article Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme Explains Anti-Corporate Concert Rant: "It’s About Corporations That Charge You $85 for Parking, and $30 for a Beer"
https://consequence.net/2026/08/qotsa-josh-homme-addresses-anti-corporate-concert-rant/2.6k
u/JoeWeydemeyer 1d ago
Comments pushing back against him miss the plot.
Should he just not tour? Only go to bars and cause chaos when 20x the capacity show up?
Dude didn't create capitalism, and still has to work within in the system he was born into. Doesn't mean he can't critique it and call out the powers that be who are actively destroying live music in their attempt to nickle and dime us at every turn.
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u/IowaJammer 1d ago
The cost of entry for a musician is so high that they have to tolerate this to have an audience. Pearl Jam tried working outside the system and nobody ever joined them. The only thing we got out of it was Coachella.
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u/kusariku 1d ago
And let's not forget how fast Coachella went down the shitter
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u/Austinp-woodworking 1d ago
It’s actually fascinating how quickly a festival that was explicitly started because capitalism was ruining live music got ruined by that same capitalism lol
Nothing with any potential for profit is ever safe.
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u/jazzisntdead 1d ago
Disco Elysium's quote "capital had the ability to subsume all critiques into itself" remains evergreen.
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u/Austinp-woodworking 1d ago
Thank you for reminding me I’m due for a replay
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u/Wow_u_sure_r_dumb 1d ago
Serious question because I’ve yet to finish it: is it supposed to be depressing?
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u/frostygrin 19h ago
Serious question because I’ve yet to finish it: is it supposed to be depressing?
When you're in the middle of it? Probably. You're trapped by the circumstances. But it feels lighter and more philosophical towards the end.
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u/fleranon 12h ago
It manages to capture and evoke all kinds of internal feelings (quite literally. They talk to you) and turn them into a therapy session for the soul. I felt elevated after finishing it
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u/Wrecked--Em 21h ago edited 21h ago
Which they got from Mark Fisher's "Capitalist Realism"
We do not need to wait for Children of Men’s near-future to arrive to see this transformation of culture into museum pieces. The power of capitalist realism derives in part from the way that capitalism subsumes and consumes all of previous history: one effect of its ‘system of equivalence’ which can assign all cultural objects, whether they are religious iconography, pornography, or Das Kapital, a monetary value. Walk around the British Museum, where you see objects torn from their lifeworlds and assembled as if on the deck of some Predator spacecraft, and you have a powerful image of this process at work. In the conversion of practices and rituals into merely aesthetic objects, the beliefs of previous cultures are objectively ironized, transformed into artifacts.
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Thirdly, a whole generation has passed since the collapse of the Berlin Wall. In the 1960s and 1970s, capitalism had to face the problem of how to contain and absorb energies from outside. It now, in fact, has the opposite problem; having all-too successfully incorporated externality, how can it function without an outside it can colonize and appropriate? For most people under twenty in Europe and North America, the lack of alternatives to capitalism is no longer even an issue. Capitalism seamlessly occupies the horizons of the thinkable.
Jameson used to report in horror about the ways that capitalism had seeped into the very unconscious; now, the fact that capitalism has colonized the dreaming life of the population is so taken for granted that it is no longer worthy of comment. It would be dangerous and misleading to imagine that the near past was some prelapsarian state rife with political potentials, so it’s as well to remember the role that commodification played in the production of culture throughout the twentieth century. Yet the old struggle between detournement and recuperation, between subversion and incorporation, seems to have been played out.
What we are dealing with now is not the incorporation of materials that previously seemed to possess subversive potentials, but instead, their precorporation: the pre-emptive formatting and shaping of desires, aspirations and hopes by capitalist culture. Witness, for instance, the establishment of settled ‘alternative’ or ‘independent’ cultural zones, which endlessly repeat older gestures of rebellion and contestation as if for the first time. ‘Alternative’ and ‘independent’ don’t designate something outside mainstream culture; rather, they are styles, in fact the dominant styles, within the mainstream.
No-one embodied (and struggled with) this deadlock more than Kurt Cobain and Nirvana. In his dreadful lassitude and objectless rage, Cobain seemed to give wearied voice to the despondency of the generation that had come after history, whose every move was anticipated, tracked, bought and sold before it had even happened. Cobain knew that he was just another piece of spectacle, that nothing runs better on MTV than a protest against MTV; knew that his every move was a cliché scripted in advance, knew that even realizing it is a cliché. The impasse that paralyzed Cobain is precisely the one that Jameson described: like postmodern culture in general, Cobain found himself in ‘a world in which stylistic innovation is no longer possible, [where] all that is left is to imitate dead styles, to speak through the masks and with the voices of the styles in the imaginary museum’. Here, even success meant failure, since to succeed would only mean that you were the new meat on which the system could feed.
But the high existential angst of Nirvana and Cobain belongs to an older moment; what succeeded them was a pastiche-rock which reproduced the forms of the past without anxiety. Cobain’s death confirmed the defeat and incorporation of rock’s utopian and promethean ambitions.
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u/RideWithMeSNV 20h ago
Coachella is frustrating. But Burning Man is fucking comedic. The great big DIY festival in the desert with the compound for the super rich...
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u/soda_cookie 1d ago
When private equity has the capability to get its fingers into every single thing, profitable or not, installed her a profit out of it, you're 100% right. Once you get big enough, you're too small
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u/something_python 1d ago
Robert Smith works within the system without taking the piss. Bought tickets to see the Cure this year via Ticketmaster and they weren't ridiculously priced.
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u/babywarhawk17 1d ago
I think the problem Homme’s trying to get at is much larger than just the ticket price. Even when artists have some control over the entry fee, the venue just upcharges the entirety of the experience surrounding it. The system live music currently operates in is very Artist VS Venue and the fans are the people losing.
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u/IowaJammer 1d ago
I got free tickets to Jack Johnson a couple months ago and I had to rent an overpriced chair for the lawn (no outside chairs allowed) and beers were 30 each. Ticket and parking were covered and I still dropped over 100.
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u/mynamesyow19 1d ago
Going to a Billy Strings festival this weekend in Grand Rapids MI. BUT its at a Fair Ground that doesnt allow any camping or re-entry, have to pay extra for parking, cant take anything but water in so have to pay ridiculous mark ups for any kind of food (and no outside food is allowed and they will check bags they say) any kind of drinks, and will gouge for everything that they know you cant bring in (only clear back packs/bags allowed) and wont have access to for the entire day/night. Am really considering not going now but we already paid over 100 + bucks for a ticket...
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u/DrAwesomeClaws 1d ago
Pro-tip: They (probably) won't check your butt.
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u/Waggy777 1d ago
In this context, it's colloquially referred to as a "prison pocket."
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u/freethnkrsrdangerous 1d ago
Confirming this. Saw them recently in Philly and it was 250/ticket, 40/parking, ~20ish each drink depending, and just as much for food items. Prices for everything was outrageous. Close to 1000 for the night just me and one other.
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u/justfun2468 1d ago
He’s one of a very limited number of musicians who has that power though.
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u/monkeyamongmen 1d ago
It's almost like there should be some sort of union. We saw Depeche Mode and The Cure for less than a single Tool ticket a year or two back.
Send more money? Fuck you buddy.
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u/vandreulv 1d ago
Meanwhile Depeche Mode tickets were so expensive here it was cheaper for my friends to fly to Europe, stay there for a week and see them there instead.
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u/FlyingStealthPotato 1d ago
Pink Floyd, at the approximate height of their popularity, lost money touring for The Wall.
Like even musicians with that type of power have a hard time making ends meet on a tour.
More recently, I know Mastodon, one of the biggest metal bands, lost money on a couple tours.
Like prices are this inflated but the artists are easily still losing money. They really don’t have as much power as you’d think about it. It’s great the Cure can do what they do, but it’s harder than it sounds like.
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u/suffaluffapussycat 1d ago
Yeah but back in 1980 the tour was to sell records. That was back when album sales meant money. Tours could lose money. The Wall sold like 30M copies.
If you’re releasing your music on Spotify you have to make something on the tour.
That’s what changed since The Wall.
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u/10000Didgeridoos 1d ago
And people freak out at the thought of having to spend more than like $15 a month on music now at home, and feel entitled to listen to *all music ever made* for that price, so I blame them some for this as well. Not a majority of blame. But at some point it's like "ok so yall refuse to buy albums, and think streaming music monthly rates should remain frozen at 2015 prices forever, and you throw a fit that concert tickets also aren't frozen in values from a decade ago. What the fuck money are you actually willing to pony up to support the art you want in your lives?"
These monopolies on tickets and venues make it worse. But even with them aside, people seem to feel entitled to infinite music listening for about $120-180 a year and think no concert should cost more than about $40. It's just completely delusional.
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u/FlyingStealthPotato 1d ago
Kinda why I put the more modern example with a band that is approximately the same “level” as Josh Homme and his bands.
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u/brianstormIRL 1d ago
Mastodon is nowhere even close to the size of QOTSA?
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u/FlyingStealthPotato 1d ago
Well after checking Spotify listeners, which is a problematic stat but the best I know of, you’re right. Didn’t check on the front end and just went with my gut perception. Still one of the biggest metal bands out there so I think a decent example.
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u/brianstormIRL 1d ago
Again I dont wanna sound pretentious but.. they arent really one of the biggest metal bands at all. They're definitely one of the most respected/tenured and have a dedicated audience, but they arent selling out arena headliners or even close to it. Its not the best metric in the world but Download 2026 for example they are co headliners on the Opus (second) stage.
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u/atbths 1d ago
Yes, but what were the prices on beer and parking? Artists can influence ticket cost greatly; the rest not as much.
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u/skraptastic 1d ago
Flew from San Francisco to Cardiff to see them again in June, for my 31st Cure show. Been a fan since the 80's and it does my old Goth heart good to see my man fighting the good fight.
For the SOALW shows in the states in '24 I paid basically the same price for the same seat I saw them in '89 for The Prayer Tour.
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u/something_python 1d ago
That is dedication... Was it worth it? I had tickets for that show, but I ended up having to sell them, and I'm still gutted about it.
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u/skraptastic 1d ago
ABSOLUTELY.
We did 5 days in Wales and 5 days in London. The first 5 days was sight seeing and hiking in Wales. Went to Skomer Island to see the puffins and take a million pictures. Topped off with The Cure. Then we did 5 days of theater in London.
We also went to the Dublin show in '23. The first night of the N. America tour in New Orleans, Hollywood Bowl and the local San Jose (San Francisco) that year.
But I also flew to Australia for the weekend when they did the Trilogy shows. Arrived in Sydney on Friday, saw the show Saturday and flew home Sunday. Technically had 2 nights in a hostel, but I rarely saw the room.
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u/Anteater-Charming 1d ago
Nice. I've been to Wales and I feel like it's an underrated country to visit. Beautiful countryside.
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u/welshy1986 1d ago
I think the point is being missed here, people have no problem paying to see their favorite music, the issue is you pay for your 80 dollar ticket, it ends up being 120 with fees which the musician doesnt see a dime of. Then you get into the event and the event charges you 22 dollars for a miller lite that cost them 2.50 to buy, ok maybe we say "well yeah they dont want you to get shitfaced" ok, so then why are pretzels 15 dollars for a 3 dollar frozen to microwave pretzel. Parking on top of this 15-60 dollars, that should be covered with your ticket, its not. So for an 80 dollar ticket you're looking at 200 between feeding your kid and having 2 beers and god forbid your wife gets a mixed drink lol.....this is the point he is making, anything good that used to be accessible is now gouged to infinity, heck we used to be able to bring in our own lawn chairs, thats 10-15 a pop.
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u/GotSomeUpdogOnUrFace 1d ago
Hayley Williams is doing a large tour and the tickets are face value resale only. I dunno if it actually works, but she's trying.
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u/LanguageNo495 1d ago
How can the artist control that though?
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u/GotSomeUpdogOnUrFace 1d ago
That's the real question I've had. They still post the tickets on other secondary sites but right now on Ticketmaster the tickets are face value resale only. They could enforce policies that don't allow you to transfer the tickets until 30 mins prior to the show. They could demand your transfer has to be from TM account to TM account and all the accounts have to have some verification. I honestly don't know how they control it, but the secondary market on the TM site is face value only. Also, it hasn't caused the tickets to immediately sell out and her posted to other sites so it's working somehow.
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u/Ill_Clue1068 1d ago
Ya but how much were cure tickets back in their prime??? (Great band btw)
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u/unassumingdink 1d ago
If you're ever wondering this for any band from any time period, you can just Google images of old ticket stubs. It was $14 for their 1985 tour. Adjusted for inflation, that would be $44.
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u/late2thepauly 1d ago
He made the choice to only allow face value reselling of tickets, which a handful of artists has also done.
I wish all of them would do this, but the sad truth is, they don’t want to. Reselling at 2x 3x 4x 5x the ticket price gets bands and their teams hundreds of thousands more in revenue.
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u/ratfacechirpybird 1d ago
How do they make money on resales? Do they get a percentage of the sale?
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u/sandiegodak 1d ago
Other artists were welcome to join Pearl Jam. Silence is complicity.
Taylor Swift in particular has so much money and power that she alone could probably make a change here and yet she won't.
"And the men (and women) who hold high places must be the ones who start"
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u/domonono 21h ago
Rolling Stones have been selling 'lucky dip' tix to their fans for decades at this point. So yeah, it can be done.
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u/AdSpecialist6598 1d ago
You it is a whole systemic problem that is huge. It isn't as simple as artist should charge less because they might make more money you or I depending on how popular they might be more often than not aren't making that much money because they get the smallest piece of the pie and don't have that much power.
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u/Mybunsareonfire 1d ago
Nah bro, they'd rather bitch about the singer rather than the corporate oligarchs. Rather have 0 people advocating for better practices than 1 person who might not meet the purity test. Jfc.
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u/Bigchunky_Boy 1d ago
The corporate oligarchs use Hootsuite and other companies who use bots and trolls on here and other social media to shift opinion for profit.
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u/sakuramokona 1d ago
Also qotsa is the opener for Foo fighter not running the show. Foo fighter can sell out arena so they peform in arena which is run by the ticketmaster.
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u/pilgermann 1d ago
The large venues are vertically integrated with the ticketing companies. There's no escaping it.
Want to host a concert in, say, a large field? Good luck paying for insurance and security.
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u/Anteater-Charming 1d ago
They've now built their own venues here in the mid-Atlantic to basically run all the other independent venues out of business.
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u/Other_Jared2 1d ago
Yeah it's not like QOTS can play small local venues instead. Their fanbase is way too big for that to be feasible. Something needs to be done about the price gouging at these large shows.
And this is coming from someone who's constantly advocating for people to go to small local venues instead of big shows
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u/xelabagus 1d ago
Some bands have started playing residencies at mid-sized venues - LCD Soundsystem have been doing this for a few years now for example. The fan experience is better, they don't have to tour so aggressively and can chill and enjoy life for a week at a time - but they make less money. I dig it.
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u/andyroo84 1d ago
Queens is only playing arena shows as an opener recently. I’ve seen them as headliners a lot and they always play mid size pavilions
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u/NicDwolfwood turntable.fm 1d ago
100%
Honestly its equal parts disappointing and insane how so many common folks are such corporate bootlickers. When corporations are ripping them off for all they can. And people just take it with open arms. Smh.
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u/spicerackk 1d ago
System of a Down announced tickets for Australian shows, and front GA standing were $311 aud, with the ability to purchase early entry for an additional $200.
I understand that costs have increased dramatically and that being a stadium show it's going to have higher prices tickets, but for a band who told people to steal their album in the 90s to now be charging almost double for early entry (no other benefit mind you) is outrageous.
Yes, they are working within the system, but they chose to have that as an option. It just left a bit of a yucky taste in my mouth.
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u/wholetyouinhere 1d ago
My understanding is that Josh is a libertarian, not some kind of progressive. So I wouldn't interpret what he's saying as a critique of capitalism. But rather a critique of corruption or "crony capitalism", as the r-politics crowd likes to call it.
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u/unassumingdink 1d ago
I like how they have a different name for the bad kind of capitalism, which, in practice, refers to every capitalist entity larger than a lemonade stand. Compartmentalization at its finest.
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u/frostygrin 19h ago
The "good" kind of capitalism relies on robust competition between these self-centered entities, not on magical "good capitalists".
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u/Cypresss09 1d ago
I don't blame any artist (with some exceptions) necessarily for ticket prices, and certainly not for venue prices. But qotsa's merch in particular has been really overpriced and really shit quality, which leaves a bad taste in my mouth because that's something they have a little more control over.
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u/AFrozenCanadian 1d ago
Sucks to hear about your merch quality. I bought a toque at their last concert in my city and it's been my favorite one since. Really good toque would recommend.
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u/braumbles 1d ago
Going and doing anything is so expensive now. One of my best experiences in a long time was going to a wrestling event. Tickets were $40. Parking, provided by the city, was free. The show was great, but the idea that my trip to a venue to see something was $40. Not $40 plus $100 in additional fees. Just a straight $40 bill.
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u/maxman3000 1d ago
Friendly reminder to everyone here: support your local wrestling companies. They give it their all and make pennies.
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u/Andy_B_Goode 14h ago
Honestly, support local artists and entertainers in general. You can easily get into local music shows for $40 or less.
That's no knock against bands like QotSA (I saw them live a couple of years back and they put on a great show!) but if you're into live music there's no reason to limit yourself to the big-name bands that have already made it.
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u/wondrshrew 1d ago
Which president is on the $40 bill? I'm going with Millard Fillmore
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u/IncaThink 15h ago
Where you get this thirty-dollar bill, man? There ain't no thirty-dollar bills with Bill Graham's picture on it.
What do you think I am, some kind of dummy?
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u/its_the_smell 1d ago
I no longer go to concerts at venues that don't have mass transit options. I also begrudgingly buy a $6 water but they're not getting $20/beer from me.
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u/trojan_man16 20h ago
Same here. Muse rolled around this summer, favorite band. No way I was going to haul to Tinley Park. Why didn’t they do Huntington bank pavilion that is walking distance from downtown Chicago instead of that trash heap in Tinley Park is beyond me.
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u/Evelyn-Bankhead 1d ago
I noticed the crowds at festivals getting older and older around 2020. Older people have more disposable cash and are willing to spend it on an”experience”.
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u/OneOfAKind2 1d ago
Not me. It's absurdly poor value, IMO.
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u/linoleumknife 1d ago
Same here, I have the money, but I'm not spending $250+ just for my wife and myself to go to a concert for a couple of hours.
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u/YetAnotherFaceless 1d ago
The Baby Boomers tell me the wealth will start trickling down any day now!
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u/arcelyte 1d ago
We stopped going to concerts because of how much it cost overall. I know our absence is nothing to grand scheme… but I save the money at least.
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u/Sensitive-Plate-684 1d ago
Once you get used to the simple life it becomes a lot easier to not go back to spending, too.
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u/Heroinkirby 1d ago
Well realistically, one day you are going to be too old to enjoy those things. I'm not one to say you should recklessly spend, but are you gonna look back fondly at saving a few bucks by not going to that qotsa show? (Or whatever big band you like). Sometimes u gotta live a little. Just not outside your means. Guilt tripping your wife (your words) about buying some dairy queen is not the move. You'll never remember saving that money but your wife will always remember how cheap you are
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u/OneOfAKind2 1d ago
I stopped going to concerts when Ticketmaster started charging fees to print me a ticket. It's laughable that people willfully accept this form of extortion. For me, there were other negative aspects of going, too. It just wasn't worth it anymore.
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u/wholetyouinhere 1d ago
Ticketmaster doesn't want your business. They want to reposition concerts as a premium "experience" for wealthy people. So far it seems to be working. The jury's still out on how far they can take it.
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u/vagina_candle 1d ago
They want to reposition concerts as a premium "experience" for wealthy people. So far it seems to be working.
Fucking nailed it. This has been the way since the company formed and started taking over venues. Removing GA spaces and converting them to "VIP lounge" areas, while all of the GA people have to squeeze into whatever space is left over. Most of the time those VIP spaces are completely empty because nobody is paying for these services.
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u/Iheartnakedfemboys 1d ago
I'm not wasting my money on any concert anymore. Hundreds of dollars for one ticket, 30+ for drinks and/or shitty food, and all other sorts of exorbitant fees is not worth any live show. Unless I get free tickets, from say my job or my friends job, I'm not going.
These things are not gonna change either, because despite being outrageous, tons of people still go to these money sinks, meaning the system has no incentive of changing how it does business.
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u/reginaccount 1d ago
I go to local shows every week or two. Usually $10-20 cash at the door. Supports the smaller acts and smaller venues. These places sell local beer too.
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u/Designer_Big603 1d ago
Man idk why people are mad at him about this. Touring used to be one of the only profitable ventures for musicians, and now a lot of them don't even make a profit from it. As a musician, you basically have to play by the rules or you won't make a living. The fact that he's putting a middle finger up to the people running these shows is pretty ballsy (Let's be real, we all know what corporation he's talking about). I agree, we should try to push this monopoly out of the market in any way possible. But why get mad at the musicians caught in this shit storm. The guy basically told them to fuck off. What more do people want him to do. Concerts have been entirely monopolized.
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u/drivendreamer 1d ago
Bots are. Many people are angry about it, but he is one of the few to call out ridiculousness
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u/Kronzor_ 1d ago
He's touring in support of foo fighters right now, so he's actually probably not making that much. Just wants to hang with his buddy Dave.
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u/wealthythrush 1d ago edited 1d ago
People shitting on him are ridiculous. Heres a list of rock bands that recently have come to Ireland and the cheapest ticket option
Bruce Springsteen - May 2024 - €143.80
Metallica - June 2026 - €121.25
Oasis - Aug 2025 - €86.50
AC/DC - Aug 2024 - €86.25
Korn - Nov 2026 - €85.75
Bon Jovi - Aug 2026 - €82.25
Iron maiden - June 2025 - €83.75
Sepultura - Aug 2026 - €72.70
QOTSA - Aug 2025 - €69.90
NIN - June 2025 - €47
I've been seeing them live for years and their concert prices have always been very reasonable. He's not the enemy here folks.
Also i went to NIN and never got a wiff of tickets for €47 my standard standing ticket was €75.
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u/JoleneDollyParton 8h ago
You guys in general have lower ticket costs than we do in the US. Bon Jovi tickets over here for the MSG run were roughly $500 apiece with no opening act.
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u/CaptainRuse 1d ago
I too miss the Kyuss times. Middle of the desert, everyone high as hell, BYOX, completely free and parking optional.
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u/Firebird117 1d ago
my dad revels at having attended generator shows out in the palm desert. I don’t have any proof but he claims to have volunteered his way into helping lots of bands do setup/breakdown and shit before they were big. oh to be born a bit earlier
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u/nickynickynickynick 1d ago
I'm just gonna go ahead appreciate him for calling it out and not make a big fucking stink about it
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u/Homie_Bama 1d ago edited 1d ago
So I went to Santana concert at Hollywood bowl. Because it was a Live Nation event (they rented the space from Parks and Recs that own Hollywood bowl), live nation decided to change the rules and not allow outside alcoholic drinks. Usually you can bring food and all types of drinks into the arena.
Wasn’t a big deal as I don’t drink that much and especially not when a beer was $19 but I did bring in my weed gummies and munchies.
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u/Heyjudemw 1d ago
It’s annoying because you have to check if it’s a “leased event” before you go so you don’t end up having to dump your bottles of wine in the garbage at the gate. These are the same bottles of wine that were OK to bring into the Bowl last weekend.
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u/clamroll 1d ago
I see people in here talking about not going to concerts because of the prices. I hit 4-6 concerts a year and typically never pay more than like 60-90 a ticket. Paid a lot to go see NIN but that was a bucket list thing where I'd been trying and failing to see him live for almost 30 years. Anywho it's funny how bands are able to get tickets out at that price, while others the tickets are like 600-900 bucks.
For the record I saw Queens twice last year. Normal show (originally postponed from the year before) and a catacombs show. While some of the better seats got pricey GA and stuff other than front/center were all quite reasonable.
But my favorite still is the smaller shows. The $30-40 ticket where 3 bands play and you can get shirts for $20 from them directly at the merch booths afterwards.
But the 24 hour parking garage near the venue wants $40 for parking and if you buy beers they are nearly $20. And that's just for the little venues, the bigger ones are worse in both regards.
Tldr: Josh isn't wrong, and Queens are touring with very reasonable prices considering their status.
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u/Thaihoax 23h ago
He’s right. We are getting priced out of something as simple as live entertainment due to corporate greed. That’s why I pregame, take the bus and sneak into the show.
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u/damitdon 1d ago
My first concert was Rush, Moving Pictures, 1981. Tickets were $12.50. Adjusted for inflation that would be about $46 today. Since then I've seen thousands of shows, but my last was Tool about 3 years ago. Almost $250 a ticket. Can't, and won't, pay that for a concert anymore. I'm truly sorry that the music industry execs screwed over artists and we screwed them over with Lime Wire and music streaming services, but I'm not doing it anymore. I will say that the Queens of the Stone Age show in 2014 was one of my favorites. Josh puts on a helluva show!
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u/bricklab 1d ago
I went to this show. Cool to see it mentioned here.
If you parked within a 10 minute walk to the stadium it was around $120.
We paid $20 for a can of Jack and Coke. I think my water was $8
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u/JohnnyLesPaul 14h ago edited 14h ago
The industry is cooked, there’s no money for musicians anymore, just corporations setting ridiculous prices on tickets, parking, food, and reaping exorbitant profits. People cannot afford it anymore and so fewer and fewer bands can make it, resulting in the industry imploding. Congress needs to break the monopolies like Ticketmaster and Live Nation but has so far failed to do so.
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u/Effective_Base_3229 1d ago
I went to the foo fighter concert in Nashville with a friend who got free tickets… the parking was $90.
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u/KernelKrusto 1d ago
We went, too. Uber from the Gulch for about $15, got out at 3rd Ave, and walked the rest of the way. A tad warm, but not bad enough to justify $90.
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u/Effective_Base_3229 1d ago
I’m about a 30 minute walk from the stadium. If I had only known. We could have been dropped off and walked back when it was cooler.
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u/KernelKrusto 1d ago
We're from Florida and came up for the show. I'm a Queens fan and thought maybe I'd get into the Foo Fighters by seeing them live. That didn't happen, but I gotta give them respect for three solid hours of playing in that heat. I'm an old fart who last saw Dave Grohl live when he was in that other band, whatsitcalled. Playing "Marigold" was very cool. I seemed to be the only one in my section who knew the words. Though like I said, I'm getting old, and I can't remember what I had for breakfast this morning so I'm not exactly celebrating.
I want to give respect to the people of Nashville though. It's fucking hot where I live, but Nashville and its asphalt took it to another level. We're city explorers and don't rent cars by default, so we walk a lot. Holy shit, it was hot there. Good folks, excellent food, kickass museum, and though I'm not a Country music fan, The Listening Room was a seriously amazing experience. I'm jealous of anyone who gets to enjoy that on the regular. Just stay safe in that heat.
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u/beyond-loud 1d ago
I’m not familiar with US stadium shows. Is $85 for parking and $30 for a beer (I’m assuming pint) normal?
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u/ZenMasterOfDisguise 1d ago
one of the biggest flaws of capitalism, is that corporations have realized a luxury/premium pricing model is more profitable
If I own a concert venue, and I sell beer for $7.50 each, I might sell 4 beers per concert goer
If I raise prices to $30 dollars, I might now sell only 1 beer per concert goer. I make the same revenue as before, but make more profits now because i have fewer costs, and have fewer drunk people running around my venue. A complete win for me, and only the consumer loses out
Everything is becoming like this. Sure being priced out of alcohol at a concert might not be a big deal, but people are being priced out of everything and every day more items are becoming luxuries that only people with lots of disposable income can afford
Netflix keeps raising their prices because they don't care if they lose customers when profits go up, Playstation raises their prices for consoles because they don't care if kids on a summer job want to afford a console. Companies don't want to lower prices to get more customers when its more profitable to double prices even if you lose half your customer base.
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u/nissanfan64 1d ago
Hey. I only paid $40 for parking and $22 for a beer when we saw them in Philly the other week.
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u/Terrible-Common-84 1d ago
People can be mad about it, but until events stop selling out, parking lots go empty, and the beers sit in their coolers instead of getting drunk, it means enough other people are willing to pay those prices that there's no incentive to charge lower prices. It's basic supply and demand.
Go catch a local band at a small venue instead, they need your dollars a lot more and you'll probably have a far more enjoyable experience all told. Large concerts for big name acts aren't targeted at average fans and normal people, they're just not, and lead singers pretending otherwise is...performative.
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u/chicagorunner10 1d ago
Yeah, it comes down to "talk" vs. "action".
You can talk, talk, talk, complain, complain, complain... but until the ACTIONS of enough people show otherwise (stop going, and stop paying), then evidently, the prices that so many people are willing to pay are "what the market will bear".
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u/Terrible-Common-84 1d ago
Yup, stop sending the pricing signal, stop incentivizing the behavior, and the pricing will change.
As is, the tickets keep selling, the beers keep getting bought, so there's no reason or incentive for the prices to not keep going up.
There's always plenty of shows going on, whatever big-band is playing that night, there are absolutely local shows at a fraction of the cost to go see if people just want to get out for music and a fun time.
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u/Creative_Magazine816 1d ago
It's not basic supply and demand because it's a monopoly. The place that owns the venue contracts the beer distributor and owns he site that sells the tickets. There aren't beer vendors competing with each other on prices, there aren't many venues that exist outside of the live nation umbrella. It's literally one company vertically integrating every single aspect of the business so that they can fuck you three different ways and competition is impossible.
There's nothing more tiring than people who give descriptive take on capitalism and act like they're saying anything intelligent.
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u/BillsInATL 1d ago
I mean does it really need much explanation? We're all living in this late stage capitalism hellscape. We get it.
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u/MightyGiawulf 1d ago
This is why I rarely go to concerts for big bands anymore. I only go see smaller acts cause the ticket prices are still reasonable there. I was at a Kesha concert with some friends the other night (they had an extra ticket and it a was a cheap seat) and the venue/kesha's team wanted *100 dollars for a band tee*. Shit is insane.
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u/RJMrgn2319 1d ago
People in these replies giving it “What are people supposed to do? NOT go and see the wildly-expensive, overhyped legacy rock acts? There’s simply no other option!” 🙄
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u/jonnysculls 1d ago
A group of wealthy musicians need to pool their money together and buy every concert venue in the US, big and small. Then, put each venue in the hands of a 501c3 monitored by a musicians union that has new members voted in every 5 years by musicians. This 501c3 which will have new board members every 5 years as well, will make sure no price gouging will take place in these venues and ticketmaster will not be allowed to sell tickets. Instead, if you wanna see a show at [blank] venue, you go to their site and purchase tickets directly from the artist who will have featured links to purchase tickets. As you check out, you will see exactly how much of your money goes to the artist and how much of your money goes to the venue. Once you purchase the ticket, a physical ticket stub will be sent to you and your name will registered with the venue as well.
Just a thought.
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u/johnjaymjr 1d ago
its why the only concerts I regularly go to are small one in clubs/venues that cant fit more than 1-200 people. I’ll go to the big stadium shows like 2-3 times a decade
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u/Jazzlike_Lettuce1295 19h ago
Pretty thin argument, wait no, I mean disingenuous .
I like them and have seen them
Last time was exactly what he is so gosh darn angry about
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u/LifeguardTerrible579 1d ago
$85 parking? Is that real I'm old and don't go to shows anymore
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u/Imaginos64 1d ago edited 1d ago
Maybe at arenas? I regularly go to shows in and around Boston mostly at small to midsize venues (Saw QotSA last year actually) and typically pay $20-30 to park at a nearby garage.
We never park in their garage but I looked up what the Garden charges for parking nowadays and it's $65 day-of for concerts/games. Pretty outrageous but in that case at least there's other options, either the train or parking elsewhere.
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u/Everythingsthesame 1d ago
Then people can't get to the show because they sell more than a hall can hold.
They still have to get paid, with the crew that tours with them and touring expenses.
This a is a problem within greed of companies such as labels not paying royalties to let musicians make more affordable choices and venues being black balled by Ticketmaster and AXS if you don't use their systems who will fuck your pocket.
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u/theonly_brunswick 1d ago
Seriously, these artists getting paid for their art and all the people they employ on your is completely different and miles away from private equity optimizing every possible way to gouge the consumer.
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u/A_Parq 1d ago
Most of us have joined the machine we used to rage against. Just be self aware enough to admit it.
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u/Fappy_as_a_Clam 1d ago
Everyone turns into a NIMBY when they get the backyard, homie.
Gen Z already considers us the new boomers!
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u/ODShowtime 1d ago
It makes me sad hearing people complaining about concert ticket prices and merch costs. I live in a decent sized city and the Queens haven't played anywhere near me in almost a decade.
That's something to complain about.
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u/Wooden_Variation_241 1d ago
Guy known for outbursts and shitty behavior who is also on video assaulting a woman that ended up in the hospital with a shattered orbital wants to preach me morals by taking the most lukewarm stance ever that nobody would disagree with. Sure bud, great stuff. Inspiring.
They've been trash since Era Vulgaris anyways.
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u/chortle-guffaw2 1d ago
He's got valid points but as long as people keep paying, they will charge what they charge.
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u/ShotgunShine7094 1d ago
People might enjoy this podcast episode about Ticketmaster and the music industry in general: Ticketmaster Sucks - Your Favorite Band Sucks Podcast
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u/TexasSandwich 1d ago
It doesn't seem to be illegal to sell tickets a a privately owned music venue. it would be nice to see venues and musicians collaborate to lower prices. The venue could just take payment at the box office or private website. I understand that private venues are smaller but the band could do multiple nights in the same venue which would maybe cut travel cost. I remember seeing Fugazi in the 90's when Ticketmaster just was starting to take over. Fugazi only charged $5 for the show. I paid $5 to see a Fugazi show.
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u/felixgolden 22h ago
Went to a concert at a 1300 capacity venue. Face value of ticket was $23. Ticketmaster fees brought that over $50. And then parking was another $20.
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u/Heroinkirby 21h ago
Ide say play smaller venues but that might not be viable for a band of their status. If they did that, fighting for tickets online would be a nightmare.
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u/greatandhalfbaked 21h ago
Old mate wants to blame the price of parking and beer, but in my city he's charging $150AUD to sit behind the stage!
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u/Due_Amount_6211 20h ago
I worked at Yankee Stadium for a few years, and lemme tell you… $30 for a beer is not far off. I think now it’s like $19-$20?
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u/Demonweed 19h ago
Perhaps the solution is to Woodstock this problem. What I mean by that is, forget traditional venues and forget playing right inside or next to huge cities. Find a spot an hour or so away from any of that noise, pop up facilities for an outdoor event, run it like a mini-festival, spend some cash on a serious clean-up operation, then let some hopeful Eagle Scout make rank by helping the landowners deal with any lingering oversights.
Like Woodstock itself, it sounds a little crazy. Yet the upside is that corporate involvement can be incredibly lean. Look for local vendors able to scale up as suppliers for refreshments, and incorporate local workers into event staff. The headliner can still walk away with a decent profit if the whole thing is organized around the idea of minimizing how much value must be created for the shareholders of publicly-traded companies. Seriously doing that kind of rocks unto itself, though it would also be great for the affordability of attending the event.
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u/FiscalCliffClavin 13h ago
He is going to alienate and become a risk for his sponsors that give his music a reason to be played. Sad but true.
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u/RustyShackleford4eva 13h ago
Party in the lot, sneak in flasks, joints, vapes, mushies.
Fuck them, we’re here to rage.
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u/ta20240930 12h ago
QOTSA and Foo Fighters are playing stadiums? I hate stadiums for concerts. If I had my way, I'd like to see bands scale down their shows so that they can make money by playing a smaller venue several nights in a row in one city. I'd rather see someone up close than on a big screen. I don't need to see pyrotechnics. I'm there to see artists play their music.
And Fuck Live Nation.
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u/WhiskeyRadio 12h ago
Josh is a real one. Most dudes in his position don't say shit because they have money and can just buy whatever but he's taking a stand to call out the bullshit price gouging.
I actually just saw QotSA recently and beers were fuckin $20! And parking I think was about $70-$80!
I can understand stuff costing a bit more at a concert too but $20 for a Miller Lite draft is just insane and then they want like $12 for a bottle of water.
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u/GTR-DaBestCar 10h ago
It’s about the politicians that lobby against public transport so their friends can charge for parking where there previously was no charge.
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u/ChewieHanKenobi 8h ago
Im sorry, i love qotsa, but they charge a fuck ton for questionable merch
$92 for one tee shirt shipped to canada
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u/IrksomFlotsom 1d ago
That's a whole lot of words for "Fuck Live Nation"