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  1. I know I spend a lot of money and do take a vested interest in ticket prices. If they had been smarter about ticket prices, I suspect they could have sold more (and thus get more $$ on parking + concessions + etc.).
  2. The model now is to charge high prices up front and then lower closer to the sell out date.
  3. It does bring me a little bit of joy that in some cases the decision to charge ridiculously high prices has backfired to a certain extent. I’m sure they still made plenty of money, but I doubt they are ok with a lot of unsold seats in Chicago, Philadelphia, DC, etc. It didn’t have to be that way either.

    I am aware it’s not just the band who set the prices.
  4. It's not about selling out anymore, I think. If you raise the average ticket price high enough (and sell a few extremely high priced tix as the Stones do) you'll raise more money even if you do not sell out. It's simple maths.
    Also, you dry out the secondary market, to an extent. If people are willing to pay 200 Euro to a tout - why not sell directly for that price?
    I can backfire, of course.
  5. That’s true. I just looked at Bruno Mars most recent tour, around the same time as EI. He also did 2 shows at the same arena in DC, for example. Granted he doesn’t do a complete 360 show like U2. But U2 still sold more tickets and made more money. So yeah, they’re still doing better than most.