A deep dive into the weird world of VIP packages

What does an exclusive 30 Seconds to Mars experience get you?

Recently, I was asked a question. It was a question that got me thinking.

It came from a Stuff reporter after my Jerry Seinfeld ticket purchase made headlines.

The question he asked me was this: “Is this the most expensive concert ticket you’ve ever seen sold in New Zealand?”

I’d gone in search of a ticket to see the comedy giant only to find a front row seat would set me back $849.90.

Instead, as a ‘screw that’, I bought a $100 ticket as far from the stage as I could get.

I told that Stuff reporter that yes, I believe $849.90 (+fees) for a single ticket to a local live event sets some kind of New Zealand record.

I said the same thing to RNZ’s Wallace Chapman when he called me on Monday to talk about it on The Panel.

Spending nearly $900 on a single ticket is a lot of money. Add in dinner, drinks, Ubers, and for you parents out there, a babysitter, and you’ve got yourself a $1200 night out.

But ticket prices can get even higher than that.

Right now, there are tickets for shows happening around New Zealand being sold for more than double what Seinfeld is charging.

Case in point?

Jared Leto.

Shannon Leto, his brother Jared, and a bird.

Leto, famous for movies like Requiem for a Dream and the TV show We Crashed, is bringing his sublimely ridiculous rock band 30 Seconds to Mars to New Zealand for a Spark Arena show on September 19 2024.

He announced that tour by climbing the Empire State Building, because of course he did.

How much are tickets?

Great question.

How much are you willing to pay?

Because, my friend, you have options.

For $767 (+fees) you’ll get the Early Entry package, which comes with a GA ticket, access to a VIP lounge, an on-site concierge, a stamp in your Echelon passport (whatever the fuck that is) and, yes, early entry into Spark Arena.

For $982 (+fees), you’ll get the Get Up Kid package, which comes with all of that plus a photo with the band and a signed tour poster.

But wait, there’s more.

For $1572 (+fees), you can nab yourself the Seasons package, which comes with all of that plus you can watch the entire show from the side of the stage.

Oh, you think I’m done?

I am not.

Here’s the Avalanche package, the one for the diehards. You’ll get everything offered by those other packages plus one more thing: you can come on stage with Jared Leto for the night’s final song.

Image: Ticketmaster

The cost?

$1867 (+fees).

Take that, Seinfeld.

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‘Some fans, man, they’re dedicated’

Offering VIP experiences when an artist comes to town is a massive trend.

Despite the skyrocketing cost of living, along with ballooning mortgage rates, and inflation making everything else go up, up and up, fans are still willing to shell out big bucks to meet their idols.

I recently spoke to the promoter of this Sunday’s sold out Limp Bizkit show.

Paul Brommer told me he tries to offer meet-and-greets with every show he does.

“Some artists don’t do them,” he says. He struggled to persuade Fred Durst to do it, so Limp Bizkit fans won’t get the chance to meet the band’s red-capped singer this weekend.

But Brommer is also behind the Incubus and Live joint tour, and both of those bands are up for it. For $789 (+fees) you can get a VIP seat, a photo with either act, plus a poster, laminate and lanyard.

“There's only 40 allocations [for each band],” Brommer says. He predicts they’ll all sell out. “I guarantee you they'll go … some fans, man, they're dedicated.”

I’m down with dedication. And I’m down with offering extras. If you have the money and want to spend it so you can stand on stage as cannons fire confetti into the sky and Jared Leto bounces around the stage on a bungee cord, then be my guest.

You do you, my friend.

But there has to be a limit.

Right now, live events are taking off in a way I haven’t seen in the 20 years I’ve been covering the industry. This summer, 80 music festivals will take place, alongside hundreds of standalone concerts, ranging from rammed schedules at smaller venues to stadium shows by Pink and the Foo Fighters.

Three years of Covid- and weather-affected events means many of those shows are in hot demand, and they’re selling big numbers of tickets. This Sunday’s sold out Limp Bizkit show (it still blows my mind) is just one of many examples.

As a result, VIP experiences are in hot demand too. The size of those packages depends on the size of the artist. Macklemore is charging $191.05 for early entry and a free gift; the Jonas Brothers are charging $989.90 for an Ultimate Wings ticket including a backstage tour and canapés.

I’d love to tell you how much Pink and 50 Cent VIP experiences will cost you, but Ticketmaster reports that they’re all sold out.

Savvy promoters wanting to turn a quick buck could easily take advantage of this sizzling market.

But a line has to be drawn somewhere. As much as I like his films and TV shows, an $1867 ticket to stand on stage with Jared Leto for five minutes is, for me, that line.

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Coldplay tickets could cost you just $32

So an $1867 ticket to see 30 Seconds to Mars is at one end of the scale.

At the other end, may I present to you: Coldplay.

This week, Chris Martin and co finally did what they’d been rumouring to do for years and announced a return to New Zealand, playing Eden Park on November 13.

It will be their first show here since they performed at Mt Smart in 2016.

Tickets for their Eden Park stop are cheap. Real cheap.

Like, $32 cheap.

Chris Martin’s butt on stage in Perth recently. (Photo: Anna Lee)

I’m not kidding.

Coldplay are known for many things: planting a tree for every single person who comes to their shows; conscious uncoupling; building an entire solar system; and for being complete and utter cornballs.

They’re also known for putting on incredibly captivating live shows. As jaded as I am, I have to admit Coldplay’s 2009 Spark Arena show was one of the best live events I’ve seen in that venue.

Their current tour sounds even better.

But Coldplay are known for one more thing: they don’t milk their fans. Their ticket prices are kept as low as possible.

We won’t know exactly how much their Eden Park show will cost until Coldplay’s pre-sale begins next Wednesday. Overseas, ticket prices are looking about as cheap as it can get for their particular brand of stadium spectacle.

As a guide, here are Coldplay’s Australian ticket prices…

(Image: X)

You can’t get early entry. You can’t stand on stage. You can’t bungee jump with Chris Martin. There’s not a single VIP ticket in sight. Amen to that.

Consider that right there a guide to what it really costs to bring a band to New Zealand to perform in a stadium. Fair prices for all.

But that’s not all.

Once the pre-sale and general on-sale is done for New Zealand, Coldplay promise to release a bunch of tickets that won’t cost more than $32.

$32! That’s worth it alone just to see the opening act, PinkPantheress.

Fuck! Did I just talk myself into buying Coldplay tickets next week?

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