Re: What now?
Originally Posted by sodascouts
Could you imagine? He'd get on a rant about something and we'd all scramble over to CNN to try and decipher what the heck he'd latched on to... That would actually be fantastic if he kept us apprised of whatever he was reading at the time. I'm always looking for recommendations. And it would be a welcome reprieve from John Mayer, though Blake Shelton is hilarious.
Re: What now?
Just posted about this in the Don Henley forum a few hours ago - apparently he has felt the need to deny his association with Twitter and social networking! Our hopes are in vain.
Always in our hearts, Never forgotten
Re: What now?
No hope of a twit-off with anyone, then. Sigh. I had high hopes for acerbic exchanges on par with Miley Cyrus and whatever underwear model she's shacking up with at the moment.
Re: What now?
Since casinos are such easy money for these guys, maybe we should keep an eye out. Obviously the recent Party of Two show was private and only discovered after the fact anyway, but it shows they're not too exhausted to do them. Oh, how I'd love to see a Party of Two show! I wonder if Glenn still sings a verse of Life in the Fast Lane?
At any rate, the point of this is that in the words of both Glenn AND Timothy... "Don't give up!"
Always in our hearts, Never forgotten
Re: What now?
I'm not!
~ Cathy ~
And I dream I'm on vacation 'Cause I like the way that sounds,
It's a perfect occupation for me.
Re: What now?
Not to tread upon Pandora's box, but speaking of "easy money" what's with the astronomical ticket prices? Have they ever discussed the justification behind that? I know initially they claimed it an attempt to dissuade scalpers, but clearly that has proven ineffective. Don and Glenn seem to have money coming out their ears. Their progeny are set for not only life but multiple incarnations. Is it power? Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan; but, why not defer to the economy? Allow everyday people to attend? Even the little things - I purchased an Eagles shirt in September for $45, and a few months later the same size shirt with long sleeves and superior design at a George Strait concert for $20. (Be advised: Don't talk to me about Strait being inferior or we'll have to take this outside.) What's with the need to amass? Is this just me? Do I just not understand the mentality? And I acknowledge that they moved a double cd at $10/copy, but artists make essentially no money off of recording sales, anyway.
Re: What now?
Simple capitalist economics: Charge as much as the market will bear for maximum profits. Only stop when supply starts exceeding demand and the cost of production starts exceeding the revenue obtained.
Perhaps the economy will bring prices down because if people simply can't afford to go, supply will indeed start exceeding demand.
There is a complication, though, thanks to the introduction if ILAA and TicketsNow. Even if supply exceeds demand for the regular-priced seats, the profit from the much-higher-priced prime tickets on TicketsNow and ILAA can counterbalance that and make the profit margin acceptable enough to keep the prices at their current level.
If they drop prices because of the economy, when times get better they will have a harder time raising the prices to even more than $200 if they should so desire. Going from $200 to $225 is a lot easier than going from $150 to $225. They don't want to set up an expectation that prices will ever go lower.
It's up to people like Irving Azoff to figure out how to maximize the profit margin even in a bad economy. He, his underlings, the concert promoters and the venues get to figure out things like - If the Eagles charge less per ticket and sell more, will they sell enough more to increase the profit margin? If they sell 2000 seats at $200 they will still make more than if they sold 3000 seats for $125... but perhaps they could sell 2500 if they dropped it to $175 and therefore it might be worth it (Obviously this does not reflect true numbers). Same for all the prices levels - even ILAA. If they sell 25 5-star ILAA tickets for $800 they still make more than than if they sold 35 for $500. Who cares if that means more seats are empty? TicketsNow works along those same lines as ILAA.
I do not believe the Eagles concern themselves with this and that they just give Azoff a free hand. At the Hall of Fame induction after Don thanked Azoff by saying that "without him we wouldn't be here," Glenn added from behind him that "We might still have been here but we wouldn't have made as much money." It got laughs but it was the truth. I believe their attitude is: "Let Irving do his thing. He'll ensure we'll be making as much money as possible and there certainly isn't anything wrong with that! This is America. Doesn't everybody want to make as much money as they possibly can?"
They only need to concern themselves with it when they are asked about it. In response, most of them say something to the effect of "You get your money's worth - we play a long time, solo stuff too - it's like three concerts in one; we are a premier band so of course prices will be higher for us than for lesser acts; there are other acts that charge more" etc. etc.
All this to say that the Eagles will stop charging high prices if and only if their profits drop as a result of exceeding what the market will bear.
Their logic: If the market bears it - if a significant number of people will pay our asking price - why should we lower it?
Always in our hearts, Never forgotten
Re: What now?
Oh Geesh--Do we really have to go there again? I've been more than vocal about this subject in the past. I think it's ridiculous the money they demand for tickets (rather it be Eagles or Azoff), and don't even get me started on the whole tshirt and memorabilia thing! I know I'm guilty, I spent well over a thousand $s last year in tickets and asseccories and I have no one to blame but myself for it. I have also said that they have probably seen the last of my money tho. And I won't go there as far as paying that kind of money and then being told when I can sit and stand, take pictures, etc.... Yes I'm bitter but again, no one to blame but myself for doing it! I have been for decades and always will be an Eagles fan for life which I feel gives me the right to be a bit critical. You will never hear me say anything negative about their music past, present and most likely future but the "business end" of it all, somewhat sickens me! I sometimes wonder if they have lost sight of who put them on top (not Irving!). Again tho, I have to remind myself, as long as people like me keep buying the tickets and merchandise, I guess they can keep doing it.
Sorry for my rant, but those of you who know me have heard it all before and you have to admit, they one was rather mild compared to some!
He sings it high, he plays it low
Re: What now?
Geesh Soda, and I was going to answer the question by saying, "Because they can."
~ Cathy ~
And I dream I'm on vacation 'Cause I like the way that sounds,
It's a perfect occupation for me.
Re: What now?
TBFan, I'm going to issue a blanket agreement with any of your rants past/present. I just don't understand. T-shirts in particular are free promotion, a way for your fans to say "these guys are It" and for that I (grudgingly, with a cringe) have to admire the Warped tour bands (wretched though they may be) who offer t-shirts almost at cost simply to capitalize upon the free promotion it affords.
Soda, I completely understand the economics and supply/demand/relative value concepts. However, I cannot reconcile this with tracks like "Business as Usual." At some point you either have to Dave Matthews it (keep costs/rules at a minimum and let everyone party) or Sinatra it (accept that you're a king and start singing about the Good Life). The Buffet/U2 modus operandi of singing about life on the streets but living like royalty really aggravates me. That said, if you ever feel like going to law school and switching careers, you know where to find me....
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
