As most of you guys already know, The Script will be playing a showcase in Singapore on 20 September 2012 at Avalon Singapore. However, the catch is, you need to buy the 2CD deluxe version of the album which costs $88 and it only has ONE ticket.
When I found out about the ticket price, I was like, “whooaaa…”. It is only a showcase and it feels like a Kpop fan meet or something like that. $88 is already about the price of a concert ticket in the nosebleeds/balcony in the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
If you didn’t know, it is the norm for Kpop/Mando-pop artists to charge around $68 – 168 for a ticket for a fan meet and/or an autograph/hi-5/handshake session. In the fan meet, the artist will do 3 ~ 6 songs on average, talk crap and play games with the fans for about an hour or so depending on the artist/organizer.
Thing is, as far as I know, this is the first time an English artist is doing a showcase at such a price to gain entry to a showcase. For all the showcase of English artists I’ve been to in Singapore, the most expensive was the Il Volo one where the GOLD CD version of the album was $29.95. The rest of them were either by just buying the normal CD ($ 19.95 ~ 24.95) or winning passes from this or that contest. (Yes, I do buy CDs to enter showcases like the rest of you. I don’t magically get passes to all the showcases just so you know…)
I know that it costs money to bring artists in for showcases/promotional activities and someone has got to pay for it but the question is, is $88 for a showcase worth it? I don’t really think it is worth it (which is also why I’ve never bothered to attend any of those Kpop/Mando pop stuff if I had to pay that kind of prices).
Anyway, for the sake of discussion, let’s assume the showcase is 45 minutes with 5 songs for an International (English language) artist. In between, there is an interview and/or some fan interaction games. How much would you pay to attend a showcase?
Also, what is your preferred way to get entry into a showcase? I wanna know what you guys think coz I’m really curious if I’m the only one who thinks that $88 for a showcase is too much.
Comment away. Go!
PS: For all the $$ mentioned in this entry is Singapore dollars.
[11 September 2012 | Update]
I forgot to add that this is not just for people in Singapore. It’s for everyone! Please add your city and/or country in your comment as well. I’m pretty sure the people I know in Universal Music and Warner would be very interested to know what you guys think. 😉