Rush ticket prices draw backlash
Kid Rock and many other big names in music have called out Live Nation and Ticketmaster for treating artists unfairly financially. Now with the Rush reunion tour’s expensive ticket prices drawing a backlash from fans, Bob Wegner has weighed in about how artists like Rush are paid.
“Rush. I love and respect these guys beyond any reasonable description, and their music has been the soundtrack of my life (including my professional life). But I just couldn’t pull the trigger.
After ten minutes of waiting in line the cheapest was $841 for two tickets, most of which goes to billionaires, not the artist. If rent wasn’t double that, I might’ve been able to consider it. But alas this is late stage capitalism. We’re getting fleeced left right and centre. And I need a roof over my head before I can attend obscenely expensive concerts.”
Wegner then stated that Rush themselves are even getting ‘scammed’ in terms of how much they are getting paid compared to promoters.
Rush are not being paid fairly
“I’ve played Live Nation gigs, and I know exactly how much money the artist gets – it’s pennies on the dollar,” Wegner said. “It’s a complete scam, even if you’re famous. So before we think of blaming the band, remember that the billionaire promoter has a monopoly on most of the world’s large concert venues. If they want to play anything larger than a theatre, this is the game now.
I will forever cherish those memories as a teenager repeatedly listening to Exit Stage Left, learning the arrangements of those songs in my head before I even owned an instrument I could play them on. I would love to be in the same room as Geddy and Alex, to celebrate their incredible career with them. But it’s just not in the realm of possibility for most of us now.
I saw Rush on several tours for about $50. This isn’t music anymore – this is medieval kings owning the village, with 90% of us in the peasant class. I’ll be watching on YouTube.”
