Metallica’s manager Peter Mensch was on BBC’S “Hits, Hype & Hustle: An Insider’s Guide to the Music Business” and talked about Metallica ticket concert prices.
Read what he said:
“In the ’90s, we were still living by the old rules. Record sales were still huge, making up nearly 80% of a band’s income … it wouldn’t last.”
“When I first heard about Napster I was in this office. We had to find the one person with a PC computer in our office. She typed some stuff in and we saw, I don’t know, 50 versions of ‘Enter Sandman.’
“Was there a sinking feeling that the game was up? Yes… We knew that we were in deep shit.”
“We hadn’t made a record in years. This is just what we do – we play in front of our fans. Rock bands have always had to bring it to the fans.
“We did some tests in the last couple of years. We realized the top price for a Metallica ticket could be much higher than it used to be, and we charged it – and there was no audience pushback on it.
“Shows that might have made X now made 3X. The ticket price thing has changed everything.”