Ticket Prices

[Heyhoe]

Ok, so the prices have been rising by £10 a year over the last three years. Then this year a £20 hike? and including the booking fee AND transaction fee we are looking at £186.95 compared to £135-£140 (including booking fee) in 2006

Include an early entry pass and its pushing £200.

Now, im not usually one to moan about things like this as i throughly enjoy the festival and have done for the last 3-4 years. But when will this price hike end? will it be £195 for a base price weekend ticket next year??

Are we getting more for our money? I realise that there are extra services provided but they usualy come with extra cost once you are actually at the festival anyway..

Opinions? Are we being taken for a bit of a ride to see when we will refuse to purchase this much sort-after product?

.....

Paul.

Edited March 30, 2009 by Heyhoe

[Jamie T]

Theyl stop raising the price when people stop paying the increases, if they can get away with £300 they sure as hell will do it!

[deegs]

Melvin Benn said that the £20 price hike was unavoidable as the pound is worth 30% less to the dollar than it used to be, so paying American acts costs more.

The ticket prices will always go up every year, its just an extra big jump this year.

[TheOneCurlyFry]

It's called inflation.

[Heyhoe]

Its not though is it. The ticket prices are not rising at the rate of inflation at all. My wage rise is at the rate of inflation and it certainly has not risen nearly 25% in 3 years....

[superdjc]

Melvin Benn said that the £20 price hike was unavoidable as the pound is worth 30% less to the dollar than it used to be, so paying American acts costs more.

[Sparticus]

Melvin Benn said that the £20 price hike was unavoidable as the pound is worth 30% less to the dollar than it used to be, so paying American acts costs more.

The ticket prices will always go up every year, its just an extra big jump this year.

[Lou Sar]

They'll keep increasing the price as long as the festival keeps selling out in record/stupidly quick time. Supply and demand.

2001 it was £80 or £90 I think (before the delivery/booking fees) and the tickets were still on general sale in June/July time as well.

[Heyhoe]

Out of intrest then, if the festival continues to grow and grow and get more and more expensive, how much are you all prepared to spend? Surely a festival can only be "so" good in 3 days?

Maybe extend the festival to 4 days so we dont get so many clashes with the bands? Because i already find there are so many clashes on the stages that i never get to see all the bands i want to see, so introducing more really good bands will just make it worse?

By the way, im not trying to start anything here, im just interested in the majorities opinion on the ticket prices.

Edited March 30, 2009 by Heyhoe

[moss265]

perhaps £250, we'll find out in a couple of years!

[The_Fish]

The worst part of this for me is that Glasto costs the same as Leeds. I'm going to both again, but the difference in the festivals is astounding.

Glasto give you a free programme and timetable, allow you to take any drink anywhere and have about 45 stages. And they have bands you want to see on a fair chunk of them. Leeds is getting harder and harder to justify.

Hi Paul, btw.

[Kill]

not to mention a large percentage of glasto ticket cost goes to charity

[Belisha Beacon]

They'll keep increasing the price as long as the festival keeps selling out in record/stupidly quick time. Supply and demand.

2001 it was £80 or £90 I think (before the delivery/booking fees) and the tickets were still on general sale in June/July time as well.

[jenko872000]

I'm sorry but why are people complaining? at the moment there are 28 bands on the poster, how much were the tickets? 185 quid? 6-7 pounds per band. which is brilliant. and when you think about how many more are gonna be added to this lineup its great value, it just feels like a lot cuz your paying all at once.

even if you only like a quarter of whats on the lineup at the moment thats still 25 quid per band, which is what you would pay anywayz at a gig. I enjoy a lot of music and will watch as many bands as i can over the weekend, as well as getting f**ked of my face and i think i'll def get my moneys worth.

am i alone in this or does eveyone think its still over priced? meh to each their own...

[thetime]

I'm sorry but why are people complaining? at the moment there are 28 bands on the poster, how much were the tickets? 185 quid? 6-7 pounds per band. which is brilliant. and when you think about how many more are gonna be added to this lineup its great value, it just feels like a lot cuz your paying all at once.

even if you only like a quarter of whats on the lineup at the moment thats still 25 quid per band, which is what you would pay anywayz at a gig. I enjoy a lot of music and will watch as many bands as i can over the weekend, as well as getting f**ked of my face and i think i'll def get my moneys worth.

am i alone in this or does eveyone think its still over priced? meh to each their own...

[jammy2211]

The thing that gets me is that Glasto Aside (Which really has no appeal to me, from a line up perspective anyway), non of the alternative festivals are any better value at the moment. V and Sonisphere cost proportionally more for less days, TITP costs more with 'half' a day less, and Download is only £15 cheaper, with less stages are what I'm sure must have been a cheaper line up to assemble.

They're building up to a crash in my opinion though, festivals won't stay cool and popular forever and once you're charging £200 for something which is only as popular as it was at the turn of the millenium somethings gonna give...

It's hard to judge really, there is bound to be a limit to how high they can go. Mind you, the prices on Ebay don't inspire much confidence...

[beLIEveR]

Melvin Benn said that the £20 price hike was unavoidable as the pound is worth 30% less to the dollar than it used to be, so paying American acts costs more.

[Earth Wyrm]

I'm sorry but why are people complaining? at the moment there are 28 bands on the poster, how much were the tickets? 185 quid? 6-7 pounds per band. which is brilliant. and when you think about how many more are gonna be added to this lineup its great value, it just feels like a lot cuz your paying all at once.

[jenko872000]

You, er... do realise that you won't be seeing all of those bands don't you?

£185 is expensive, no matter how you slice it.

Wish I could boast to liking even a quarter of these bands.

[Earth Wyrm]

If you dont like even a quarter? then why are you going to reading festival?

Edited March 31, 2009 by Earth Wyrm

[jenko872000]

i agree with you, some bands are def worth seeing over others yes, but i was just using this as a basis for my arguement. shall we agree to disagree heh heh

[Eulaca]

Once they start charging more than £200 a ticket (I think the £182 is expensive) I'm going to have to stop. It'll be more cost effective and fun for me to leave the country and go diving for a week than goto a festival.

[dunny]

And they have still sold out, expect more increases next year.

[Heyhoe]

Good to hear peoples opinons.

For me, the best part of a festival is because its easy to organise, local, and reletively cheap in comparison to organising a holiday abroad with freinds. The bands for me come second to the camping and having a good time with freinds that i dont get to see as much as i did a few years ago.

But if things carry on as they are, it will be cheaper to do something else. Saying that, i still can't wait for this year despite the price!

[Crouchie]

The worst part of this for me is that Glasto costs the same as Leeds. I'm going to both again, but the difference in the festivals is astounding.

Glasto give you a free programme and timetable, allow you to take any drink anywhere and have about 45 stages. And they have bands you want to see on a fair chunk of them. Leeds is getting harder and harder to justify.

Hi Paul, btw.