The promoter of the ongoing Rolling Stones US tour has dismissed reports which claimed the legendary band had been forced to cut the cost of tickets due to disappointing sales.
“It’s unfortunate in our business that everybody wants to be cynics,” John Meglen, co-president of AEG Live subsidiary Concerts West has told Billboard. “The fact is, the tour is doing great and we have no problems whatsoever.”
The reports suggested the Stones had failed to sell-out the more expensive bracket of their tickets for the gig at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, so had released a block of cheaper prices in order to ensure the venue was filled to capacity.
“There are no $600 tickets turning into $85 tickets, I can assure you of that,” Meglen continues. “Did we hit a point where we ran out of people that would buy at $600? Yeah. But why can’t we do the ‘market value’ thing? Why do we have to let the market value proposition live with the scalpers? Why should, in my estimation, $3 million go to the brokers, instead of the artists, in every one of these markets?”
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