No GA? Expensive tickets!?

[frozenmuze04]

Well, that's true - but do you really think they're going to be inexpensive, given the state of the concert industry and the amount of money / energy / hype going into this tour? I don't. $45 for Elevation was pretty cheap, and it was also about reconnecting with fans and partially-establishing a younger fanbase. They don't need to do that this time around. I don't have much hope for cheap tix.

 

[omphallos]

$80.00?? You mean that the $40.00 membership I just signed up for is only for 'One' ticket? How many tickets are you allowed with the $40.00 fee???

 

[cdparky]

I think everyone's getting a little up-in-arms too early. Bottom line, people - VERY FEW bands at U2's level do GA. Elevation was an exception. It would make more sense in the grand scheme of where they're at as a band NOT to have GA.

U2 are a ROCK band, so GA should come as a given. The only way you'll keep them in arenas is with GA otherwise the rich non-fans end up in the front rows and kill the atmosphere. Bono says as much in the Elevation tour programme (about 14 pages in).

GA = more tickets = more chance to get in. I do find it remarkable that some people seem to be assuming that with no GA they'll get the best seats - you won't - the scalpers will as they always do. If all seated prices will be higher. $125 for the best Elevation seats? You could probably double that this time and still sell them. GA will be a fraction of the cost.

To give you an example (from the Madonna tour) -

London - front half of each arena equivalent to $300
Paris - GA on the floor in front of the stage - equivalent to about $60

I know Madonna is an extreme example, but U2 are a bigger draw so of course prices will be at a premium. If they want to maximise the income, then go all seated and hike the prices. At the same time risk alienating large sections of the fan base by pricing them out of it and potentially ruining the atmosphere of each show.

As for getting pushed around in the GA section, yes it will happen if you go right to the front or try to get into the middle - but just hang back a little and level with either Edge or Adam and you get a close view without trouble. Could you guarantee getting a better seat?

Besides, while discussing about what may or may not happen be grateful that you will have the opportunity as it appears once again that this tour will skip some of the most loyal U2 fan-bases.

 

[TiaraGurl]

we'll find out officaly.
when tickets and dates are announced.

very sound thinking me thinks

 

[bonosleftone]

GA is NOT a given for anyone who believes that. BTW the U2.com $40 membership guarantees you 2 tickets to one show. We'll have to wait and see what kind of seats they dole out in that one.

Do you know why they did it at Elevation? Do you remember the tour prior to Elevation? Popmart did not sell to U2's standards at that time. Elevation was the comeback tour and they did the GA thing as a incentive for the casual fan to come to the show and have a good vantage point at a "average" price. They had no clue prior to Elevation that it was going to be as successful as it was, now with Clear Channel on board the entire key to this tour will be to maximize profit, its no secret that U2 are very keen on maintaining and breaking the records they set with Elevation.

Now U2 are literally back at the top and it's extremely likely to be seated. They're a premium act so I wouldnt even be surprised to see the best seats top out at the $150-$200 range. Very extreme and very un-U2, but let's remember that back during PopMart they were the most expensive concert tickets ever in the states at that time.

The person who stated the best seats usually go to scalpers is right. Lets also not forget the portion for each show that goes to the band and their managment, industry, media (friends, radio stations etc), and of course the dreaded scalpers. What was great about last time is that a lot of these people ended up with the "Golden Circle" seats, which were good seats, but for less than half the price you could get GA.

Popmart Seattle was the first show I got Popmart tickets for. I was LITERALLY the first on the phone that day for the show because I called 2 minutes too early and the girl on the line let me stay on line with her until the sale started. I got row 23.

If its seated, you'll be lucky to get floor seats much less first 10 rows.

 

[cdparky]

GA is NOT a given for anyone who believes that. BTW the U2.com $40 membership guarantees you 2 tickets to one show. We'll have to wait and see what kind of seats they dole out in that one.

Do you know why they did it at Elevation? Do you remember the tour prior to Elevation? Popmart did not sell to U2's standards at that time. Elevation was the comeback tour and they did the GA thing as a incentive for the casual fan to come to the show and have a good vantage point at a "average" price.

For the 2nd point, read your Elevation tour programme. Bono states in there why they went back to arenas and why they did GA on Elevation.

For the first point, maybe it's just a different culture in the UK. Almost every act that tours the UK (possibly Europe???) does GA as a matter of course - whether it be stadiums or arenas.

 

[BigMacPhisto]

It was GA last time? That must've been really awesome.....non GA just favors those rich fans that can spend cash on the front row seats....GA is the way to be as it gives everyone the same chance for tix....juding by the whole U2.com thingie about members getting early tickets, I think it's safe to say that there will be no GA this time around....I don't think the forty bucks is worth it to become a U2.com member, so I think it's kind of a rip that the fans that can afford both the membership and the front row seats will get the most fun out of their shows..

 

[bonosleftone]

For the 2nd point, read your Elevation tour programme. Bono states in there why they went back to arenas and why they did GA on Elevation.

For the first point, maybe it's just a different culture in the UK. Almost every act that tours the UK (possibly Europe???) does GA as a matter of course - whether it be stadiums or arenas.

Ok for your first point and this is by no means a personal attack, but do you honestly take stock word for word what Bono says as gospel and that theres nothing else going on behind the scenes? Do you truly believe what it says in the tour book and that the choice to have GA on Elevation was not made from a business standpoint as well and that the failure in U2's eyes of Popmart didn't come into play at all when deciding about Elevation's ticketing and tour design? If you look at Popmart they were predicting pre-tour that it would sell out everywhere and break all the records. It did, for cost to the performer! Elevation's GA system was there for some of the sentiment that's mentioned in the tour program undoubtedly especially considering the mantra of the album and tour was "back to basics", but I guarantee that a lot of the reasoning was business. U2 was unsure of how ATYCLB would go down and how the people would respond for the tour, this is no secret. Prior to ATYCLB when it was announced that U2 was coming out with a new album no-one was sure (except us die-hard fans) if they would make that much of a noise. They made it that accesible (GA) for more than one reason and business had a lot to do with it. It's a lot easier for Bono to say (in a tour program, published by them, for us) that it was purely for the fans. I'm not trying to say that Bono is a lying bastard, but there was a lot more to that decision than just what he said in the tour book.

I honestly have no clue what they're going to do this time around anywhere other than the US. The fact is, that all the signs in the US are pointing to a return to Popmart style seating meaning no GA. This would be a shame in a lot of our eyes, because well frankly if tickets are $50 that's that many more shows I can and want to go to then if they are $100. Not to mention that this will probably be the tour with the most demand in U2's history, more so than Joshua Tree and Zoo TV even.

 

[BigMacPhisto]

How about they just up the GA? Did anyone think about that? General Admission could be raised to $100 for everyone.....I would be fine with that actually.....the diehard fans like us would show up early and get the best seats without having to have paid $200 for them.....I think raising the GA price would be the best solution by far....I just can't stand the fact that I'm a newer fan who has never gotten to see U2....I know the entire catalog like the back of my hand....Bono is like a spiritual leader for me....It's incredibly aggravating that I could end up being in the backrow and some rich "fan" who doesn't own any of the albums gets the nice tickets...

 

[cdparky]

Ok for your first point and this is by no means a personal attack, but do you honestly take stock word for word what Bono says as gospel and that theres nothing else going on behind the scenes?

No, I don't take everything he says as gospel. I actually do believe his comment about the atmosphere - the rich non-fans end up with front row seats which is a bummer for both band and crowd - and the touts make even more money. That's why IMO GA will happen again, but that is only my opinion. If it's about money, then it will be all seated and the front row seats won't be far short of Madonna prices.

btw, I actually used to dislike GA tickets, my first experience (Zooropa Wembley) was uncomfortable and I avoided it for years after. Now I wouldn't trade a GA ticket for any seat.

 

[speedracer]

So what's so horrible about floor seat tickets being 4x as expensive as GA tickets?

Instead of 1 fan having GA tickets for 4 shows, maybe they'll have 4 different fans.

 

[sv]

Regretfully, within 5 years I think we will find that premium seats (1st 10 rows floor, the best Golden Circle seats) are regularaly AUCTIONED by Clear Channel & Ticketmaster to the highest bidder. At the VIP/elite level, the system already works that way.

Clear Channel & Ticketmaster negotiate deals with organizations that represent VIPs/elites and with ticket brokers. Deals which basically say, we guarantee you the best tickets and you overpay. That's how the system has always guaranteed that the elites always get the best seats, and that CC/TM maximize their profits. CC/TM can't continue to breach these deals by creating "GA" sections at the front of the stage in which the peasant class (i.e. most of us) get the best experience.

What with so many more Americans in the white collar class who are now able/willing to spend hundreds of bucks on concert tickets, it makes good business sense for CC/TM to extend the auction system into that class.

 

[cudar]

ggdg

 

[cudar]

oops, I am definately not a GA person, can't stand waiting in lines for that long and standing on the floor waiting for the show to start no thanks. I saw the Elevation tour 5 times (3 Chicago, 1 Milwuakee, and in Vegas), never GA, one show (one of the Chicago ones) I got tickets thru Prop, which were the worst seats I had for any of the shows. Maybe I am the exception to the rule(knock on wood) but I always have had luck with tticketmaster. Ex. I went to the second Chicago show, came home said I got to go again, looked on TM that night and found seats just to the left of the heart in the first row. I spent over a thousand dollars on pairs of tickets for the Elevation tour (I am a school teacher, much saving involved) and I will gladly do it for this tour also. Just my 2 cents....

 

[bonosleftone]

[B Maybe I am the exception to the rule(knock on wood) but I always have had luck with tticketmaster. . [/B]

Definitely not an exception or at the least I am as well.

I've done pre-sales/special sales with bands before (like Prop) and NEVER gotten better seats than I did with Ticketmaster alone. Only one time in a U2 presale (Popmart Seattle) did I get better seats than I did with a regular onsale date and that presale was handled by MTV/Ticketmaster and not Prop. All my Elevation shows were GA.