Justin Hawkins Addresses Ticketmaster’s Dynamic Pricing Tickets

Ticketmaster’s new pricing system, which alters the price of tickets based on demand, has been highly criticized by fans, artists, and industry experts. Due to dynamic pricing, some fans cannot afford to see their favorite musicians perform. In a new episode of his Justin Hawkins Rides Again YouTube video series, the Darkness frontman shared his thoughts about this new system.

“There would be no vibe. Would there be a vibe?” Hawkins said, implying that there would be a weird atmosphere at the concert with the ones who pay an enormous amount of money at the front and the hardcore fans at the back. So, the singer doesn’t find Ticketmaster’s dynamic pricing a logical move for the music industry.

The Darkness vocalist continued, “Maybe I’m being dismissive of the kind of people that earn that kind of money. I’m sure they are fun guys. They can be determined to let their hair down. Money is no object; they’ll really go for it, but if you’re throwing that sort of money around, you might just pay 20, 22 grand and just be like, coming in, ‘Impress me, I’ve paid good money for this.’”

He then added, “I don’t know, I don’t want to cast aspersions on the personality profiles of high-earning individuals who can consider 22 thousand an acceptable amount to pay for a Taylor Swift ticket, but you’ve got to say that the hardcore fans who can’t afford it, it is just not fair on them.”

This issue has been even more on the agenda since the recent high-ticket pricing of Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen shows. Swift fans blasted the company as they didn’t expect the tickets to be so expensive. On the other hand, Springsteen defended his decision to use this new system, arguing that he just does what other artists are doing.