For the second time in just three years, Kid Rock has announced plans to embark on a multi-month summer tour with tickets priced no higher than $20. There are fees included for those who buy online of course, but thanks to a deal with WAL-MART fans can also purchase tickets free of service fees at participating stores across the country. That means a true $20 ticket to a show at a venue with a capacity somewhere between fifteen and thirty thousand is possible in 2015, and for whatever it is Kid Rock who is leading the low cost revolution.
But why?
This probably won’t come as a surprise to anyone, but the last time Kid Rock promoted a tour with a $20 price tag he played to sold out crowds across the country. In fact, many point to the success of his 2013 tour as one of the main reasons his career has received so much more attention in recent years than those prior. The tickets for his 2015 dates went on sale this week, and many cities across the country are already sold out, or at the very least well over halfway towards being at capacity. Rock has a single out right now (“First Kiss”), as well as a new album in stores this week, but neither can take credit for drawing fans to this tour. It’s the price.
You see, Kid Rock knows his audience, and he’s catered his live experience to mirror the buying habits of his fans. Rock knows a good portion of his audience shops at WAL-MART, which makes his decision to partner with them an obvious choice. He also knows that if they shop at WAL-MART they likely don’t have, or would prefer not to spend $60-200 per ticket to attend a concert. If they do, they won’t spend money on merchandise or food, as many will have blown their entertainment budget for the month simply getting in the gate. That in turn makes them view the live experience in a negative light and, over time, will likely lead them to stop seeking out Kid Rock concerts. If that happens, Rock’s career will hit a wall.
With the launch of his $20 ticket tour in 2013 Kid Rock also instituted a new contract for live events. Instead of keeping his cut of ticket money and whatever merch sales he could earn, Rock now splits every sale at his shows with the corresponding venue 50/50. This includes ticket sales, merchandise, food, and beer. The $20 ticket is priced low to get people in the door. Rock knows if he can get them in the gate without feeling gouged by prices that they will be more likely to buy alcohol, eat overpriced fried food, and even buy merchandise. His fans might not be willing to spend $100 to get a ticket, but they will buy $20 tickets in February for a show in June, and then when the show arrives proceed to spend $80 or more once at the gig.
What Kid Rock understands and so many others do not is that creating a sense of value not only encourages people to spend more, but also makes them feel good about spending their hard earned cash on live music. Many artists try and squeeze every cent they can from people on ticket prices alone as they don’t want to risk merchandise not selling, or at least selling under their expectations. There is security in knowing you’ve made X amount of money before you have even hit the stage, but the truth is that not every band’s audience is willing to accept steep ticket prices. By keeping cost of entry low, more people are able to afford live music, which in theory makes it easier for more people to be exposed to an artist’s work. Kid Rock may have spent over a decade in the spotlight as is, but if he wants to continue his career he needs to keep bringing new people into his world. Low prices encourage people to bring friends and family who otherwise would never consider seeing Kid Rock to his shows. Once they’re in the door, all Rock has to do is perform to the best of his abilities, and that may be the easiest part of all.
As I write this, Kid Rock tickets on sites like StubHub have already broken the $100 mark. There is an argument to be made about how low cost tickets for high demand events only further incentivizes the work of scalpers, but that is a very negative way to spin what Rock is trying to accomplish. This is an artist who is so in tune with his fans and their spending habits that he has found a way to keep his career afloat despite not having chart-topping hits. It’s as if he’s managed to bring the excitement of small room shows and the promise anything could happen as long as you made it in before capacity to venues that usually host artists with global appeal. If you want to party with a live band who has more than proven their ability to work crowds of any size without feeling like you have to save your pennies there is no better ticket this summer than Kid Rock. There may be more talented artists on tour, as well as musicians with far larger fan bases, but as costs for those shows rise the disconnect between performer and audience widens. It may still be a party, but it’s one only a small portion of any artist’s fans could ever attend. There is an appeal to the exclusivity of something like that, but I would rather party with the diehard fans of a performer than the ones with enough money to afford their high priced shows any day of the week. Wouldn’t you agree?
