As the seemingly age-old debate over concert ticket prices continues, Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson has offered his two cents on the matter, as well as other facets of the music industry.
Dickinson shared her opinions in a new interview with the Mexican newspaper ATMósferas Magazine, and didn't hold back when asked about the potential negative impact of metered ticket prices. Dickinson cited one particularly high-profile live series – U2's residency at The Sphere in Las Vegas – as an extreme example.
“If you want to go see the U2 show, I think it's $1,200 a seat at the sphere,” Dickinson said. [as transcribed by Blabbermouth]. “I have no interest in paying $1,200 to go see U2 at the sphere, none. A hundred dollars, maybe. But for me the important thing is to try to preserve, on the one hand, the right type of tickets at the right price.”
Interestingly, Dickinson suggests that the seats in front of the stage – “which everyone says should be the most expensive tickets” – should actually be “the most reasonably priced tickets, because the people who are going to go there at the front of the stage” scenario There will be people who are real fans, people who are kids, people who can't pay that much money, but they are the people who need to be in front; They are the people who will keep this music alive.”
“And then you have people who might be fans,” the metal singer continued, “but they want to bring their wife and they don't want to be too hot and sweaty and all that. “So, there are some seats at the top or something, what they are going to choose, and the price is different.”
Get tickets to Iron Maiden here
It's worth noting that tickets for Dickinson's upcoming solo tour and tickets for Iron Maiden's 2024 concerts follow the standard $50+ stadium model and range from $200+, the closer to the stage the more expensive.
“Promoters have to get their money back somehow,” Dickinson concluded. “So it's a delicate balance, but overall ticket prices have skyrocketed. And some of the ticket prices that people pay, well, some of the prices that people pay, to me, are crazy. I would never pay that price, but then again, I'm probably not a fan of that particular artist. People who are, maybe think it's worth it. I mean, certainly with my shows, we've always tried to keep ticket prices within normal limits. And the same with Maiden.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Dickinson discusses the state of streaming services like Spotify (“which are basically ripping off musicians by paying them next to nothing to play their work”) and the challenges of operating as a touring band in the current climate. of the music industry (“it reduces in terms of the amount of money you get paid for your art”).
Below you can listen to the two-part interview with Dickinson about ticket prices and more.
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