VIP passes

[desertrose]

Pic of VIP merch

 

[TimmyChunks]

On 4/7/2017 at 11:43 AM, Hermione said:

Yeah I'm thinking it's pretty clear the band aren't up for doing meet and greets, fans backstage, fans in soundcheck or other stuff that involves them this time around (I mean they must have been asked when the VIP package was put together). Which is fine, they're under no obligation to when they're already on a punishing tour schedule and giving everyone their money's worth on stage every night. But without the band doing stuff for it there's really no way of creating a VIP package that's worth a lot of money. They should really pick between either getting extra cash from VIP with some involvement from them, or not doing VIP so they don't have to do extra stuff, instead of trying to have their cake and eat it too.

Hermione, great post and funny to read it after a little bit of our side conversation the last couple days. Very good point- this tour is crushing and a challenging grind for the whole crew. It looks like a ton of fun on the surface for us fans (and it is a ton of fun for the band and crew, don't get me wrong) but for about 23 hours of the day it is a struggle for sleep, exercise, maintain sanity, etc. while trying to balance a family life when your loved ones are often thousands of miles away. I'm astonished other bands actually are able to do the meet and greet thing- the rigors of touring seem tough enough and then carving out an hour for meet and greets seems like a huge percentage of time while on the exhausting hamster wheel of a tour. 

Also, I wrote a couple posts on promoters/ touring Econ 101 and why these VIP packages occur. It's super interesting and I'm certain the promoters (which underwrite the whole tour- it's an interesting business) asked GD management for a higher ticket option with meet and greet, soundcheck etc. and were told NFW right from the beginning. There's no way they're going to agree to an Ozzy and take pictures at $1,500 per for an hour straight- it's not a good use of time on tour and while I'm struggling to figure out why Ozzy needs the cash flow, I'm certain GD would find this kind of gross and piggy. Their negotiations with the promoters led to this package- early entry, miscellaneous items, etc. I thought it was a terrible VIP package as well but the promoters do this for a living and I guess they judged correctly- they seemed to do enough VIP business to make the venture worthwhile. I think it was a big gamble on their part but it seems this tour worked in their favor. It also helps for context that the 21CB tour lost money on paper (for the promoters) so they had added leverage in negotiating a VIP package this time around, so Magnarella and GD management basically said, screw it- if you can sell it then go ahead, but we need to keep the rest of the ticket prices reasonable. The music business is very interesting. 

[Lauren]

So someone at the Vegas show ended up having two friends who couldn't make it and sold their VIP tickets for $200, so I bought one. Extremely worth it for $200. $400 (and now $450 for the summer because they're including free drinks) is way too much. 

[Teenage Lush]

ever since we found out they were doing the vip shit for this tour i was super worried that it would be impossible to get a good spot without it but for the record it wasn't nearly as bad as i expected! there were only maybe 20ish vip people at the show i went to, but i was 22nd in line and got pushed back once doors opened and still managed to get the exact spot on the barrier that i wanted. the people next to me who did the vip thing actually seemed kind of offended that they paid almost 1000 dollars for the same spot i got with a normal ticket

if they aren't doing a catwalk for the summer tour it will probably make a difference since there's a lot less barrier space but i have a feeling since they actually managed to sell so many of these we'll be seeing vip packages for all their tours from now on :/ 

[solongfromthestars]

So it was totally worth paying for VIP as a one off for my mum's birthday because she had a fab night, without the stress of lining up and how shitty the entry at that show was. The VIP next to her also gave me her spot (I still wish I'd got her name so I could thank her properly) and then I got onstage so that might not have happened if I hadn't bought it for my mum

I'd never buy it again and certainly not ever for myself though. Everyone who camped had (pretty much) equally good spots at all of the shows I went to. Also I obviously didn't buy it for the crap that came with it but that stuff is so not worth $350 or whatever.

I understand why they're selling the VIP packages, but I do wish they could just sell early entry separately for a reasonable price like they did in Italy and Poland.

[Strychnine.]

On April 9, 2017 at 8:26 AM, Lauren said:

So someone at the Vegas show ended up having two friends who couldn't make it and sold their VIP tickets for $200, so I bought one. Extremely worth it for $200. $400 (and now $450 for the summer because they're including free drinks) is way too much. 

I was gonna buy one of those tickets but the dude sold it to someone else. The guy gave me one of his VIP merch bags because he had like 4 or something and I ended up right next to them on the barricade and I only had to spend $80 on my ticket.  

On April 10, 2017 at 4:02 AM, Teenage Lush said:

ever since we found out they were doing the vip shit for this tour i was super worried that it would be impossible to get a good spot without it but for the record it wasn't nearly as bad as i expected! there were only maybe 20ish vip people at the show i went to, but i was 22nd in line and got pushed back once doors opened and still managed to get the exact spot on the barrier that i wanted. the people next to me who did the vip thing actually seemed kind of offended that they paid almost 1000 dollars for the same spot i got with a normal ticket  

Pretty much every show I went to I ended up next to VIP people who were pretty upset I got just as good as a spot as them and paid a fraction of what they did for it.  

[cabot_girl]

I'm not too keen on those VIP packages for xtra money. I would like to see Green Day actually take care of their true fans, like give Idiot nation members the best spot in front of the stage. That would be something😊

[AlissaGoesRAWR]

I stumbled upon this Bloomberg story today. For $1,750, this is what you get for the Bon Jovi VIP experience...

" ... sit front row in a package deal that includes a backstage tour, a preshow party, parking, a USB drive with the concert download, and exclusive merchandise."

I really like the idea of a concert download. I don't know how much it would cost a band to set up a camera and rip that recording onto 100 or so flash drives for each show's VIPs, but it seems like the value for a lot of fans would be huge. It would also eliminate the need for a lot of annoying people to use their cellphones in the pit.

When I read about pretty much any other band's VIP experiences it makes me realize just how much the Green Day package is a total scam.  

[sara_gd]

35 minutes ago, AlissaGoesRAWR said:

I stumbled upon this Bloomberg story today. For $1,750, this is what you get for the Bon Jovi VIP experience...

" ... sit front row in a package deal that includes a backstage tour, a preshow party, parking, a USB drive with the concert download, and exclusive merchandise."

I really like the idea of a concert download. I don't know how much it would cost a band to set up a camera and rip that recording onto 100 or so flash drives for each show's VIPs, but it seems like the value for a lot of fans would be huge. It would also eliminate the need for a lot of annoying people to use their cellphones in the pit.

When I read about pretty much any other band's VIP experiences it makes me realize just how much the Green Day package is a total scam.  

Aaand you're only paying $1,750...........  

 

What I concluded from meeting VIPs this tour is that they can sell them for whatever they want because if the pit is sold out there's always going to be people who gladly pay whatever to get a ticket. There's also people who get it making an incredible effort for the money, people who think it's too much regardless of if they have the money, people who do it because of health conditions... But a lot of the people just went for those tickets when they saw there weren't any normal ones available, without thinking of asking for a ticket on a forum, checking stubhub,etc. There were VIPs that didn't even know their ticket included early entry. There were VIPs who bought VIP for the full family and some members stayed in the back. There were VIPs who also bought VIP for their friend who didn't really like Green Day just so they had someone to go with. This is just from people that I personally met. All in all, there were many people who would have payed whatever money without a single complaint. So it's clear why they're doing it. It's clear why they're including the album with the package too. It can seem unreasonable for the majority of fans, but the reality is they're not catering for us. it's completely reasonable when you think of persons like the ones I described. 

[AlissaGoesRAWR]

33 minutes ago, sara_gd said:

 

It makes more sense to pay $1,750 for an experience with a band than $400 (isn't it even more, like $450, for the summer tour?) for literally nothing. I was standing alongside VIPs in Pittsburgh who were throwing a shit-fit because they were too stupid to read what they were buying before they clicked "buy" and I was standing alongside them after only paying $100 for a GA ticket. They literally got nothing except maybe 6-7 hours of time saved in line. They could've arrived at the venue at noon and received the same spot in line that they paid $400 for, which is why to me $1,750 really doesn't sound that unreasonable when you compare it to what you're paying $400-450 for... maybe more... aren't fees added on too?

I know there are people who will buy them regardless because for many people money is no object or maybe they just don't care. The goal of a business is to make money and in its simplest sense the band has been a business for the last 20+ years. I have no problem with the band and its management offering the VIP packages if you get what you pay for but in this case you just don't. It's fairly obvious they were hoping to trick panicking, inexperienced ticket-buyers into buying the inflated tickets by making less pit tickets available this tour, not doing paperless ticketing anymore and selling tickets immediately to secondhand sites to make the VIP passes look more reasonable by comparison. It just feels dirty.

[Strychnine.]

On 4/20/2017 at 11:16 PM, cabot_girl said:

I'm not too keen on those VIP packages for xtra money. I would like to see Green Day actually take care of their true fans, like give Idiot nation members the best spot in front of the stage. That would be something😊

 

As someone who spends a lot of time camping out for shows, I think getting early entry or whatever should be entirely based on how long you're willing to camp out and wait. You shouldn't get advanced entry because you pay for a shitty vip package, are a part of the fan club, or because they happened to be selling early entry for that particular show that you're at. At the end of the day, the fans who should get the best spot should be the ones willing to give up the most of their time for the band. Spending more money isn't what makes you a true fan. 

[Hermione]

35 minutes ago, Armstr0ng. said:

As someone who spends a lot of time camping out for shows, I think getting early entry or whatever should be entirely based on how long you're willing to camp out and wait. You shouldn't get advanced entry because you pay for a shitty vip package, are a part of the fan club, or because they happened to be selling early entry for that particular show that you're at. At the end of the day, the fans who should get the best spot should be the ones willing to give up the most of their time for the band. Spending more money isn't what makes you a true fan. 

Not everyone is able to do that though however much they'd like to or however big a fan they are. Not everyone is lucky enough to be able to take the time off work or find/pay for childcare to camp for an extra night or whatever, or physically fit/able bodied enough to. I don't think being able to do that is the only measure of how big a fan someone is or how much they "deserve" to be near the front. Getting there early is always going to give an advantage so you're always rewarded for it anyway but it doesn't actually entitle you to anything over anyone else who bought a ticket.

I think it's totally fair to give those unable to queue the longest a shot at being at the front as well through a fanclub contest as long as it's not so many that it stops the long term queuers from being there too. During the 21st CB tour there were early entry contests for almost every show with like 20-30 winners and I think that was very fair, awesome for the people who won and still more than enough room at the front left over. It's a real shame it's being sold for an extortionate amount instead of being a fanclub perk now.

[AlissaGoesRAWR]

2 hours ago, Armstr0ng. said:

Spending more money isn't what makes you a true fan. 

And neither is having less responsibilities than other people, which gives you the free time to sit outside a concert venue all day.

As @Hermione stated, this whole "true fan" conversation never ends well... it's a lot more complicated than just showing up early. People have jobs, families, bills, school, etc. and can't always travel. But likewise, money shouldn't be the ONLY thing that gets you to the front either, which is the direction this tour seems to be headed with the tiny pits and sometimes more than 100 VIP tickets sold per show.

[solongfromthestars]

On 23/04/2017 at 3:13 PM, AlissaGoesRAWR said:

I stumbled upon this Bloomberg story today. For $1,750, this is what you get for the Bon Jovi VIP experience...

" ... sit front row in a package deal that includes a backstage tour, a preshow party, parking, a USB drive with the concert download, and exclusive merchandise."

I really like the idea of a concert download. I don't know how much it would cost a band to set up a camera and rip that recording onto 100 or so flash drives for each show's VIPs, but it seems like the value for a lot of fans would be huge. It would also eliminate the need for a lot of annoying people to use their cellphones in the pit.

When I read about pretty much any other band's VIP experiences it makes me realize just how much the Green Day package is a total scam.  

That's better value for sure and the concert download is a really nice idea. I still wouldn't agree with Green Day selling a package like that though, because it'd make front row even less accessible to poor people. Maybe they could include the concert download for $450 instead of a picnic blanket

I'm not sure if there is a 100% fair way to do it. Being based just on lining up is great for people who can, but of course there are people who can't and they deserve a chance at front row too. It was reasonably priced in Europe, but it didn't really work because there were so many early entry tickets sold. Yet if less were sold, the price would likely go up since it'd be more "exclusive" like it is in the US. The Idiot Nation contests are a good idea, but still not perfect, because a lot of people would be upset if they never won and were always in worse spots than those who did.

[Meliciraptor]

On 23.4.2017 at 4:13 PM, AlissaGoesRAWR said:

I stumbled upon this Bloomberg story today. For $1,750, this is what you get for the Bon Jovi VIP experience...

" ... sit front row in a package deal that includes a backstage tour, a preshow party, parking, a USB drive with the concert download, and exclusive merchandise."

I really like the idea of a concert download. I don't know how much it would cost a band to set up a camera and rip that recording onto 100 or so flash drives for each show's VIPs, but it seems like the value for a lot of fans would be huge. It would also eliminate the need for a lot of annoying people to use their cellphones in the pit.

When I read about pretty much any other band's VIP experiences it makes me realize just how much the Green Day package is a total scam.  

Linkin Park once recorded all their live shows and people who attended the show got a special download link so they'd get it for free. Other fans had the chance to purchase the shows' audio for 9,99$ each. They called it "DSP" - Digital Souvenir Package. Sadly they stopped doing it because apparently the demand was too low to justify the resources. Some of the material landed on Spotify when they added "Live Around The world" compilations of all their albums. Such a great idea! I'd love to have that for Green Day.

[gjustislaw]

For what it's worth, I thought the VIP early-entry was pretty great...took a great deal of the anxiety out of the entry process for all of us heading to the pit (roughly 25 VIP pit passholders @ Joe Louis Detroit). Sure, it was a bit on the pricey side, but I didn't have to brave the potential cavalry charge that is doors - or any other such weirdness, like the unexpected opening of multiple doors at the last minute, etc. I wound up exactly where I wanted to be, easy-peasy. 

Also the poster's snazzy.

I'd totally do it again. 

[Strychnine.]

On 4/24/2017 at 0:31 PM, Hermione said:

Not everyone is able to do that though however much they'd like to or however big a fan they are. Not everyone is lucky enough to be able to take the time off work or find/pay for childcare to camp for an extra night or whatever, or physically fit/able bodied enough to. I don't think being able to do that is the only measure of how big a fan someone is or how much they "deserve" to be near the front. Getting there early is always going to give an advantage so you're always rewarded for it anyway but it doesn't actually entitle you to anything over anyone else who bought a ticket.

1

This is probably an unpopular opinion but, if you can't line up all day then you shouldn't be in the front. If you are older and you have kids and a job that doesn't allow you to line up all day, maybe you need to just accept that your days of being front row are gone. I'm fortunate right now that I'm young and in a job where I'm able to take time off as I please. I'm taking advantage of that by going to as many shows as I physically can while I'm able to. Hell, I'm young but even by Green Day's next tour I might not be in a place where I can go to a bunch of shows and camp out all day. That's kind of how life is, and when that happens I'll deal with it. 

[DeJennsitized]

1 hour ago, Armstr0ng. said:

This is probably an unpopular opinion but, if you can't line up all day then you shouldn't be in the front. If you are older and you have kids and a job that doesn't allow you to line up all day, maybe you need to just accept that your days of being front row are gone. I'm fortunate right now that I'm young and in a job where I'm able to take time off as I please. I'm taking advantage of that by going to as many shows as I physically can while I'm able to. Hell, I'm young but even by Green Day's next tour I might not be in a place where I can go to a bunch of shows and camp out all day. That's kind of how life is, and when that happens I'll deal with it. 

Yeah, sorry but I think this is bullshit. People who aren't as young or as fortunate as you don't deserve to see their favourite band up close? Some fans might have never gotten the chance to see them when they were younger and able to queue all day. Some people just can't queue all day. You said the money you spend doesn't make you a "true" fan. Well, neither does your stamina or lack of responsibility, or how able-bodied you are.

If people are willing to pay the price of the VIP to see the band without having to queue then fucking let them! It's their money.

[Beathe.]

I agree with Jenn. I go to as many shows as I can and queue for most of them. Not everyone has the same oppurtunity though. When a band offers early entry people will obviously buy it. We can't expect anything else. When they have spent their money on it, off course they deserve to be on the front row. 

[Hermione]

2 hours ago, Armstr0ng. said:

This is probably an unpopular opinion but, if you can't line up all day then you shouldn't be in the front. If you are older and you have kids and a job that doesn't allow you to line up all day, maybe you need to just accept that your days of being front row are gone. I'm fortunate right now that I'm young and in a job where I'm able to take time off as I please. I'm taking advantage of that by going to as many shows as I physically can while I'm able to. Hell, I'm young but even by Green Day's next tour I might not be in a place where I can go to a bunch of shows and camp out all day. That's kind of how life is, and when that happens I'll deal with it. 

How is "only people who are young and have the time and money to queue for a long time deserve to be at the front" any different to "only people who have enough money to pay for early entry deserve to be at the front" though? Or "only people lucky enough to win a contest where everyone had a fair chance to win deserve to be at the front"? There's always going to be factors that give some people a better chance to be at the front than others which everyone already has no choice but to deal with but I don't know why one particular factor has to be the only one that makes someone more deserving.

Like I said people who get there early are always going to be rewarded by being closer to the front anyway and rightly so. I wouldn't want paying for early entry to replace that and would hope that or any contests would always be limited in number enough that queuing early still gets you a good place near the front. I just don't think that means you're the only ones who ever deserve to be there. I know I'll never be in the best place because my sister is a single working mother and can't queue over night and I don't mind that. And at the same time even though we do still queue all day to get a pretty good spot I don't mind at all if there's some people who won a contest or whatever to have as good a position. 

[Hero_Of_The_Hour]

At some point everyone is young. At some point everyone gets older. At some point this affects their ability or willingness to queue all day for gigs. Being young means no kids and a less responsible job (or no job) therefore also making it easy to queue all day. Getting older sometimes means kids or a job that can make that impossible. So what's the conclusion? It sucks to get older because despite the kids and way better job you can't queue all day to see your favourite band? See that's about priorities.  What is "supposed" to change as you get older. Whether it does or not is irrelevant. If you are "lucky" enough to have kids and a job that require you to be a bit further back in a venue than you were when you were 20 then you probably should be glad not resentful of the people younger than you, standing where you probably were a few years before with crap jobs and college loans that "afford them the luxury" of queuing all day because they are disposable in their workplace. Everyone has the chance to be young. Not everyone who gets older however will have the disposable income to buy VIPs. By the way I arrived in London after 3pm and got barrier at the runway. In the queue in front of me were several people over 40 or 50. 

[DeJennsitized]

@Hero_Of_The_Hour My point was, people who want to pay for VIP because they can't queue is completely their prerogative and shouldn't be made to feel shitty for it. I wasn't talking about people who have no means to get to the front at all because that's a pretty pointless discussion  

The young vs old thing is kinda pointless too because everyone's circumstances are different. There are people who are young but can't queue because of physical difficulties. There are older people who can queue because they have a "crap job" that gives them the day off.

[letsdanceon]

4 hours ago, Armstr0ng. said:

This is probably an unpopular opinion but, if you can't line up all day then you shouldn't be in the front. If you are older and you have kids and a job that doesn't allow you to line up all day, maybe you need to just accept that your days of being front row are gone. I'm fortunate right now that I'm young and in a job where I'm able to take time off as I please. I'm taking advantage of that by going to as many shows as I physically can while I'm able to. Hell, I'm young but even by Green Day's next tour I might not be in a place where I can go to a bunch of shows and camp out all day. That's kind of how life is, and when that happens I'll deal with it. 

So by your logic, only young people "deserve" to be up front, when some of their older fans who might have liked the band way longer since you were peeing your pants in diapers don't deserve it? 😂 Pretty sure even Green Day would be appalled at your flawed logic.

[Hermione]

49 minutes ago, Jenn. said:

@Hero_Of_The_Hour My point was, people who want to pay for VIP because they can't queue is completely their prerogative and shouldn't be made to feel shitty for it. I wasn't talking about people who have no means to get to the front at all because that's a pretty pointless discussion  

The young vs old thing is kinda pointless too because everyone's circumstances are different. There are people who are young but can't queue because of physical difficulties. There are older people who can queue because they have a "crap job" that gives them the day off.

Exactly, it's not just young vs old because everyone has different circumstances. Young people can have babies and jobs that mean they don't have free time etc too. Point is whatever their age some people are able to queue for a long time and some people aren't. So in my opinion at least it's kind of nice if there's alternative ways for a few of the people who can't queue to have a shot at being at the front too, or at the very least it isn't a massive problem if they do. There's quite a lot of room there , so a limited number of early entry purchasers or contest winners don't take up so much that there isn't plenty for early queuers as well. 

Has the VIP thing actually stopped early queuers from getting good spots near the front on this tour? I'm pretty sure the early entry contests for 21st CB didn't cause much of a problem (don't remember complaints about it) but they were quite limited in number, don't know how many VIP tickets have been made available/sold in comparison.

[AlissaGoesRAWR]

6 hours ago, Armstr0ng. said:

If you are older and you have kids and a job that doesn't allow you to line up all day, maybe you need to just accept that your days of being front row are gone. 

 

2 hours ago, Hero_Of_The_Hour said:

If you are "lucky" enough to have kids and a job that require you to be a bit further back in a venue than you were when you were 20 then you probably should be glad not resentful of the people younger than you, standing where you probably were a few years before with crap jobs and college loans that "afford them the luxury" of queuing all day because they are disposable in their workplace.

Statements like these are probably why older people don't take millennials seriously... please stop making us look bad.

There's also this idea called ageism that is probably just as shitty as the capitalist idea of "only the rich get to the front." As others have said, just because your ideas benefit you doesn't make them any better or fairer in an objective sense.