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Scott Wallace - staff |
Luxury palooza!
Music festivals now offer VIP options, including massages and gourmet food. But is it rock 'n' roll?
from the August 10, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
At Lollapalooza, a three-day pass to the Lolla Lounge cost concertgoers $1,700 for three days. Private cabanas with "climate-controlled comfort stations" – for you and 74 of your closest friends – amounted to $75,000.
By comparison, the average fan shelled out $195 for his or her three-day pass.
"In our society in general there's a mass affluence – luxury goods across all spectrums," says David Goldberg, the executive vice president of Ticketmaster. "We tend to find that the customers for [VIP access] aren't necessarily just wealthy folks. A lot of the times it's a husband that wants to do something special for the wife or family."
Ticketmaster does not work directly with artists. The company sells packages presented by its clients – a rock venue, for instance, or a stadium. But recently, Mr. Goldberg says, he has watched those packages attract more attention from music fans.
"It's nothing that's terribly new," he adds, pointing out that luxury tickets have long been a staple at sporting events. Now, though, those options are "proliferating down ... to a lot of different types of concerts."
Inside the Lolla Lounges, many fans said the weekend was a short, expensive vacation at one of the best concerts in the country. Some had their tickets passed down from their employers, or from generous friends. And some were there to splurge on themselves.
"I'm 45 – I'm too old to be down there," jokes Denver attorney Kathy Young, as she watches a show by Australian rock group Silverchair from the Lounge. She pointed down to the field in front of the stage, where thousands of fans were jammed into tight proximity – a mass of elbows, arms, and sweat. "Here you're more comfortable – you get everything you need."
For promoters of festivals like Lollapalooza, it's a race – ratchet up the luxury quotient for patrons such as Ms. Young, and watch profits soar. As Autumn Rich, who headed the VIP sections at Grant Park, recently told Rolling Stone: "We want premium seats to be more rather than less expensive."
But not everyone was enamored by the rarified air at the Lounge. For some "regular" ticket holders, VIP areas ignore the true spirit of the concert experience.
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