The All-American Rejects believe that it’s time to start holding artists accountable for astronomical ticket prices.
During a new interview with Metro to promote their new album Sandbox, the band spoke about growing their fanbase organically with cheap ticket prices.
‘We started doing house parties because we wanted to get back at eye level with our audience in the spaces that we started playing,” said frontman Tyson Ritter. “We had very little capital to make any noise within the avenues and current landscape of marketing for music. We’re self-funded, we’re self-produced. It turned into something we didn’t expect.”
“And that surprise empowered another thought which was… “Oh, why is this happening?” This realization that people need intimacy again, people are tired of having their bank accounts run dry,’ he added, alluding to insane pricing today to see the biggest artists.
At this point, that’s when guitarist Nick Wheeler hopped in to give his thoughts about shows today. “How has it become less expensive to go overseas to see your favourite band than just see them in your own city?” he asked. Ritter interjected with, ‘We’re at a point with this conversation where the responsibility, especially in the headliner, falls on the artists.”
“It’s on the fans to say, well, does my favourite artist need to make $75,000,000 this summer? Or could they make $30,000,000? Is that enough money for you?” continued Ritter. ‘It’s become a one-percenter’s experience, and I think that’s fucked up, because the people who love music the most, the people who need music the most, are the people that are hand-to-mouth, the people that come from where we’re from. ‘It shouldn’t just be a District 1 Hunger Games kind of luxury to go to concerts.”
The band concluded by revealing that Tyson launched a platform to redefine touring for new artists called Playhouse. “We’ve had over 6,000 artists sign up and 15,000 venues,” explained Ritter. “We all crave intimacy and unique experiences instead of the same nosebleed experience. I’m hopeful we can at least scream into the vacuum of this problem and maybe make some noise.”
Last October, Jack Antonoff gave his thoughts about skyrocketing ticket prices during a conversation with Hayley Williams for Rolling Stone’s Musicians on Musicians series. “There’s just a couple of fucking people at tops have to be like, ‘Nope,’” he said, mimicking executives greedily hoarding profits. “And you just fucking are left with what you’re left with.”
