In a new interview with Ed Vedder appeared in the music magazine Visions, among other things, he was asked about ticket prices in Europe. Thanks to Zed23.
Eddie, there has been a lot of excitement in recent weeks about the ticket prices for the upcoming concerts. In Germany, tickets cost 175 euros, and in some categories, they were significantly more expensive due to so-called dynamic pricing. Didn’t you always want to do it differently and make it fairer than everyone else?
Unfortunately, that’s more complicated. After corona, everyone wanted to go back on tour as quickly as possible, and why not? That doesn’t apply to us, but many colleagues are dependent on the income from tours for their livelihood. As a result, production costs have gotten completely out of hand. You can hardly find a crew anymore, there are problems organizing buses, stages, PA systems, venues. People say: “If you don’t pay my price, no problem, someone else will pay it” This even applies to service providers that we have been working with for over 30 years.
Can you still understand that some fans in the forums seem to feel downright cheated?
If we can save money, we pass it on to the fans. But it’s essential for us to at least cover our costs. If we had to pay extra and couldn’t earn any money at all, we wouldn’t go on tour anymore.
Below you can find the classification and assessment of Ed Vedder statements by the Visions editors from the podcast and partly from the article itself, including the editor-in-chief of the magazine.
- The price of 175 euros is disproportionately high.
- In the end, ticket prices are also “simply” a question of the artist fee.
- Even if you have an audience that is wealthy enough to pay 175 euros every two years, that doesn’t justify the current prices.
- On the subject of the new stage design. What has always characterized the band was very long concerts, with variation, joy of playing. Pearl Jam don’t need the new visuals or a “show”. If this new concert production now leads to a ticket costing 40 or 50 euros more because it all has to be paid for somehow, then you shouldn’t be surprised that fans say that the tour is taking place without them.
- Eddie Vedder’s answers to the reasons for the high ticket prices are weak. You would have liked him to be clearer. Like Bruce Springsteen. That it’s also fair to say that you want to improve your pension. Because you won’t be on stage forever. Another example is Fat Mike, who was interviewed by the Visions editors for the NOFX farewell tour. He clearly said: “Yes, the ticket prices in Germany are 30 euros higher than what everyone expected, but that’s my pension.“
- It was Pearl Jam who stood up to the Ticketmaster monopoly back then, albeit ultimately in vain. The band’s unique selling point always seemed to be that they approached things differently to similarly successful colleagues. In this way, they have retained the charm of a multi-platinum underground band over the decades.
Born in Reggio Emilia in 1980. He created pearljamonline.it in 2001 and wrote the first edition of “Pearl Jam Evolution” in 2009 along with his wife Daria. Since 2022, he is behind 2 podcasts: “Pearl Jam dalla A alla Z” and “Fuori Orario Not Another Podcast”. He has collaborated with Barracuda Style, HvsR, Rolling Stone, Rockol and Il Fatto Quotidiano. He continues relentlessly to try to find “beautiful melodies that say terrible things”.
Favorite song: Present Tense
Favorite album: No Code
Favorite bands/artists other than PJ: Tom Waits, Soundgarden, Ramones, Bruce Springsteen, IDLES, Fontaines D.C., The Murder Capital, Dead Kennedys, Mark Lanegan, Cat Power, R.E.M.