Rage Against the Machine is known, in addition to it’s great sound, for their constant activism. And many people were already complaining about the hypocrisy of the guys going on tour with expensive tickets while defending a left-wing position.
To respond to critics, Tom Morello & company had an excellent initiative. They decided to donate profits from the world tour with Run the Jewels to charities. In addition to helping causes, the intention is to curb ticket resellers.
In a statement via Facebook, Rage Against the Machine made clear the process of their thinking for the decision:
“Since the announcement of our tour, scalpers and broker sites have been listing fake tickets for RATM. We want to do everything we can to protect our fans from predatory scalping. And, at the same time, raise a substantial amount of money for charities. And activist organizations we support in each city.
“At many concerts, up to 50% of the seating is scooped up by scalpers and then resold to fans at much higher fees. We are doing everything we can to protect 90% of the RATM tickets from scalpers. Then WE are holding in reserve 10% of the seating (random seats throughout each venue) to sell at a higher ticket price (but low enough to undercut the scalpers). We will donate 100% OF THE MONEY over the fees. And base ticket price to charities and activist organizations IN EACH CITY.
“And we are confident this will help many more fans get tickets at face value and put a big dent in the aftermarket gouging. WE HATE SCALPING AS MUCH AS YOU DO. And will continue to try to find ways to combat it. Additionally, we are donating all profits from our first three shows to immigrants’ rights organizations and will be supporting multiple charities and activist organizations throughout the tour.”