Live Nation Reduces Summer Concert Fees

If you are an avid concert attendee like I am, you know who Live Nation is. Now, I like a lot of music but I am primarily a country music fan, not to insult those of you who like other music genres. I know a lot about Live Nation due to the frequent concerts I go to that are not far from home. Nissan Pavilion is just on the other side of Washington D.C. from my home in Maryland. So far, at that venue, I have seen uncountable artists in concert, and personally met young country singer Taylor Swift, all at Nissan Pavilion which is nearly run by Live Nation. Anyone who goes to a concert having anything to do with Live Nation, like myself, will enjoy the fact that they have eliminated some concert fees.

Live Nation, which is one of the world’s largest concert promoters, has promotion every Wednesday that eliminates some concert ticket fees that have since caused music fans to run in droves to Ticketmaster, a Live Nation, Inc. competitor. These fees primarily plague those who buy lawn seats at their pavilions.. Starting just after midnight this coming Wednesday, fans will save around $10 on a ticket that typically costs just over $20. “We know people hate fees. We ant one day to say to fans, ‘We’ve heard you loud and clear and appreciate your support. Escape and have a great show,” said Jason Garner, Live Nation’s executive of global music.

Artists who are playing at the 43 Live Nation venues include some of this author’s favorite country music artists, Aerosmith, ColdPlay, Phish, Nickelback, and Kid Rock, who covers just about every genre out there right now. Five million tickets across the nation are up for grabs right now. Even though the major promotion is this Wednesday, the company plans to continue the promotion on a smaller sale every Wednesday. As most tickets come out for sale on Saturdays, by Wednesday the tickets are down to lawn seats anyway. If you are looking for a good deal on seats to see some of your favorite music artists, this is the time to do it.

At least at Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, Virginia, but very likely at the rest of the pavilions they operate, there are wonderful screens that make it almost impossible to have a “bad” seat. It makes you feel like a lawn seat is nearly a front row seat. It makes the now $10 lawn seat an incredible deal. Just remember to take an umbrella whether you have a pavilion seat or not. Concerts are always rain or shine and you will need top leave the pavilion whether you need to smoke, eat or drink.

It is not certain if they are reducing these fees due to the reduced amount of money people will have to spend this summer due to the recession or if or if it is reduced sales of lawn seats over the course of the last few years. My experience would say that it is the first due to what I have seen at Nissan Pavilion every year. I tend to believe we are talking about a company that has taken both sides into account. Ticket sales will be low this summer and trying to keep some of the same customers would be good for low expected business. On a very related note, I think we also have a company who has had a lot of the same customers each year and would like to help them make a concert this summer.