Editorial: Brain Dead, And Made Of Money?

It’s clear to me that Phish is leaving money on the table. Don’t get me wrong, this table will have a lot of money on it at the end of the month. Seven sold out shows and let’s say they sell 60% capacity of the Alpine shows and 75% of Burgettstown. That’s still 170,864 tickets at 49.50/each and you’ve got $8,457,768.00. If Phish raised the ticket prices by $20 (to $69.50) for the best 30% seats in the house, they would immediately net an additional 1. Million. Dollars!

A million dollars, and that’s just for ten shows. If they play 40 shows this year, that would be four million.

I think $49.50 is completely reasonable for a band that has already netted 1,183 shows through the past 25 years. Sure, ticket prices may have been as low as $27.50 in the Summer of 2000. With inflation, that would only be about $34 in 2008. Ticket prices have gone up a little…but look at a few more examples of bands playing arenas and amphitheaters: AC/DC: $89.50, Nickelback: $65/55/46.50, The Eagles: $185.50/125/75/45

I hope this streak of one-price ticketing continues – maybe it will and maybe it won’t. For now, I’m proud that my favorite band still has a manageable ticket price despite their ability to sell out arenas and amphitheaters nationwide. If these four guys can stay out of jail, I can once again hold my head high when questioned about the return of Phish at the next extended family get-together.