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I can see why Braodway would think that if there were too many discounts for theatre tickets then people would never pay full prices. But the case is not so as the article says. The most discounts there are the more people are willing to come to see a Broadway play without fearing not being able to pay the bills next month. But these discounts do not lower the amount of nondiscounted tickets bought. Sure some of it are the people that can afford these tickets, but it's also that people might become more willing to pay these prices when they know what they are getting.
Living in New York is, for the most part, very expensive. Traveling to New York is also rather expensive. Therefore, many of the people in New York who are going to see these Broadway shows tend to have money, and will not take the time to search out discounts. Searching out discounts remains popular among younger crowds (people our age), so as we get older, discounts may become the norm, but we may eventually be willing to pay the big money eventually also.
It's interesting to see how people do only focus on the negative things and never look at the good. The ochestera seats may cost your left arm but even without a discount I saw several shows in good seats for less than 80 bucks.
Its honestly just sad to see that prices to see a show have gone up so much over the years but I didn't know about all the different discount oppertunities which were mentioned like hiptix. These prices are making theatre more and more an elitist task and it really is a shame that it has come to that.
I thought it was interesting that theaters are citing airlines as the model for selling tickets. It also explains a lot. Cheap, or at least affordable, tickets can be found... it just takes a bit of searching. And those who can afford it and/or don't care to search, are the ones supplementing the lower discount and subscriber prices. Along with things like TKTS, cheaper tickets can be found rushing shows (at least for students) and in a variety of other places. Its just that not everybody knows that. When people see that a seat for Young Frankenstein is going to cost them 450 bucks, they are not going to be thrilled about spending a night at the theater.
Although I am a very poor and struggling student, it is not a good idea to discount the tickets. Once the discount begins one place, all the other places have to start offering the discounts. Just like John Lithlow says in Dirty Rotten Scoundrel Soundtrack, it is preferable that the audience sees it with the full price, because he has kids in college. It is important for the audience to fully understand the theatre is collaborative work that involves LOTS of people, and that cost money to make.
I find that the increase in ticket price is really a maneuver to make discounted tickets appear to be a better deal. Though there is still traffic a t the high end of the spectrum as far as amount an audience member would pay for a ticket, the lower bracket discount options are a prevalent as ever. Cheap tickets are easy to come by and I think will be around for a long time.
Here is the thing, it makes great sense to structure prices (mainly by finding discounts) to model airline prices. People are paying all this money to fly to NY. They want to see a show or two, but after forking over the money for the $300 plane ticket, a $120 theatre ticket is most likely out of the question. So they get their tickets at a discount, but since it's a special occasion (what with being in NY) that they see more than one show.
This article has given me a greater understanding of setting premium ticket prices and how the steep prices can help subsidize discounted and subscription series tickets. I had also not heard about how the average ticket prices were going down, because most articles about Brodway Show ticket costs don't touch on more than the $450 outrageous ticket prices.
The increasing prices of Broadway tickets seems to be a theme, but the fact is, if you don't need the tickets 6 months in advance and in the front row, you can get reasonable prices. Of course, you are going to pay through the nose for amazing seats/
People should be aware that the ticket prices are high. It makes theatre an event. Something that we should go to. For theatre-students theatre is often a thing that we feel obligated to see. I like that the article points out that for the savvy theatre goer in order to find the best price. The discounts are available, and while the ticket prices may be rising, the actual prices are dropping.
11 comments:
I can see why Braodway would think that if there were too many discounts for theatre tickets then people would never pay full prices. But the case is not so as the article says. The most discounts there are the more people are willing to come to see a Broadway play without fearing not being able to pay the bills next month. But these discounts do not lower the amount of nondiscounted tickets bought. Sure some of it are the people that can afford these tickets, but it's also that people might become more willing to pay these prices when they know what they are getting.
Living in New York is, for the most part, very expensive. Traveling to New York is also rather expensive. Therefore, many of the people in New York who are going to see these Broadway shows tend to have money, and will not take the time to search out discounts. Searching out discounts remains popular among younger crowds (people our age), so as we get older, discounts may become the norm, but we may eventually be willing to pay the big money eventually also.
It's interesting to see how people do only focus on the negative things and never look at the good. The ochestera seats may cost your left arm but even without a discount I saw several shows in good seats for less than 80 bucks.
Its honestly just sad to see that prices to see a show have gone up so much over the years but I didn't know about all the different discount oppertunities which were mentioned like hiptix. These prices are making theatre more and more an elitist task and it really is a shame that it has come to that.
I thought it was interesting that theaters are citing airlines as the model for selling tickets. It also explains a lot. Cheap, or at least affordable, tickets can be found... it just takes a bit of searching. And those who can afford it and/or don't care to search, are the ones supplementing the lower discount and subscriber prices. Along with things like TKTS, cheaper tickets can be found rushing shows (at least for students) and in a variety of other places. Its just that not everybody knows that. When people see that a seat for Young Frankenstein is going to cost them 450 bucks, they are not going to be thrilled about spending a night at the theater.
Although I am a very poor and struggling student, it is not a good idea to discount the tickets. Once the discount begins one place, all the other places have to start offering the discounts. Just like John Lithlow says in Dirty Rotten Scoundrel Soundtrack, it is preferable that the audience sees it with the full price, because he has kids in college. It is important for the audience to fully understand the theatre is collaborative work that involves LOTS of people, and that cost money to make.
I find that the increase in ticket price is really a maneuver to make discounted tickets appear to be a better deal. Though there is still traffic a t the high end of the spectrum as far as amount an audience member would pay for a ticket, the lower bracket discount options are a prevalent as ever. Cheap tickets are easy to come by and I think will be around for a long time.
Here is the thing, it makes great sense to structure prices (mainly by finding discounts) to model airline prices. People are paying all this money to fly to NY. They want to see a show or two, but after forking over the money for the $300 plane ticket, a $120 theatre ticket is most likely out of the question. So they get their tickets at a discount, but since it's a special occasion (what with being in NY) that they see more than one show.
This article has given me a greater understanding of setting premium ticket prices and how the steep prices can help subsidize discounted and subscription series tickets. I had also not heard about how the average ticket prices were going down, because most articles about Brodway Show ticket costs don't touch on more than the $450 outrageous ticket prices.
The increasing prices of Broadway tickets seems to be a theme, but the fact is, if you don't need the tickets 6 months in advance and in the front row, you can get reasonable prices. Of course, you are going to pay through the nose for amazing seats/
People should be aware that the ticket prices are high. It makes theatre an event. Something that we should go to. For theatre-students theatre is often a thing that we feel obligated to see. I like that the article points out that for the savvy theatre goer in order to find the best price.
The discounts are available, and while the ticket prices may be rising, the actual prices are dropping.
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