Kid Rock Selling $20 Concert Tickets

Can't stand Kid Rock. But this caught my eye on Eddie Trunk's website (sorry about length; too new to post links):

KID ROCK SELLING $20 CONCERT TICKETS, SAYS HE WOULD LIKE OTHER ARTISTS TO FOLLOW SUIT
April 12, 2013 By Dana Leave a Comment
Editor’s note: While I know that Kid Rock does not fit into Eddie’s demo, I decided to post this story because I hope that what he has decided to do with his current tour will be good example for other bands. Three cheers for Kid Rock.
Ray Waddell of Billboard reports:
Kid Rock will take a “pay cut” this summer, or at least risk one, by structuring a deal that allows for a $20 ticket price across the board at amphitheaters, and working with promoter Live Nation to lower prices on everything from beer to parking to merchandise for every show in every city.
Kid Rock and his Twisted Brown Trucker Band will tour with a combination of ZZ Top, Uncle Kracker and Kool & the Gang on various dates, beginning June 28th in Bristow, Va., through September 15th in Tampa. The tour, promoted by Live Nation, includes three shows at the DTE Energy Music Theatre in Kid Rock’s hometown of Detroit, Michigan. Tickets go on sale to the public in select markets beginning April 12th on LiveNation.com.
This is a model Rock says he has been working on for a long time. “It’s always going to come down to price, but I think [from the fan's perspective] it’s more the service charges, the fees, getting in there and not knowing what beers will cost, what they’ll hit you for parking,” he says. “Every little thing they nickel and dime you, and it’s not just music, it’s sports, it’s going to the movies. Artists demand so much money, and you have to set ticket prices at [a certain level]. Everyone’s fighting the system, and it’s really been all of our faults. We’re all fortunate to make as much money as we do, and I can surely take a pay cut and help out in these hard times.”
Beyond just a deal structured based on volume, in effect, Rock says he is becoming a partner with Live Nation on the tour. “If people show up, I’ll get paid on that, and we’ll become partners: partners on beer, partners on parking, partners on my T-shirts, partners on everything, and we’ll take the money and split it at the end of the night,” he says. “And we pass those savings on to our fans, which is what we really need to be thinking about. Even if the volume comes out, we’re going to make less money, but I’ve got enough money to where it’s not going to kill my lifestyle. And who doesn’t want to play to a packed house every night?”
The shows will offer $4 12-oz. beers, value food packages, cheaper parking, and special $20 merchandise will be available. In a move geared toward fighting secondary market reselling, or “scalping,” Kid Rock will be releasing 1,000 tickets from each show directly to Platinum Tickets via Ticketmaster. “Rather than fight Ticketmaster, fight Live Nation, it’s about how do we get together, and be transparent with everything,” Rock says. “The scalpers have been a nightmare, as everybody knows, so we’re gonna scalp our own tickets. We’re gonna scalp 1,000 a night, and be transparent about it, let people know there’s a market that demands this, and when we see tickets out there being scalped, we’re going to under-cut their prices and send [fans] to a spot you can buy them and know you’re getting a real ticket and the money’s gonna go in our pocket.”
Rock says (where possible) the show will go paperless for the first 20 rows, and the first two rows won’t be sold prior to the event. “We’re gonna upgrade people we see around the venue, based on whatever we want to do,” he says. “You can pick out the hard core fans, I’m gonna send a few people around the venue to have conversations with people, get a feel for ‘em, and say, ‘hey, these people deserve to be up front.’” That’s not a bad job for the guys that are humpin’ amps every night or doing something like that, either.”
Rock would like to see other artists structure similar deals. “I know managers and booking agents are gonna hate me,” he laughs. “[Live Nation CEO] Michael Rapino said, ‘you’re one of the only artists I have conversations with, none of the managers or booking agencies want me to talk to their artists.’”
There will still be a $5 service fee on tickets purchased at ticketmaster.com. “I’m not happy about that, that’s 25% of my ticket price, that’s ridiculous,” he says. “I think they should go to 10% a ticket across the board. But we were able to work out something with Walmart, where you can go in there and $20, buy a ticket, parking and everything. If you go to Walmart, try to go early and get tickets for $20, take a friend with you. Have your shopping list, have someone go shop, you wait in line and get tickets, kill two birds with one stone.”
In the venue, $4 for 12 oz. at every stand, “if you look at what ballparks are selling beers for, that’s fair,” says Rock, adding that he also tries to keep his merchandise reasonably priced. “A few tours back, we were selling shirts for $35-$40—which everybody is—and I’m like, ‘this is highway robbery,’ especially after owning a t-shirt business here in Michigan, Made In Detroit and really knowing what the prices are for us to buy ‘em,” he says. “Understandably, you’ve got to pay somebody to hump ‘em around, and there are costs involved, but not to justify that. So I slashed our t-shirt prices to $20 and $25 and we made the same amount of per cap selling more shirts every night. I said, ‘why can’t we do this with beer in select markets?’ and Rapino tried it, and, lo and behold it worked. So that was the spark for saying, ‘let’s go all the way.’”
With ZZ Top, Kool & the Gang and Uncle Kracker joining Rock and band, the artist believes he’s offering great value. “I’ve been doing the math, if you buy ticket with service charge, that’s $25, you have three beers, you buy a t-shirt, you’re under $70 for a t-shirt, having a some beers, seeing a concert and parking,” he says. “I don’t think you can beat that. I think people will be pleasantly surprised. Who knows they may spend the same amount of money, but they’ll feel good about doing it.”
Rock points out that he won’t shortchange production values — or his crew. “I’m fortunate to be able to try this, and I think somebody like me has to, somebody that has had a lot of success that can go out and afford to possibly lose,” he says. “I can roll the dice, and we might not make a dime this summer, but I can afford to do that. And I’m not asking my band or my crew to take a pay cut, I’m the one saying, ‘if this doesn’t work out, I’ll take the pay cut.’ It’s a way of saying ‘thank you’ to the fans that have been coming to the shows for the last 15 years.”

Basically he's "teaming up" with Live Nation to cut down on parking, beer, and tickets, and in turn he takes a pay cut. I'd like to know what you guys think about this. I missed the last VH tour because my budget doesn't allow for $90 tickets. I remember when Pearl Jam was fighting the system i.e. Ticketmasturbators, and it was a real exciting ride until they lost.

That's $35.00 too much.

I'm afraid I don't follow. You mean beer prices? Or hyperbole...?

corplhicks wrote:

I'm afraid I don't follow. You mean beer prices? Or hyperbole...?

$20 to see Kid Rock is $35 too much to pay to see Kid Rock.

Oh yes, agreed, it's $100 too much even with ZZ Top in the mix. I'm just wondering if he's onto something that may bleed into other genres or fall apart completely.

Kid Rock is great.

Eyesore wrote:

Kid Rock is great.

Yep. So is peeing blood.

Kid Rock will always rest in that special purgatory where some will claim him saved and others damned. Bottom line for me: if its rap you can't fap. I think that's how it goes.

I might pay $10 if it's the early 2000's

Kid Rock's last two albums are really really good.

He's more Bob Seger now than anything.

I always liked the History of Rock myself but I wouldnt pay 20 bucks to see him.

I hate Kid Rock's music, but hopefully other artist will follow suit

Folks, the point of the post was making concert prices affordable, not to bash Kid Rock. I'm not a fan of his either, but I applaud him for this move. I hope that he's successful with this idea; that's the only way anyone else will follow suit. $20 might be a little unrealistic for all situations, but even if prices were cut in half it would be a help. Front row center for $40-60 instead of $80-120 sound good to me.

I hope he can make it work financially. Frankly, I like going to smaller shows where I can talk to the bands, have them sign my stuff, etc... I can't think of many bands that I would be willing to spend more than $50 to see.

This past Sunday, I went to the Metal Alliance Tour. Mrs. Witchfinder bought me a VIP ticket with meet and greets with all 5 bands and photos with Anthrax. It was $100, but that was for 5 bands over 5 hours. That's not bad. However, I spent most of the time at the show chatting with the lead singer of Holy Grail, James Paul Luna, about the bands Witch Cross, Chateaux, More, Desolation Angels, Angel Witch, Oz etc... That was very cool, and not something anyone in a bigger band would do.

SpectreFate wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

Kid Rock is great.

Yep. So is peeing blood.

And Root Canals. Can't forgot the awesomeness of those!

Never had much use for Kid Rock but I can't argue with this. Other artists should follow this example.

Quote :

$20 to see Kid Rock is $35 too much to pay to see Kid Rock.

So in other words... to get you to see Kid Rock, they'd have to pay you $15?

Don't hate his last couple albums but nothing i'd want to go see. He's almost country at times.

The reason I rarely go to a concert anymore is because I have a family to feed and can't afford the seats I desire. I hate, hate, hate gen admission or baseline seating; it's so freaking goofy to me when I'm watching the band move around like dolls 'cause damn it I want to feel their sweat hit my face. My Dad always told me stories of the thousands of concerts he went to in the 70's--Zep, Purple, Montrose, Free, Kiss, Sabbath--for $5/ticket. On top of that, he was pretty much front and center each time.

One sentiment I do share, however, is that the arena is not the place to enjoy a live show . Smaller venues work out even better. The sound is tighter, you can see the band from almost anywhere, yeah you lose a lot of spectacle but hell I'd rather hear what they're playing. I'll never forget seeing Slipknot at our local arena--sober--and completely unable to discern one song from another even though I was more than familiar with each of their albums.

Bottom line with clubs, bars, theaters, and smaller venues in general--price control.

Fat Freddy wrote:

Never had much use for Kid Rock but I can't argue with this. Other artists should follow this example.

Quote :

$20 to see Kid Rock is $35 too much to pay to see Kid Rock.

So in other words... to get you to see Kid Rock, they'd have to pay you $15?

You got it.

Not sure why people, especially rock/metal fans, have such a problem with Kid Rock. Dude has done far more good than nearly every washed up rocker/metal dudes we love.

I don't hate the guy, I just hate rap, and not in some soapbox way. In other words, rap is certainly not a bad thing, but it's not my cup of tea, not even close. I hear it and I cringe. But I see it as a perfectly acceptable method of lyrical delivery. Other than that and being crudely gimmicky in the beginning, Kid Rock a decent guy, especially if he's promoting in this manner.

He sure is loads and light years ahead of Nickelyack (sorry it's the best pun I could come up with).

That's another one. I have no idea why people hate Nickelback so much. Can anyone pinpoint one thing that set everyone off? Chad Kroeger's a douche, people say. Well, how? What douchey thing did he do?

What did Kid Rock do, or Fred Durst?

Remember Bennifer? Everyone loved Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. And then...they hated them. Well, what the hell happened? Nothing changed.

I think hating on people has just become trendy.

Nickleback=lazy compositions, derivative, repetitive, genre-hopping madness, but worst of all, boring. Other than that, I don't hate Chad, either. I mean, the guy is ugly, so what. He's fairly intelligent in interviews and knows his music. But his music sucks. I think the hate from rock and metal fans is because Nickleback was on top their for awhile, representing the best of what rock radio had to offer, which was sad.

I have no opinion on Ben and Jlo. But again, Ben is ugly.

As for Fred Durst...c'mon, man, do I really need to explain? That man is king DOUCHEBAG. And kind of ugly.

Not sure Nickelback is doing any genre-hopping. Their music is surely simple, and they write some damn catchy songs. Bands like that should be applauded, I think. They're a real band, sticking to their guns and playing what they know.

I don't own any Nickelback albums, but it's not like I dislike that style of music. I love 3 Doors Down. So why haven't I given Nickelback a shot? Many people here have expressed their love of bands like Hinder and Shinedown and Alter Bridge. But no one likes Nickelback? Doesn't make any sense at all.

I think it's all about perception. It's just too cool to dislike that band. Same with Limp Bizkit and Fred Durst. People call them poseurs. Yet they're still around, while all those other rap-rock bands are dead and gone. But they are the poseurs? Seems a little ass-backward, yeah?

corplhicks wrote:

I don't hate the guy, I just hate rap, and not in some soapbox way. In other words, rap is certainly not a bad thing, but it's not my cup of tea, not even close. I hear it and I cringe. But I see it as a perfectly acceptable method of lyrical delivery. Other than that and being crudely gimmicky in the beginning, Kid Rock a decent guy, especially if he's promoting in this manner.

He sure is loads and light years ahead of Nickelyack (sorry it's the best pun I could come up with).

Kid Rock hasn't rapped on an album in quite some time. This is what he's up to now.



I'm not a giant Kid Rock fanboy or anything. I just find the hate kind of funny.