. That he doesn't is a sign of overwhelming greed.

Have you asked those artists personally why they charge what they do for tickets? Do you know for a fact they keep their ticket prices low for the sake of the fans? Or is this another example of your opinion? Whether you want to admit it or not, music is a business. The goal of any business is, or should be, to maximize revenue. A businessman who doesn't do that is a fool.

sunseeker wrote:Hey everyone...

I've been watching this debate for a few pages now...and I'm just curious as to what artists have affordable tickets?

I remember seeing the Eagles and U2 over 10 years ago and their prime seats were well over $100....

When I saw the Eagles 2 years ago I paid $25/ticket, face value, in Madison Square Garden.

One example would be Pearl Jam, who unsuccessfully took Ticketmaster to task several years ago. They, and the groups that joined them in the lawsuit (Aerosmith, R.E.M. and others) didn't win but in the years since have gone on record saying they go to great measures (including using alternate ticket outlets) to keep ticket prices down. Other groups that try to keep ticket prices down are the Black Crowes, Dave Matthews Band (who sells out concerts regularly) and Green Day. That Buffett has never even made such an effort is impetus enough for me to know that isn't even of interest to him. And while the U2 fanclub tix experienced a snafu that doesn't mean it will never work. Lots of other performers have implemented similar fanclub tix plans that have been successful. Buffett hasn't even made the effort to do so. Again, my money will be going to performers who offer tickets at a reasonable price. As it stands at present, Jimmy Buffett isn't one of them.

the single biggest thing jimmy could do for his fans is quit setting aside a couple thousand tickets at every show for tour sponsors.

Tiki Torches wrote:Other groups that try to keep ticket prices down are the Black Crowes, Dave Matthews Band (who sells out concerts regularly) and Green Day.

In case you hadn't noticed, so does Jimmy Buffett.

Tiki Torches wrote:And while the U2 fanclub tix experienced a snafu that doesn't mean it will never work. Lots of other performers have implemented similar fanclub tix plans that have been successful. Buffett hasn't even made the effort to do so.

As far as I know, Parrot Head clubs still get tickets when there's a show in their area. That's something Jimmy Buffett has been doing for several years.

Tiki Torches wrote:Again, my money will be going to performers who offer tickets at a reasonable price. As it stands at present, Jimmy Buffett isn't one of them.

It's already been pointed out, numerous times, that Jimmy Buffett does offer tickets at a reasonable price. You've chosen to ignore that. But why let facts get in the way.

My point about Dave Matthews isn't to pit him against Buffett in the sell out dept but to simply say he charges far less for tickets and still manages to sell out nearly every show. Contrary to popular belief Buffett does not sell out every show. Yes, he sells out a lot of them but not every one. My point being, if an artist of Matthews' stature can keep the prices of tickets lower, so can Jimmy Buffett. In the name of greed, he chooses not too. He's a multimillionaire who doesn't really need the cash at this point so why continue to raise the price of tickets?

In regards to Buffett offering tickets at a "reasonable" price, I'm not the only one in this thread that's pointed out that we feel $126 is unreasonable. This is underlined by the fact that other performers of a similar (if not more well known) stature try to keep the price of tickets down. Buffett isn't doing this. In that regard, the performers that are actually making the effort to keep ticket prices down are going to get my money, not Buffett.

Now, let's hear from the soothsayers...

JIMMY BUFFETT IS GOD

Hmmmm...but don't you have to pay to join a fan club to be entitled to try and buy tickets in advance? In checking the DMB website, that cost $35 ...so in essence a $75 ticket with the cost of the fan club would be $110?

Tiki Torches wrote:In regards to Buffett offering tickets at a "reasonable" price, I'm not the only one in this thread that's pointed out that we feel $126 is unreasonable. This is underlined by the fact that other performers of a similar (if not more well known) stature try to keep the price of tickets down. Buffett isn't doing this. In that regard, the performers that are actually making the effort to keep ticket prices down are going to get my money, not Buffett.

You keep pounding away at the $126 tickets. Buffett doesn't charge $126 for every seat in the house and that's something you're conveniently ignoring. Once again - $26 in Orlando, $39.50 in Tallahassee, $36 for lawn tickets for at least the last 2 tours. Are you saying those prices aren't affordable?

sunseeker wrote:Hmmmm...but don't you have to pay to join a fan club to be entitled to try and buy tickets in advance? In checking the DMB website, that cost $35 ...so in essence a $75 ticket with the cost of the fan club would be $110?

That's an example of but one fanclub. R.E.M.'s annual fee is $10 and hasn't changed since the fanclub started in the early 80s.

LIPH wrote:

Tiki Torches wrote:In regards to Buffett offering tickets at a "reasonable" price, I'm not the only one in this thread that's pointed out that we feel $126 is unreasonable. This is underlined by the fact that other performers of a similar (if not more well known) stature try to keep the price of tickets down. Buffett isn't doing this. In that regard, the performers that are actually making the effort to keep ticket prices down are going to get my money, not Buffett.

You keep pounding away at the $126 tickets. Buffett doesn't charge $126 for every seat in the house and that's something you're conveniently ignoring. Once again - $26 in Orlando, $39.50 in Tallahassee, $36 for lawn tickets for at least the last 2 tours. Are you saying those prices aren't affordable?

I've acknowledged several times during this exchange that I was refering to the high end ticket prices. Yes, the lawn tickets are affordable but I'm not referring to those. If an artist of Dave Matthews stature can charge $40-50 for good seats, so can Buffett but he doesn't. He's made his millions so at this point it comes down to a matter of greed.

Tiki Torches wrote:

sunseeker wrote:Hmmmm...but don't you have to pay to join a fan club to be entitled to try and buy tickets in advance? In checking the DMB website, that cost $35 ...so in essence a $75 ticket with the cost of the fan club would be $110?

That's an example of but one fanclub. R.E.M.'s annual fee is $10 and hasn't changed since the fanclub started in the early 80s.

But do you agree that with that reasoning, then DMB ticket prices aren't so affordable anymore...

LIPH wrote:

Tiki Torches wrote:In regards to Buffett offering tickets at a "reasonable" price, I'm not the only one in this thread that's pointed out that we feel $126 is unreasonable. This is underlined by the fact that other performers of a similar (if not more well known) stature try to keep the price of tickets down. Buffett isn't doing this. In that regard, the performers that are actually making the effort to keep ticket prices down are going to get my money, not Buffett.

You keep pounding away at the $126 tickets. Buffett doesn't charge $126 for every seat in the house and that's something you're conveniently ignoring. Once again - $26 in Orlando, $39.50 in Tallahassee, $36 for lawn tickets for at least the last 2 tours. Are you saying those prices aren't affordable?

somebody is just p*** they can't get a front row ticket for $25...