Although I appreciate them, I’ve never been massively into the Rolling Stones, so when their comeback was announced earlier this year, I didn’t really think too hard about going. After hearing the ticket prices, any thoughts were definitely dismissed; but I do feel for those die-hard fans that have probably been dreaming of a reunion for years.
Tickets for the London shows at the O2 Arena (November 25, 29) range from £90 to a deluxe VIP package priced at £950 – undeniably extortionate, but The Stones have retaliated to allegations of unfair prices, telling Billboard,
“You might say, ‘The tickets are too expensive’ – well, it’s a very expensive show to put on, just to do four shows, because normally you do a hundred shows and you’d have the same expenses.”
Is it really that much of an expensive show?! I can’t see how. Even the most extravagant of shows, those of ‘pop divas’ such as Lady Gaga, don’t cost that much to attend. Is it their presence that’s so expensive to buy? They’ve also insisted they don’t benefit from the prices, saying,
“So, yes, it’s expensive, but most of the tickets go for a higher price than we’ve sold them for, so you can see the market is there. We don’t participate in the profit. If a ticket costs 250 quid. let’s imagine, and goes for 1,000 quid, I just want to point out that we don’t get that difference.”
So if they don’t get that money, where does it go? Who knows? But the prices are only made more ridiculous by the fact that both Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards have also hinted that the band could carry on gigging in 2013. Richards stated,
“This juggernaut, once it gets rolling, is almost unstoppable. ‘Oh, an extra gig,’ or, ‘Let’s play somewhere you’ve never played before.’ So things go on. Right now, I’m just happy to have the thing rolling and moving. It’ll be great, playing London and New York. The rest of it, it’ll happen. Don’t worry about it.”
I just hope for the fans that don’t have money to burn, that the painful prices will lessen as the guys announce more gigs. One thing that is guaranteed, no matter how much you might have paid, it’ll be a good show.
