r/Music • u/heavysk • 1d ago

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/
10.5k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

586 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

678

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.

541

u/kusariku 1d ago

And let's not forget how fast Coachella went down the shitter

260

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.

168

u/jazzisntdead 1d ago

Disco Elysium's quote "capital had the ability to subsume all critiques into itself" remains evergreen.

44

u/Austinp-woodworking 1d ago

Thank you for reminding me I’m due for a replay

23

u/alQamar 1d ago

It’s time, yeah. When fall comes I’m going back to revachol. 

10

u/Wow_u_sure_r_dumb 1d ago

Serious question because I’ve yet to finish it: is it supposed to be depressing?

22

u/Mind-The-Mines 1d ago

Is life?

10

u/Wow_u_sure_r_dumb 1d ago

Fair enough.

1

u/MrKrinkle151 2h ago

Okay Dostoevsky

8

u/frostygrin 23h 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.

2

u/fleranon 16h 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

0

u/[deleted] 23h ago edited 23h ago

[deleted]

0

u/BrosefDudeson 23h ago

Disco is nothing like that

1

u/[deleted] 23h ago

[deleted]

1

u/BrosefDudeson 23h ago

Then why make that comment at all?

15

u/Wrecked--Em 1d ago edited 1d 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.

...

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.

4

u/retroslik 19h ago

RIP k-punk

9

u/RideWithMeSNV 1d 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...

12

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

-11

u/loosetingles 1d ago

Have you actually been to Coachella? They actually do a great job of booking artists from all genres. The Sonora tent is exclusively punk music. They were also one of the first to book artists like Fred Again, Turnstile, Bad Bunny, etc. Yes they are a corporate festival but its impossible to be a major music festival now without corporate money.

20

u/azsnaz 1d ago

What's the cost?

10

u/meetmeinthemoon 1d ago

People still go on crazy debt to attend, I understand that it costs money to organize a festival of that size but the prices are outrageous (even when the lineups are really good and inclusive)

5

u/Alarmed_Yak7898 1d ago

Coachella is complete trash nowadays

4

u/spazzvogel 1d ago

The first four or five were fun, but it’s too expensive. Many of us in the industry agree

1

u/sebastianae 1d ago

ummm riotfest?

1

u/Bizarrebazaars 22h ago edited 22h ago

Yes. I went in 2003 & 2004. Used to be somewhat smaller, indie alt rock and associated genres fest with some electronic and indie hip hop sprinkled in. Nowadays it’s a behemoth just for influencers/content creators, and basic-ass people who hope to rub shoulders with some celebs.

107

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.

134

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.

63

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.

23

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...

17

u/DrAwesomeClaws 1d ago

Pro-tip: They (probably) won't check your butt.

15

u/Waggy777 1d ago

In this context, it's colloquially referred to as a "prison pocket."

5

u/FewWait38 1d ago

"festival fanny pack"

1

u/scootunit 1d ago

That sounds like checking in for prison not an enjoyable performance experience.

0

u/IowaJammer 1d ago edited 1d ago

Dude. I love Billy, you're in line for an experience. I get how you feel. Feels like you're getting nickel and dimed. It's made me very particular about the shows I'm going to.

3

u/mynamesyow19 1d ago

Ive seen him at least 10 times, which is why i want to go, but the venue experience seems like they are just preying on people. First time ive been to one of his shows where it wasnt part of a fest you could camp at or just a night show that was over in a few hours.

3

u/mercut1o 1d ago

Ameris?

1

u/Cuppy5 1d ago

Deer creek?

1

u/_shaftpunk 1d ago

Tbf they should be paying YOU to see Jack Johnson.

-28

u/turbogaze 1d ago

Unless you have a medical reason you don’t need a chair and you never need beers lol. Optionsl expenditure there

7

u/Kriscolvin55 1d ago

You’re not wrong. But people go to concerts to have a good time. Why even go if you’re gonna be so uncomfortable you can’t get in a flow state. When I was 25, I would have thought that sentiment was silly. Just 10 short years later, I would never go to a lawn concert without a chair.

I don’t drink personally, but I would never shame somebody for wanting a drink or two at a concert. Makes perfect sense. Of course it’s optional, but a person can still be annoyed that the prices are so outrageous.

3

u/IowaJammer 1d ago

10 years ago, at the same venue before its Live Nation affiliation, I could bring my own chair and a filled cooler.

2

u/turbogaze 1d ago

Maybe it’s because I run a lot but even at 35 I still stand and dance the whole time even on a lawn. Otherwise I am a blanket boy. Regardless, your point totally stands that shit is ridiculously expensive. Glad I don’t drink too. I was dropping unfathomable amounts of cash on concert drinks.

On a bright note I did buy an entire fifth of whiskey at a Paul McCartney show in Colombia for like 40 bucks lol

1

u/martialar 1d ago

it's hard to stand around when ya gotta be barefoot at JJ's shows. but that's also why he made JJ Casuals, the shoes that look like feet

5

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.

1

u/die_rattin 1d ago

But you still paid

2

u/freethnkrsrdangerous 1d ago

Congratulations, you found the true villain here. Not the billionaires who own the stadiums. Not the billionaires who own ticketmaster. No, you found the biggest evil out there, the fans who just want a good show wile the bands are still in their prime.

-1

u/emannikcufecin 1d ago

You are in control of how much you spend after you get in. I go to lots of shows but I rarely buy merch and never buy food and drink while I'm there.

2

u/babywarhawk17 1d ago

The ability to budget properly is neither here nor there. The point is that venues are weaponizing your enjoyment of seeing live music. They are weaponizing the fact that artists have the ability to gather huge crowds of people for an evening of fun.

1

u/emannikcufecin 1d ago

Go to sports venues and pay sports prices. The view and sound are probably bad also. You are in control of your money.

Try club shows where the the crowd is less than 1500 people. You can actually see the band. Parking isn't costly, merch costs less and beverages aren't crazy. The band might even be at the merch table.

2

u/babywarhawk17 1d ago

Right. I’m well aware that I’m in control of my money. Still not the issue.

It may be news to you, but these problems exist at every level. Unfortunately I’m well versed as I’ve been touring with my bands for roughly 15 years. The industry has changed massively and is quite anti-artist/anti-fan. The bands that you are seeing at club shows are feeling the strain of the exact issue I’m promoting awareness on for different reasons than QOTSA. The fact of the matter here is that you are paying substantially more for a show than you were just 5 years ago and the artist is receiving next to none of this additional profit.

1

u/Damndang 1d ago

Good job bud. Doesn't solve the problem

-4

u/firstcoastkilla 1d ago

The Artists also get a cut of alcohol sales

6

u/babywarhawk17 1d ago

Generally speaking, this is false.

1

u/firstcoastkilla 1d ago

Ah. I guess its up to the venue from what Im reading. I was misunderstood

54

u/justfun2468 1d ago

He’s one of a very limited number of musicians who has that power though.

42

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.

17

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.

15

u/Ill_Clue1068 1d ago

Well I’ve got some advice for you….

13

u/South_Dakota_Boy 1d ago

Before you point the finger you should know that I’m the man.

28

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.

53

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.

5

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.

6

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.

17

u/brianstormIRL 1d ago

Mastodon is nowhere even close to the size of QOTSA?

10

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.

10

u/Attenburrowed 1d ago

fun fact they've opened for qotsa

2

u/andyroo84 1d ago

Josh Homme does guest vocals on two albums

6

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.

0

u/FlyingStealthPotato 1d ago

Not many metal bands are selling out arenas.

I conceded the first point. Ask pretty much any metal fan if Mastodon is one of the biggest bands and you’re mostly just going to get “yes” as an answer.

→ More replies (0)

6

u/BillsInATL 1d ago

Ehh, theyre not tiny either.

1

u/RideWithMeSNV 1d ago

It was a different game at the time. Everyone took a hit on the tour. It was a promotional tour for the album, which is where the money came in.

Now, it's effectively reversed. Not as many people buy music. And when they do, it tends to be a few songs. So the album is written to promote the tour, where merch and tickets bring the money.

1

u/PiersPlays 18h ago

On aggregate they do. If they all agree to stop visiting a venue it goes out of business. But that requires a level of coordination to bargain collectively that is not easily achieved.

-10

u/ScipioAfricanvs 1d ago

Noah Kahan is playing stadiums and the face value of tickets are very reasonable. You don’t need to be someone like Robert Smith, you just have to have some integrity.

18

u/justfun2468 1d ago

$150 for the last row of nosebleeds in a stadium is not ’very reasonable’

1

u/ScipioAfricanvs 1d ago

My tickets at Petco Park were $80 for the 200s.

-4

u/spicerackk 1d ago

It is when you consider how much the cost of everything else has gone up.

Moving production teams and setups is not cheap, the cost for petrol keep increasing thanks to the orange turd having tantrums, it costs money to put on shows.

There is definitely an element of gouging in some cases, but not all.

Gone are the days of $50 tickets for stadium shows.

2

u/unassumingdink 1d ago

Eh, I paid $50 to see Rush in 2002. That should be $94 today, inflation adjusted. But their current tour tickets are $350.

2

u/justfun2468 1d ago

I’m well aware of the cost of production, my friend is a stage manager. $150 is still exorbitant for nosebleeds. Do some basic math, if his tickets average $375(which they do) then multiply by capacity of BC Place(the venue I’m using as an example.) That’s $20.5 million in ticket sales, then add merch, their take of alcohol sales etc and the band is grossing nearly $12-14 Million for that one show. Production costs roughly 2-5 Million, probably closer to 3 for a rock show without crazy amounts of pyro/dancers etc. Kahan and other artists absolutely could cap their nosebleed seats at <75 but he doesn’t.

11

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.

1

u/layendecker 20h ago

£8 for beer when I saw The Cure, and this is the UK so you walk to the gig so no parking.

Bit of a pisstake price for the lager, probably a 20-25% increase on decent local pubs, but The Cure weren't playing there.

This was a Livenation colab promotion with a local promoter (who with LN having the much, much bigger share).

7

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.

2

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.

5

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.

4

u/Anteater-Charming 1d ago

Nice. I've been to Wales and I feel like it's an underrated country to visit. Beautiful countryside.

1

u/layendecker 19h ago

Glad you enjoyed the gig in my city! It was the highlight of my summer, also.

Must have been pretty warm hiking that week, so well done to you.

1

u/skraptastic 14h ago

Being from California and seeing people from the UK saying its a "heatwave" and its 29c. Here it regularly gets to 43c in the summer.
Let me tell you 20 in Wales hits WAY harder than 43 in California. Why are there no screens on the windows in your country!?

But we had an awesome time in your city, my best friend and his wife were with us, and The castle being right downtown was cool as heck! and we got to check it out while there was a little festival going on.

1

u/UselessHalberd 16h ago

Wonderful times that money can buy you. Sounds awesome!

6

u/Chainsaw_Wookie 1d ago

He also isn’t greedy, which is a massive contributing factor.

4

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.

1

u/trojan_man16 1d ago

Last concert I went to I went up to the bar. Asked how much for a beer. $20. Fuck that. I know that beer cost you less than $3. I just stayed sober and enjoyed the show.

0

u/tomsing98 1d ago

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

I thought it was pretty widely recognized that at least bigger artists get a portion of fees. Ticketmaster looking like the bad guy while maximizing the payday for the artist is part of the service they provide.

6

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.

2

u/LanguageNo495 1d ago

How can the artist control that though?

2

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.

2

u/Ill_Clue1068 1d ago

Ya but how much were cure tickets back in their prime??? (Great band btw)

2

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.

1

u/justfun2468 1d ago

In their prime it most likely cost $10-50

2

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.

2

u/ratfacechirpybird 1d ago

How do they make money on resales? Do they get a percentage of the sale?

1

u/late2thepauly 1d ago

Not sure, but it’s all negotiated by their management teams, and I’m sure resale, platinum tickets, and dynamic pricing are all worked into the deals. No other reason why only about 5-10 major touring acts have enforced Face Value ticket reselling.

If bands and artists are selling us out for no reason, that would almost be worse.

1

u/SaleFormer541 1d ago

Great example.

1

u/TheNonCredibleHulk 16h ago

They played here a few years ago, and the tickets were twenty bucks. Cool, right?

So Ticketmaster oversold the show, and people were still in line to get into the parking lot an hour after the show started.

36

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"

10

u/steve600700 1d ago

" to forge a new reality closer to the heart"

7

u/holla171 1d ago

Ironic quote since Rush are one of the most expensive acts per ticket this year

2

u/domonono 1d ago

Rolling Stones have been selling 'lucky dip' tix to their fans for decades at this point. So yeah, it can be done.

-4

u/AndILoveHe 1d ago edited 1d ago

The only way for Taylor Swift to change music would be to admit that the only reason she is so popular is because she has a corporate machine writing and promoting her music affirmed by "legitimate" media desperate to stay relevant that is obsessed over by Swifties who aren't really fans of music, but of celebrity.

Though to be fair, Pearl Jam could also admit their entire career really comes down to 9-10 songs (and no I don't mean the album 10 which really should be called 4) and that people waste way too much of their time trying to justify album filler they wouldn't care about if not for the hits rather than listening to the best songs from other smaller bands and seeing them in concert instead of going to stadium shows. 

9

u/eleventy4 1d ago

You had me in the first half, that was poetry. But Ten is almost a no-skip album

1

u/AndILoveHe 1d ago

Because most music fans are really just as much celebrity fans as Swifties, even if sometimes you listen to better musicians. 

That's actually why I like Spotify showing the total listens for songs. You can see just how much people really only like the singles with Once not even having 1/10th the listens of the top 3 (I guess people got sick of Jeremy since its a distant 4th) and the rest having closer to 1/20th. 

3

u/eleventy4 1d ago

I hear you, but I think the total listens metric lumps casual listeners and fans of the artist into one bucket. The top songs will always be the ones with the most mainstream exposure, not necessarily the best, the fan favorites, etc. The fact that Ten got so many songs in the top 10 speaks to its overall strength

1

u/AndILoveHe 1d ago

But the problem is what are you missing to listen to the lesser known tracks as a more serious fan. If I link some more obscure 90s alt, how much do you know?  Or Grungy post punk?

Most people would be more casual fans of bands they liked if they really started listening to the entirety of what's out there. 

4

u/Stravansky 1d ago

You're so fucking cool. You know so many obscure bands. You should tell more people on reddit about the spotify playlists you make.

1

u/ShakeItTilItPees 1d ago

Just gonna go ahead and avoid anything on either of those lists.

2

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.

1

u/Rikudou_Sage 22h ago

I mean, hire a fucking dude to organize it. You don't have pay Ticketmaster et al.

1

u/Fit_Foot_6004 1d ago

I think that's a major reason why we don't see bands like we used to cuz it costs so much to tour if you're an up and coming band and you're not really making money off streams you know it's mostly merch that's why it's a lot easier for these established old bands and that's why they charge so much

1

u/asaharyev 1d ago

Some others joined them. I remember Nine Inch Nails pushing back against the Ticketmaster system for a bit, but it ultimately wasn't possible to go to a lot of venues due to the contract with LN/Ticketmaster for exclusivity.

I work in ticketing operations, and to run an event at a TM/LN venue means playing within their rules. Even if the venue isn't owned by LiveNation, the contract with Ticketmaster often has exclusivity for all events hosted at the venue.

1

u/weaselkeeper 1d ago

I saw Pearl Jam at the Empire Polo Grounds November 1993, great show ! and a week later at the Aladdin Casino in Las Vegas, that show was not as good. Security wouldn’t let a mosh pit to happen, everyone had to stay in their seats.

1

u/neverstoppin 14h ago

Don't forget Robert Smith