Greed is good, apparently. That’s the takeaway I get from this story:
Rolling Stones tour with phones
Can’t make it to Europe for the current tour by the Rolling Stones? No problem.
Dial a toll-free number and listen to them perform all down the line in real time for $1.99 per seven minutes.
[…]
According to a statement, U.S. fans can buy in by calling [a toll-free number] from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific time. At the six-minute mark, a voice will warn them that the time is almost up, which makes bootlegging the concerts a challenge.
I’m not sure which is more craptacular: The greed of the companies behind this, or the stupidity of anyone who would actually pay. Who is stupid enough to pay anything, even two bucks, to listen to seven minutes of a live concert over a freakin’ phone? I guess if a bunch of gazillionaires can convince their fans to cough up $100 each for a Platinum fan club membership that gives them the right to compete with other suckers, er, fans to spend $352.50 per ticket (plus convenience charges and handling fees) to see a rock and roll show.
Nice retirement plan you got there, Mick.
Ed Bott 
What I don’t get is the motivation. I mean, when you’ve got several hundred million dollars, what’s the point of piling on a few more? Is it that the 150 foot yacht is that much better than the 125 footer? I guess there is no law of diminishing returns when it comes to money.
The idea, I guess, is that there is only one Mick Jagger / Rolling Stones in the world (and that’s all there will ever be), and that they can set whatever price they want to appear in concert. That doesn’t mean I approve of it, of course. Contrast this behavior with the DC-area band Fugazi, who never charged more than a certain amount of money for admission to any performance, sold their records at low prices, and didn’t gouge you with merchandise, either. They played to packed houses for years on end.
The people who would pay to listen to the Rolling Stones over their phone need to get a life. On the other hand, if it was Yo Yo Ma and Emmanuel Ax playing Beethoven cello sonatos, it might be worth it.
Geez… I got to see the Stones, B.B. King and Terry Reid back in ’69 for $7 a ticket. Time flies!
Wow. This Inflation Calculator (supplied by NASA, which means it’s officially certified by rocket scientists) says that Lloyd’s $7 ticket would cost roughly $36 in 2004. Round it up to an even $40 for the two years since then and Mick and the Boys are still displaying pretty outrageous greed.
Yes, yes, big stage show and all that, but still. $400 a ticket after those TicketMaster charges is just wrong.
Maybe the Stones used that same calculator. Their show runs 2 hours and 15 minutes, which will require 20 seven-minute phone calls. At $1.99, that’s $40. And the crappy monaural sound out of your phone is probably equivalent to the experience Lloyd had on the $7 patch of grass about 1/4 mile from the stage in 1969!
I have to admit that I’ve seen the Stones four times since ’94 (when I paid $55 to see ’em at the Rose Bowl), and they do put on an amazing show. But not $400 amazing.
too right!
as if they needed the money. 😦
Actually the show I saw was an unadvertised show (still sold out) done as a warm up for their later Altamont gig. It was at Colorado State University’s “Moby Gym,” a venue not known for its great acoustics. I managed to get a seat in about the 20th row, so the direct sounds still outdid the massive gymnasium reverberation. I’ve always chalked it up to one of the better investments I’ve made.