From A $4 Hendrix To A $500 Taylor Ticket

The Tennessee Attorney General has opened an investigation into the sale of Taylor Swift tickets. Did Ticketmaster violate any consumer rights laws? Questions have surfaced again from members of Congress and others about the possible monopoly of shows with Live Nation.

Swift fans, and some moms trying to buy a good Christmas present for their daughters, spent a good part of the day on hold with the Ticketmaster system. The system crashed, many had six hours on hold, not to mention that some say the high Ticketmaster service charge is what really seems to aggravate customers.

The “Dynamic Pricing” may be what is really, really making fans crazy. The price of a ticket changes based on the demand, and there was unprecedented demand.

Somehow, one family member, -- a Swiftie, with her own money -- paid $585 for her seat. $74 went to the Ticketmaster service fee, $27 for taxes. (The City of Nashville will take in over a million dollars tax per show, if my calculations are right, maybe a lot more.)

So who cares, right? If someone wants to pay $900 to see Taylor Swift, go for it. Free country!

Here comes the but: I call out the ticket prices of Garth Brooks. Huge superstar! Held ticket prices to $99 with fee. The first row costs the same as the back row.

He made millions and didn’t get the blowback Swift is getting. Does Taylor just want just rich people to attend her shows? Heard that comment more than once this week.

What is a FAIR price for a concert ticket? I’m not sure we know in 2022.

Going into a recession and asking $999 for a really close Swift seat? How much is too much? What, if any, responsibility does an act have in setting the price?

It is amazing that she has created such a demand for seats. But think, for this generation, this is a Beatles moment. How much would you have paid to see them?

A lot, is the answer!

Back to the question: should stars be responsible for the price charged to see them? The answer is YES! The star is the CEO. The buck does stop there. The star IS the company CEO.

The Grammy’s weren’t especially Country crazy this year. Always a mix of the Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton nominations, and the newcomers like Zach Bryan and Molly Tuttle. When folks discover what a picker Tuttle is, wow! Those fingers can fly. She is up for Best New Artist in an overloaded category.

Fans of Morgan Wallen are screaming on social media, “He was robbed!” If they leave him off next year when he has a new album, then the audience will continue to yell foul.

Looking at how Country gets the CMA Awards three hours and the ACM Awards three hours, the Grammy producers/voters don’t seem inclined to overdo it on the Country nominees. Miranda Lambert and Willie each got four nominations. Brandi Carlile is a favorite every time. She seems to be working all ends of the room. What a talent!

Did you save you ticket stubs back when we actually had tickets? On my wall: Stevie Wonder, 17 bucks; Jimi Hendrix in Tuscaloosa, four dollars; Three Dog Night, four dollars; Frank Sinatra $75 in Ft. Lauderdale; Stevie Winwood at Royal Albert Hall in London, 14 pounds; Rolling Stones at Vanderbilt $60; “Cats” on Broadway, $42.50. And with no ticket stub for 2023: Taylor Swift Nissan Stadium, $585 VIP with two t-shirts, a wristband and early admittance, plus the Ticketmaster service charge of 74 dollars!