The Big Topic About Ticket and Merchandise Prices

[minnick27]

I think it's been pretty pathetic how it's only been Al featured on all the merchandise.

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Actually there is a band member on a current shirt. Good like figuring it out

[HappyGilmore]

Yeah, I agree with WWW about the level of "elitism" and hypocrisy of Al fandom. I too am disgusted by all of it (especially some examples I've seen on this board) but my parents seem to think $30-$50 bucks for a ticket was pretty cheap compared to what they were expecting (obviously it would be compared to the presale/VIP ticket prices on Al's website or compared to other established touring acts in music) but I guess it would be cheaper to look at it all separately than what the fees and merchandise all cost together. However, some of us consider ourselves decently smart shoppers when it comes to this stuff. Looking back, the trip to Denver really did "wipe us out" as my dad put it, but I still felt like I got us a pretty good deal considering the venue. Still, thanks to this shameful topic I definitely learned something about how Al finances his concert tours.

I have to say though, as far as concerts go, Al's prices are relatively cheap compared to other 'major' acts. I say 'major' cause I'd consider him a relatively well known artist, but unlike other artists like Madonna, Billy Joel, etc, the tickets seem to fall in the relatively manageable range of $30-$50 compared to the minimum of $100 I've seen for Madonna. Granted, Al does have the VIP style tickets where you pay more, but you do get stuff paying that price, so that's cool. And, he does put on a great live show, so you do get your money's worth. However, my original comparison was to other acts who charge an obscene amount and then put on a mediocre show, and then charge an obscene amount for merch.

I never complained about Al's merch prices. They're relatively reasonable, $20/$25. Anything more than that for a T-shirt is alot. I feel. Hoodies are expected to be more, as there's more materials used in making it.

[Orthography Enthusiast]

If Al is able to adequately fill the venues and sell the merch, then the tickets and the merch are not overpriced. And I've been talking quite a bit to people after concerts, and Googling around searching blogs, and really nobody has said "that wasn't worth it." Al has a very very high percentage of satisfied customers.

As for the aftershow passes, while it might be charitable to not say a lot about that over and over in front of people who haven't had them (note, I'm speaking in general terms, not fingerpointing at anybody) I don't consider those people elitist, I consider them LUCKY.

[TMBJon]

I have to say I find Al's ticket prices to be very reasonable. I have paid much more for concerts I was much less interested in seeing. $30 bucks for a Weird Al concert, which runs 2 1/2 hours and features so many costume changes, and - let's face it - if you're on this forum Al is clearly one of your favorite acts. To me, this is a good deal.
Now I am the first one to admit that for the casual fans who find out about these shows through the newspaper (do those still exist?) may find the concert tickets to be too high for them. If so, they just won't go to the concert. If we were talking about the next level up, say $50 per ticket, I think it would be reasonable to complain. But at least from my perspective the entertainment per dollar is well worth it.

The merch on the other hand is definitely a bit overpriced, especially when you consider that the designs aren't really that conducive to wearing outside of a gathering of Weird Al fans. I have said it before but I think it's weird that pretty much every design features Al's face on it. I would like designs much more if they just had a motif of the concept, such as the silhouette of the Amish guy with the scythe which appears on the back of the Amish Paradise shirt. More designs like that would be appreciated on future tours.

[Driew_La_27]

The merch on the other hand is definitely a bit overpriced, especially when you consider that the designs aren't really that conducive to wearing outside of a gathering of Weird Al fans. I have said it before but I think it's weird that pretty much every design features Al's face on it. I would like designs much more if they just had a motif of the concept, such as the silhouette of the Amish guy with the scythe which appears on the back of the Amish Paradise shirt. More designs like that would be appreciated on future tours.

I know at the Chehalis concert there were people complaining about the merchandise prices around me before the show started. Especially the guys directly behind me. They were all excited to go get some shirts and when they came back I heard one of them say "what a ripoff". I didn't bother looking at the merchandise, but there are those less die hards that see $30 for a t-shirt as a ripoff. Can't say I blame them, but hey Al has to make SOME money

[Wizzerkat]

I found the prices about the same as any merchandising I have seen around. Yes, the prices are a little steep, but so are most acts.
As for ticket prices, it's also good to consider the show(as some have). Al gives you bang for your buck. Other higher priced artists do, too.

[Kristine]

I'm amazed at the variability of ticket prices, not so much whether they're too expensive or not. Take the SOL tour as an example. I went to the OC Fair where you can get front row for, what was it, $20-30? Then I went up to Monterey where the front Orch seats were close to $100!! Seriously?? For me, at least, I'm not willing to pay more than $75 to see ANYONE, for the first time or for the 27th time.

Merch prices seem normal to me, $20-25 is pretty average.

[Alinite27]

I'll definitely agree about his shows sometimes being overprices a little...I didn't really mind the $100 for Rehoboth, since that went to charity...but the recent show in Glen Ellyn at $60 for a ticket is a little steep. And there have even been other shows that were at $65 and the next show at Kansas City was at $75. So, yeah...they're definitely overpriced sometimes, but it's not really Al's doing...it's the theatre and promoter wanting to make their money...and you always get your money's worth.

[Well, Well, Well]

I'll definitely agree about his shows sometimes being overprices a little...I didn't really mind the $100 for Rehoboth, since that went to charity...but the recent show in Glen Ellyn at $60 for a ticket is a little steep. And there have even been other shows that were at $65 and the next show at Kansas City was at $75. So, yeah...they're definitely overpriced sometimes, but it's not really Al's doing...it's the theatre and promoter wanting to make their money...and you always get your money's worth.

but i also wonder if al is at least aware how much the tickets cost. maybe once you become a popular artist you don't pay attention to stuff like that, but in my mind a good artist (or good person) would be aware and wouldn't want to sell tickets at a price that might exclude a lot of people. i get that al has kind of niche fanbase where everybody loves him to death (hence everyone here attempting to rid him of any blame whatsoever), but the average fan - or curious, potential fan - is unlikely to go to some of these shows as a result of the price. and even some bigger fans might not be able to go. i mean, isn't there something he could do? like, maybe, make the merchandise a little more affordable? if would be cool if i wanted to buy a beanie hat (a rather tame way to advertise my being a fan, unlike most of his baudy shirts) that it didn't cost $25. also i know of a few bands who got popular enough to play bigger venues but continued to play smaller clubs, etc., for the benefit of the fans.

[Kristine]

Al's tour is such a big production that I'm sure he doesn't really have that much control of it anymore. It's really up to the venue- they have to pay the band so much money, and pay for rider needs, etc... so if they think they can sell enough tickets to make a good profit at $X, that's what they'll do.

The problem with the merch price is that it's difficult to get the price down and stay in the black. You'd be surprised how expensive it is to get all of that done. They have to pay for the design, the shirts themselves, silkscreening, shipping, etc. When my singing group had shirts printed up, I did the design, so we didn't have to pay for that, and we picked everything up from the shop, so no shipping. But it still cost us $20 per shirt for the actual shirt and silkscreening. So, you can imagine that even in mass quantities, it doesn't leave a whole lotta room for profit.