As a card-carrying former member of the 1970s, I’d be lying if I said I was anything less than a huge fan of singer/songwriter greats Carole King, James Taylor and Carly Simon (among many other greats from the time). And though I’ve travelled along in my musical tastes and listening, I have always kept an eye and ear and heart on my favorites from then: I caught Carole’s “Living Room Tour” at the Mohegan Sun two years ago and it was a dream come true to see one of my idols live on stage. Watching JT perform at the 4000 seat Providence Performing Arts Center was another hands-down winner experience. And no one was more thrilled than I to see Carly Simon emerge from the Starbucks rubble to self-launch an incredible limited-edition “Heirloom Box” set offered to fans of all means through tiered pricing, autographed merch, and cool one-of-a-kind ways you could connect with Carly.
So it was no surprise when I took up Carole’s invite via her website to join her fan club and have the opportunity (like so many artists offer nowadays) to purchase special, up-close “pre-sale select tickets.” I was psyched to see this kind of outreach - and the potential to get closer to a really special artist in my life. And as a bonus, her fan club was free, unlike some of the subscription models I belong to.
Along came December, and the email alert telling me not only was Carole touring, but she’d be pairing up with JT for a global reunion tour - sure to be one of the finest musical collaborations and shows in many years. And I was in line for those presale tix! I felt so connected….so rewarded for my loyalty.
On the appointed presale day, I logged in to the presale page, tapped in my access code and requested 2 tickets “best in house” for the Mohegan Sun show. The clock whirled….bingo! There they were - two tickets - pushing $110 each - with a button “add to cart.”
I scanned the page - where the heck WERE these seats? Not that I’m super picky, but hey, I wasn’t going to spend that much dough for seats in the nosebleed section - no matter who it is. But try as I did, I couldn’t for the life of me figure out where the seats were. Finally, incredulous, I sent the tix back into the cyberbin for the next guy in line.
And for some reason, this whole interaction really bothered me. Did this artist’s team really think a fan would buy tickets and not care where the seats were? Didn’t make sense - were they actually going to inadvertently force this fan away from the site and onto Ticketmaster, because at least there I’d know what I was buying??
After some thinking, I sent an email off to the contact listed on the site, asking if I had missed the memo about the seat location.
Me: ”Why can’t I see where the tickets ARE for the presale? Are you not giving out seat info before we make the purchase decision? I really want tix, but want to know where the seats are! Congrats on the second show – we can’t wait to see it. Look forward to hearing from you. Deb
And was pleasantly surprised when a response came within an hour:
“Hi Deb, Tickets are assigned on a first-bought, first-assigned basis and your exact seating assignment is sent out to you roughly six weeks after the presale has wrapped up. Cheers, (name withheld by me)
Um, OK. Not only do I not know what I’m buying, but you won’t tell me for six weeks where they are. Then I read all fan presale tickets would have to be picked up at the will-call window. So your closest fans have to work the hardest to get to you. Hmm. I decided to walk away, feeling a bit like I used to when using that awful Priceline ticketing…”we’ll give you a deal, but won’t let you know where you’re staying until you buy…”
I really wanted those tickets. I was in the pipeline. I was primed to buy. Psyched enough to send a few friends to sign up for the presale so THEY could get in on it. But I didn’t consummate the deal. Why not? Because I just didn’t feel comfortable buying something I couldn’t place a value on. I didn’t know what I was buying.
OK, so fast forward to the day weeks later that I begrudgingly logged on to Ticketmaster to see if I could snag tickets for the show - and found (no surprise here) that there wasn’t a seat closer than heaven to the stage. But I did know what row heaven was in? Sure - second to the last row. Did I pull the trigger? No. Was it a bummer? Yes. Had I held the golden tickets in my hand that day of the presale? Perhaps. I’ll never know. But I was kind of sad I didn’t at least have the opportunity to make an informed choice. Either way, it was just too late. Damn.
And here’s a takeaway and potential lesson for those of us in the business of trying to help artists connect as personally and professionally as possible with their fans:
YOU WANT TO TREAT YOUR FANS LIKE PEOPLE, NOT JUST PURCHASERS
Not only do you have to have an infrastructure and systems in place that make purchasing seamless (and brainless) like Carly’s is via Topspin. But you have to give people the information they need and want to make that purchase comfortable - you want your fans to be happy making the purchase. And you (and your support team) have to guard vigilantly against any transaction or interaction that might cause disconnect between you and your fans. My presale experience was anxiety inducing….and it wasn’t a great feeling.
So don’t get me wrong - no love lost AT ALL for Carole King - who I continue to love and listen to and play and would see in concert whenever I get the chance. She’s great. I just wish that the glitch in our shared transaction hadn’t dissuaded me from making the connection (and giving my money) to an artist I highly respect.
Todays’ artist/fan relationship is like that. Before, during and after the music, we forge relationships. We are constantly making choices about what we like, who we support, and how much time and money we can allocate to an artist. And perhaps more than ever, we crave reciprocity. We have to work hard to show that we value each other (fans and artists) as people. And we have to work equally as hard (though it’s less fun) to communicate our respect for the money each lay out to bring the relationship together under one shiny venue roof.
Love to hear your thoughts.
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