Tickets are absolutely too expensive. It’s like musicians, especially those on nostalgia tours (no shade, I love a bit of nostalgia) have realised that touring is the way to make money in the age of Spotify so are pushing ticket prices as high as they can. I already have Pearl Jam and Iron Maiden tickets and am considering Idles since they’re playing the Town Hall this time, I didn’t see them at Spark because a) money and b) I’d rather see them in a smaller venue with some soul. What really gets me though is my favourite small to mid level popularity bands that don’t make it past Australia - they’re the more affordable shows but it costs them too much to come here. Thanks for your writing Chris, it’s always enjoyable, interesting and enlightening.
Thanks Kylie, I agree - out of interest, who are some of those bands making it to Australia that don’t come here? We’re getting so much but Australia does seem to get a lot more…
The Bronx late last year and Cancer Bats this June off the top of my head, American/Canadian Punk/Hardcore bands. Whereas other bands that size always make it here, like Strung Out who played a few months back to a small but incredibly enthusiastic crowd at Neck of the Woods. I know it very likely comes down to an ROI decision but it feels like those types of bands are coming here less than they used to, even if they’re still playing Australia. Or maybe it’s just the bands I like, it’s not like there’s a lack of shows to see right now.
I still have more I can complain about 😅 I really wanted to see Blink 182 for nostalgia reasons but felt deeply offended that they would charge so much money. Especially combined with flying to Auckland for it! I thought Foo Fighters was really expensive for our nose bleed seated tickets. But tbf they did play for so long (it felt like eight hours - I don't need that much time with a band TBH).
Those Blink-182 prices were absolutely crazy -$320 for a floor ticket? You didn’t miss much imo. And yeah that Foos show was … a total greatest hits crowdpleaser … you’re in Wellington yeah? Did Jack Black show up for that one too?!?
I wanted to include this but ran out of room Silke. It sounds like large international shows are soaking up all the gig money and it's much harder for local acts to pull a crowd. Would that be a fair assessment?
I'd love to point out some of these must-see local shows more often, if you have any recs please send them to me: iamchrisschulz@gmail.com
I post a gig guide for Tāmaki Makaurau once a week, just a one-pager, quick overview of all I could find - also hopefully encouraging people to do the basic promo for their shows, i.e. if I can't find it easily, then no one will. Usually I post it to my IG and FB - under Poco Moto (my business) (Yellow logo)
They do this in WGT and the venues are all on board, print out the schedule for all to see.
I loved the idea when I saw it, and gave it a shot - turns out I can pump it out within 30min or so, meaning it's doable for (very busy) me - and I want this to exist.
Tickets are too expensive… in many cases, but not all! This weekend I’m actually going to the troubled Pandemonium Rocks festival to see Alice Cooper in the Gold Coast! It was $190 but that bill includes Blondie. Some band called Wheatus who I do remember… but know little about. There are other acts on the bill. deep purple is no longer on it, neither is Placebo. I’m not worried about either of those Deep Purple I know very little about despite the fact I follow many rock artists that are as old as my parents (in their 70s) and I only remember one song of placebo from years ago! The price for the festival offered good value and the negative publicity drew me in!
Also cooper has missed out on nz this time - like McCartney did (I saw him in Adelaide) and Swift did (I saw her) … the show was too long but she won’t be back in nz. Was her ticket worth it? I got it from viagogo! It was supposed to be the pinnacle show. It was. But only one of many pinnacles and it was too expensive.
I mean, one good example of decent cheaper shows was this week, Chris Isaak. He was excellent! And less than $100.
Back to Cooper. He is someone who thrives on visuals and theatrics, without them the show would be less impactful.
I think I last saw Alice Cooper about 10 years ago and his show was hilariously theatrical - enjoy! I would love to hear all about this gig if you have time after…
I went to Souled Out - was pretty impressed with the whole thing tbh. I was expecting the worst but PARTYNEXTDOOR is a top 5 artist of all time for me so I couldn't miss it. It was great. Despite the rain and the traffic everyone was in a great mood. There's a good quote from the promoter in this Guardian article -
“We target a demographic of people that have never been targeted before in this country,” Naim says. “Going to a multi-genre festival for a specific talent can be hard to justify, but our audience gets to see everyone on their Spotify playlist.”
I felt that to be true. Everyone seemed to be a big fan of all the artists playing, and with only one stage you didn't get any of the running around or crowd disparities. People were singing along to the interval DJ sets just as much as they did for the artists. I was grinning ear to ear the whole time.
And on ticket prices - I spent more on Souled Out than I did on Laneway, saw far fewer artists but generally had a better time. I'm not sure which side I'm on. Spending $200+ to see one of my favourite artists despite the awkward setting felt 100% worth it to me. I'd like to see SZA this weekend but I didn't like the new album enough to justify those prices. People are clearly willing to shell out for the artists and experiences they believe will be worth it, so I don't blame the promoters for setting the prices high.
On the other hand, I went to 3 Wilco shows in Melbourne last month and I was only able to do that because they were $100 tickets, not $250!
Eddie! This is EXACTLY what I wanted to know. (Great review - you should start a Substack?) Souled Out was a good line-up and I’m kind of gutted I didn’t go now. I think smaller festivals catering to niche audiences are where things are heading…
Three (!) Wilco shows? I honestly can’t wait for the SZA show and am trying to forget about how much I paid for it, because I know that will taint my experience. But still…
(Loved your Metro mag piece btw, lots of great music journalism in the new mag.)
I definitely came out of the lockdowns with a desire to go to far more shows. It's always worth it to me. Wilco are one of the reasons I make music and have been such a massive part of my life...travelling to Australia for a weekend was a no brainer, then they announced more shows and I thought why not!? A different setlist each night and an experience I'll remember forever. That's what life is all about!
I'm excited to see the new Metro - I'm glad we're having these discussions finally...
Me too! I’m going to absolutely everything I can afford and it’s brutal but totally worth it. Did you see the fred again show? His set design, pace, structure was phenomenal. Can’t stop thinking about it.
Fred Again aside, tickets to electronic music shows don't seem to have gone up too much.
Example at Studio cost me $45.
Touch Bass (7 international headliners at Shed 10) $105. I wouldn't have been surprised to pay that in 2016
In terms of saturation, we still aren't even close to 2019 imo, when it seemed like there were at least three internationals playing every night of every weekend
On concert ticket prices - I saw QOTSA this year, and it was the first major show I'd been to since Tool in Feb 2020, partly due to pandemic concerns, but primarily due to pricing. I don't know how many shows I've passed on in the past couple years because I couldn't justify the ticket price; most recently it was SZA and Pearl Jam, last year it was Dave Chappelle. And I imagine it will keep going. I'm dreading how much Idles tickets might be.
Yeah, I get that. It feels like a Powerstation show has gone from $60-$70 to $90-$100, and Spark from $110-$140 to $160-$250. They're pretty massive rises, especially when every other fucking thing has gone up too.
Tickets are absolutely too expensive. It’s like musicians, especially those on nostalgia tours (no shade, I love a bit of nostalgia) have realised that touring is the way to make money in the age of Spotify so are pushing ticket prices as high as they can. I already have Pearl Jam and Iron Maiden tickets and am considering Idles since they’re playing the Town Hall this time, I didn’t see them at Spark because a) money and b) I’d rather see them in a smaller venue with some soul. What really gets me though is my favourite small to mid level popularity bands that don’t make it past Australia - they’re the more affordable shows but it costs them too much to come here. Thanks for your writing Chris, it’s always enjoyable, interesting and enlightening.
Thanks Kylie, I agree - out of interest, who are some of those bands making it to Australia that don’t come here? We’re getting so much but Australia does seem to get a lot more…
The Bronx late last year and Cancer Bats this June off the top of my head, American/Canadian Punk/Hardcore bands. Whereas other bands that size always make it here, like Strung Out who played a few months back to a small but incredibly enthusiastic crowd at Neck of the Woods. I know it very likely comes down to an ROI decision but it feels like those types of bands are coming here less than they used to, even if they’re still playing Australia. Or maybe it’s just the bands I like, it’s not like there’s a lack of shows to see right now.
I still have more I can complain about 😅 I really wanted to see Blink 182 for nostalgia reasons but felt deeply offended that they would charge so much money. Especially combined with flying to Auckland for it! I thought Foo Fighters was really expensive for our nose bleed seated tickets. But tbf they did play for so long (it felt like eight hours - I don't need that much time with a band TBH).
Those Blink-182 prices were absolutely crazy -$320 for a floor ticket? You didn’t miss much imo. And yeah that Foos show was … a total greatest hits crowdpleaser … you’re in Wellington yeah? Did Jack Black show up for that one too?!?
Meanwhile people still start fights with me at the door over having to pay $20 for a beautiful local show worth three times the entry fee. 🤷♂️
I wanted to include this but ran out of room Silke. It sounds like large international shows are soaking up all the gig money and it's much harder for local acts to pull a crowd. Would that be a fair assessment?
I'd love to point out some of these must-see local shows more often, if you have any recs please send them to me: iamchrisschulz@gmail.com
I post a gig guide for Tāmaki Makaurau once a week, just a one-pager, quick overview of all I could find - also hopefully encouraging people to do the basic promo for their shows, i.e. if I can't find it easily, then no one will. Usually I post it to my IG and FB - under Poco Moto (my business) (Yellow logo)
Love this - followed!
They do this in WGT and the venues are all on board, print out the schedule for all to see.
I loved the idea when I saw it, and gave it a shot - turns out I can pump it out within 30min or so, meaning it's doable for (very busy) me - and I want this to exist.
What day do you post it? Maybe I could link or embed it?
Usually Thursday for the week following, unless I have work in the eveing - in that case, on Friday.
Tickets are too expensive… in many cases, but not all! This weekend I’m actually going to the troubled Pandemonium Rocks festival to see Alice Cooper in the Gold Coast! It was $190 but that bill includes Blondie. Some band called Wheatus who I do remember… but know little about. There are other acts on the bill. deep purple is no longer on it, neither is Placebo. I’m not worried about either of those Deep Purple I know very little about despite the fact I follow many rock artists that are as old as my parents (in their 70s) and I only remember one song of placebo from years ago! The price for the festival offered good value and the negative publicity drew me in!
Also cooper has missed out on nz this time - like McCartney did (I saw him in Adelaide) and Swift did (I saw her) … the show was too long but she won’t be back in nz. Was her ticket worth it? I got it from viagogo! It was supposed to be the pinnacle show. It was. But only one of many pinnacles and it was too expensive.
I mean, one good example of decent cheaper shows was this week, Chris Isaak. He was excellent! And less than $100.
Back to Cooper. He is someone who thrives on visuals and theatrics, without them the show would be less impactful.
I think I last saw Alice Cooper about 10 years ago and his show was hilariously theatrical - enjoy! I would love to hear all about this gig if you have time after…
Yes it was excellent. I have some photos. I’ll try and email some. Alice had a snake on stage! Blondie was also excellent.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/8T3sgFcoyDEPHXoM/?
Just take anything you want from here if you want! I took all these at the gig. Videos too.
$190 Australian, not nz.
I went to Souled Out - was pretty impressed with the whole thing tbh. I was expecting the worst but PARTYNEXTDOOR is a top 5 artist of all time for me so I couldn't miss it. It was great. Despite the rain and the traffic everyone was in a great mood. There's a good quote from the promoter in this Guardian article -
“We target a demographic of people that have never been targeted before in this country,” Naim says. “Going to a multi-genre festival for a specific talent can be hard to justify, but our audience gets to see everyone on their Spotify playlist.”
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/mar/30/first-groovin-the-moo-now-splendour-why-are-australias-music-festivals-falling-over
I felt that to be true. Everyone seemed to be a big fan of all the artists playing, and with only one stage you didn't get any of the running around or crowd disparities. People were singing along to the interval DJ sets just as much as they did for the artists. I was grinning ear to ear the whole time.
And on ticket prices - I spent more on Souled Out than I did on Laneway, saw far fewer artists but generally had a better time. I'm not sure which side I'm on. Spending $200+ to see one of my favourite artists despite the awkward setting felt 100% worth it to me. I'd like to see SZA this weekend but I didn't like the new album enough to justify those prices. People are clearly willing to shell out for the artists and experiences they believe will be worth it, so I don't blame the promoters for setting the prices high.
On the other hand, I went to 3 Wilco shows in Melbourne last month and I was only able to do that because they were $100 tickets, not $250!
Eddie! This is EXACTLY what I wanted to know. (Great review - you should start a Substack?) Souled Out was a good line-up and I’m kind of gutted I didn’t go now. I think smaller festivals catering to niche audiences are where things are heading…
Three (!) Wilco shows? I honestly can’t wait for the SZA show and am trying to forget about how much I paid for it, because I know that will taint my experience. But still…
(Loved your Metro mag piece btw, lots of great music journalism in the new mag.)
I definitely came out of the lockdowns with a desire to go to far more shows. It's always worth it to me. Wilco are one of the reasons I make music and have been such a massive part of my life...travelling to Australia for a weekend was a no brainer, then they announced more shows and I thought why not!? A different setlist each night and an experience I'll remember forever. That's what life is all about!
I'm excited to see the new Metro - I'm glad we're having these discussions finally...
Me too! I’m going to absolutely everything I can afford and it’s brutal but totally worth it. Did you see the fred again show? His set design, pace, structure was phenomenal. Can’t stop thinking about it.
I wish I did tbh - don't really listen myself but I like what he's doing. And speaks to my general philosophy of 'there are no rules'...
We gotta get a coffee sometime!
Any time! My office is in Grey Lynn...
Hi Chris,
Fred Again aside, tickets to electronic music shows don't seem to have gone up too much.
Example at Studio cost me $45.
Touch Bass (7 international headliners at Shed 10) $105. I wouldn't have been surprised to pay that in 2016
In terms of saturation, we still aren't even close to 2019 imo, when it seemed like there were at least three internationals playing every night of every weekend
Oh that's interesting! Maybe I should jettison everything else and just become a hardcore EDM fan to save money :)
In terms of 2019, is that dance artists? Or do you mean acts across the board?
Everyone is welcome on the EDM bandwagon! (A house/garage artist did sell out Spark two nights in a row not long ago after all 😝😝).
Re 2019 I was talking purely dance artists yes.
And it was the best show of the summer :)
Thanks for the shout out mate!
On concert ticket prices - I saw QOTSA this year, and it was the first major show I'd been to since Tool in Feb 2020, partly due to pandemic concerns, but primarily due to pricing. I don't know how many shows I've passed on in the past couple years because I couldn't justify the ticket price; most recently it was SZA and Pearl Jam, last year it was Dave Chappelle. And I imagine it will keep going. I'm dreading how much Idles tickets might be.
Yeah, I get that. It feels like a Powerstation show has gone from $60-$70 to $90-$100, and Spark from $110-$140 to $160-$250. They're pretty massive rises, especially when every other fucking thing has gone up too.