DETROIT, MI – Kid Rock, Live Nation and Ticketmaster appear to be entertainment trailblazers with a $20 tickets promotion for his summer “Rebel Soul” tour that might not ever be duplicated in the industry.
The idea of offering $20 tickets for all shows in every section, including seven shows at Clarkston’s DTE Energy Music Theatre, sends a bold message to Kid Rock’s fans that their guy is determined to be original in a crowded marketplace, said Gary Bongiovanni, editor-in-chief Pollstar, an industry publication.
“I think Kid Rock plans to be around for a while and is probably hoping to be touring five years from now and still making a good living,” Bongiovanni said. “He’s treating his audience very well, and the thing about this promotion is that everyone can see it’s a good deal – whether it’s the beer prices or the $20 tickets.”
DETROIT, MI – Kid Rock, Live Nation and Ticketmaster appear to be entertainment trailblazers with a $20 tickets promotion for his summer “Rebel Soul” tour that might not ever be duplicated in the industry.
The idea of offering $20 tickets for all shows in every section, including seven shows at Clarkston’s DTE Energy Music Theatre, sends a bold message to Kid Rock’s fans that their guy is determined to be and stay original in a crowded marketplace, said Gary Bongiovanni, editor-in-chief Pollstar, an industry publication.
“I think Kid Rock plans to be around for a while and is probably hoping to be touring five years from now and still making a good living,” Bongiovanni said. “He’s treating his audience very well, and the thing about this promotion is that everyone can see it’s a good deal – whether it’s the beer prices or the $20 tickets.”
The marketplace in Metro Detroit is jam-packed this spring and summer. Bob Seger, Kendrick Lamar and The Black Crowes kicked of this month an incredibly busy year of concerts for the region.
Bongiovanni said it’s unlikely other performers or acts can duplicate Kid Rock’s $20 promotion unless they teamed up with a Live Nation, Ticketmaster, or other promoters and offer the same deal in venues operated and serviced by the same companies.
The idea of having a multiple city tour in concert venues owned and operated by a variety of separate entities would likely make a $20 promotion – or something similar – practically impossible, Bongiovanni said.
“This deal is only possible because Live Nation bought into it,” Bongiovanni said. “Kid Rock is playing all Live Nation facilities, and obviously the fact the facilities were able to lower the concession prices was big. They made that deal for the entire tour. Unless that that cooperation happens (in the future), you’re not going to see a lot of other acts going out and doing it.
“You can’t do a conventional tour where you’re going out to 50 different arenas with 50 different operators and cut the same kind of deal.”
Kid Rock has admitted publicly this promotion is a risky move.
He told Rolling Stone this month that he’s “been meeting with Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino for years, trying to figure out how to fix the concert industry” and added entertainers are “all so overpaid.”
Bongiovanni said he doesn’t expect Kid Rock, Live Nation or Ticketmaster to get rich from the promotion, but does expect money made.
““Nobody is going to get really rich on this thing,” Bongiovanni said. “Although, I would hope in this day and age you can still make money on a $20 ticket. You may not get fabulously rich, but we’re only 20 to 30 years removed from when that was the conventional ticket price.”
The dates for Kid Rock’s seven shows at DTE: Aug. 9-11, Aug. 14, Aug. 16-17 and Aug. 19. As of 2:30 p.m. Thursday, some tickets appeared to still be available for those seven shows via Ticketmaster.
The only way Bongionvanni said Kid Rock’s $20 promotion as a bad moves was if there were problems selling the tickets. That doesn’t appear to be the case.
“You know, $20 is the kind of ticket price where you don’t really have to plan six months in advance to budget for it,” Bongiovanni said. “It can be more of a spur of the moment purchase. And the fact they are having the $4 beers means it’s not going to cost you a fortune to go out and enjoy yourself.”
Although Kid Rock’s promotion is an innovative move, Bongiovanni doesn’t expect it to help drive ticket prices down for shows throughout the industry anytime soon.
““The biggest artists continue to push the envelope,” Bongiovanni said. “At what point do The Rolling Stones (and other bands) price themselves out of the real world? It hasn’t happened yet, but (high prices) definitely limit the audience that can attend.”
Would you go see Kid Rock for $20 (plus fees)? Did you buy tickets for any of his shows? What do you think of his promotion? What’s your ticket price threshold for a concert?
Let us know in our comments section.
Kid Rock made plenty of noise Sunday night at the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas. Associated Press 
