[atlantaprog] Cheapness

Dear Ones:

I enjoyed the show at CJ's on Thursday. Permit me to rant a bit.

The ticket price for the show was $5.00. That is far too low. For a 
show like this you should charge $10 or even $15. There is no way two 
bands are going to make it worth their while at $5 a head from forty 
members of the paying public. An extra $5 from each person isn't much 
to ask.

Heck, I knew this was Buckhead. I paid $5.00 just to park a block down 
the street. If I had parked in the lot outside CJ's I would have had to 
pay $10.00. When I go to get entertained I expect to pay money and I'm 
glad to do it.

In 1982 when I left high school, the cover charge for a show like yours 
at a club like CJ's would be $5.00. Well, I've got news for you--$5 in 
1982 money would be about $12 in today's money. So why is the 
unadjusted dollar price the same?

Why has inflation proceeded apace, yet the club-going public is 
unwilling to pay bands what they are worth?

The definition of value in a capitalist society is "whatever the market 
will bear". I think we should be willing to bear a bit more. Here's my 
advice. If you are going to be in ARIA (band member or fan) and you are 
going to commit to come to the shows, you should be willing to support 
the scene with a little more of your hard-earned cash per ticket.

On October 12, 2003 the New York Times published an article giving a 
historical perspective on the "reformation" of the music industry due 
to the pressures exerted by Internet piracy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/12/arts/music/12HARM.html

They noted that many people who swap stolen music on the Internet argue 
that they are somehow morally justified in doing so because CDs today 
cost too much money. The New York Times blew that argument out of the 
water with this chart:

Album: Frank Sinatra: Songs for Swingin' Lovers
Year of Release: 1955
Estimated original price: $3.50
Price adjusted for inflation: $24
Format: LP

Album: The Beatles, Revolver
Year of Release: 1966
Estimated original price: $4.50
Price adjusted for inflation: $26
Format: LP

Album: Eminem, The Eminem Show
Year of Release: 2002
Estimated original price: $15
Price adjusted for inflation: $15.50 (or free via illegal download)
Format: CD (or illegal mp3 download)

-----------------------
Wheat Williams
wheat@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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