Fenxy

No one. That's absolutely ridiculous, you'd have to be insane or have huge amounts of disposable income.

I'd pay that much to see Talking Heads, because I have loved them since I was a kid, but of course was too young to see them when they were still together. It's a bit unrealistic because I doubt David Byrne would stand for that kind of price. Plus he's made it very clear that they'll never, ever, ever reunite.

I think it's nervy and vain for artists like Madonna, U2, and Celine to expect their fans to shell out that kind of money for the privilege of watching them on a Jumbotron screen half a mile away. I look at these people's backstage riders on the Smoking Gun and it makes me sick to see where the money goes. Why not forego that case of Cristal to save your fans a couple bucks off the ticket price?

I paid $50 to see U2. It was a great show. I still felt ripped off.

@Ozone, even if I had that kind of money, it would still bother me to shell out that kind of money to see anybody in concert.

@jensized, I was just sitting here wondering if it's the artists who are actually demanding/getting this kind of cash, or if it's the recording companies and sponsors that are driving up the price. Like all this controversy about paying artists for their music directly and cutting out the middlemen. Makes me wonder if Celine Dion really thinks she's worth it.

I haven't gone to one concert that cost me over $15 and I've seen all sorts of bands from Tantric to Drowning Pool etc.

My daughter wanted to see Hannah Montana a while back and those damned tickets were like $150 EACH! Nope!

@dreamweaver: You mentioned the sponsorship thing, and that's the biggest thing I don't get.

What does the "sponsorship" pay for? Logically speaking it should cover a portion of the expenses necessary to put on the show, so what is the point of a sponsored tour if the ticket still costs an arm and a leg?

I've gone to several sponsored festivals where the tickets cost 60-120 dollars for a weekend of 50+ artists, and in those instances sponsorship is what makes it possible. But a single artist? I'd love to see the cost broken down to who gets what.

That's what I've been wondering... my tickets to the Jagermeister Music Tour in '01 were $15 because the sponsors and the radio station broadcasting there were footing a LARGE portion of the bill.

There's no way I would ever shell out that kind of money. I've gone into the 3-digits for festivals but like Jen-sized said, those were festivals where you saw multiple performers. Now, even if there's a festival with a ton of performances I want to see, I'd consider it but I'm feeling a bit old to go from stage to stage ... much less worry about concurrent performance times.

I mean, maybe if the Beatles rose from the dead and were playing a show I'd pay that much ... so if anybody hears of that happening be sure to let me know.

I'd probably pay that much to see extraterrestrials.

But only if they were performing in a band.

I don't think I would ever pay that much for one evening's entertainment. The most I have ever paid was £80/$160 to see Red Hot Chili Peppers at Hyde Park a couple of summers ago. To me that was one hell of a price to pay (I bought two tickets so the girlfriend could come along) but it was for her birthday and we not only saw RHCP, but also the Godfather of Soul, Mr James Brown, some crappy punk band that was made up of Blink182's former frontman and other refugees, and Queens of the Stone Age. The show lasted all day and was worth the money. But for a three hour gig, I won't go over £30.

I think we paid £80 each for the Foo Fighters gig at Hyde Park as well, last year, and we were in the inner circle at the front. We even had space to lay down and stretch out.

Things like this make me wonder how the promoters are getting away with it. Sure, some bands/artists deserve more because they put on more of a show, but there is a limit. $150 for Hannah Montana when they know that the concert is aimed at the younger market and therefore at least one parent is going to have to accompany the children. Thus, $300 is extortionate.

Seems like Celine has gone the Barbara Streisand route. Weren't her tickets insane too?

I paid it one time but that was for a very special occasion. I saved up for months to take my Mom to see Johnny Mathis...she loves him. Back then it was about $150 (equivalent to $300 now) and it was the last time he ever came to our city so it was worth it to see her sway to the music.

For myself? I can't think of anyone but if there was someone I was that "into", if I could afford it I wouldn't let the money stop me. It would be someone I knew gave a great show though but I honestly can't think of anyone.

My daughter wanted to see Hannah Montana. I told her she could go but she'd have to use her own money. Funny...she didn't want to go "that" bad anymore lol.

My daughter wanted to see Hannah Montana. I told her she could go but she'd have to use her own money. Funny...she didn't want to go "that" bad anymore lol.

My, isn't it funny how the tune changes if they have to use their own money for something extravagant? From the look of ticket prices these days we're probably going to have the same conversation soon with my oldest daughter (15); she thinks it's criminal that she hasn't been to a concert yet. I think she's too young, especially to go with friends so as soon as a group she likes (that her dad can tolerate, since he'll have to take her) shows up in Stuttgart, it'll be time for that conversation about using her her own money.

Brian and I see about 10-15 concerts a year. The reality is, to get great seats especially, you've got to be willing to pay. Now I'm not saying we routinely spend an insane amount like that. But we paid $300 a ticket to get wickedly awesome seats to see The Police in Dallas. But The Police are Brian's favorite band of all time, and the venue sold out instantly, so we had to pay the reseller mark up.

We generally pay face value for tickets and, honestly, there aren't many shows where tickets cross the $100 line. But we did buy tickets to see Celine DIon, who will be playing at the brand new BOK Center in Tulsa next November, and her going rate for prime seats was $162.50. Worth every penny though.

When you look at whether an artist is worth their ticket price, here are a few things I ask myself:
*How bad do I want to see them live?
*Where do they rank in my list of favorite bands?
*Where do they rank in my list of bands I want to see live?
*Are they any good live? (see Youtube)
*How often do they tour?
*What kind of public demand will there be?

I can tell you that I'd easily pay $300 a ticket for really good Stevie Wonder tickets, or Bette Midler tickets. If Ella Fitzgerald were still with us, I'd cross the $1,000 line for her. But, then again, music is my passion.

Ryan, why didn't it shock me that you bought tickets to see Celine ;)

Did you get good seats?

Ryan, I'd have considered $162.50 for prime seats for Celine, IF she was playing in a decent venue with good acoustics. She's not, and the prime seats are the ones that are $360+ each over here.

I do see your point about passions. And, while I like music a lot and Celine is one of my favs, $360 buys one hell of a lot of fabric! :)

@RightOn: that's profiling! :) And, yes, we got great seats. So there.

@dreamweaver: Agreed. I don't know that we would have paid $360 each to see her. I would have just picked up the concert DVD from her Vegas show and called it a night. :)

I'll pay to Watch Garbage, the one that sings 'The World is not enough' and 'Stupid Girl'. I heard that the band will come and perform in Malaysia(my home country) sometime next year.

I like the lead singer-Shirley Manson's voice and the fantastic music performed.