Sunday, July 29, 2012
How Did Broadway Tickets Get So Expensive? Blame the 1%
The Atlantic: The most basic thing to say* about why theater tickets are expensive to buy is that theater is expensive to make. Economist William Baumol famously observed that it's really hard to make a string quartet more efficient, because it's not feasible to replace the live violinist with a robot or with a cheaper Chinese violinist Skyping in from Shanghai. Similarly, you can't perform "A Long Day's Journey Into Night" with fewer than four principal actors. You also can't make it without a director, or a costume team, or a set designer, and so on. Prices are people, and theater is labor-intensive work, and that makes a night at the theater necessarily an expensive thing to consume
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7 comments:
Theatre is truely expensive. There are labor expenses as mentioned in the article, materials, maintenance, and especially demand and this is even more true on Broadway. Not only is it "star-studded" for audiences but for the designers, actors, and crew as well. The simple truth is that Broadway, no matter the times, is always and has always been expensive and I'm sure that the musical, The Producers, only revealed that truth to the audience not so much the actual producers.
This article truly provides a written statement of what everyone already knows, but has some obvious gaps. It is overwhelmingly true that theater, especially on Broadway, is expensive, but what isn't? Even the price of bottled water is astronomically high in comparison to the last decade.
What people like the author of this article overlook is that audiences, of any economic standing, demand something new and editing when they walk through the doors of a Broadway theater. That exciting and new is achieved, but not for free. New technologies, and moreover, skilled individuals that can effectively operate those technologies are a sparse and costly entity.
Although the prices are very high, are audiences willing to sacrifice the flare for a cheap seat?
Coming from a town that consists mainly of the 1%, I know that people will pay any price to see a "star." Especially, famous one's such as Hugh Jackman, Daniel Radcliffe, Darren Chris, and Nick Jonas. If i hadn't seen "How to Succeed in Business" I would have been convinced that the only reason it was still open was because of its star-studded cast. Big names keep seats full and even though theatres have no real reason to raise prices as they have, its only business. I often too forget that Broadway is no less a business than Target is. It is all about the money, and some people have the money and are willing to spend it. Blame the one percent all you want but this is just the nature of theatre. Greed is not always good.
I find it interesting that in limited engagements, Broadway shows will make more money since audience members are less concerned about the price of tickets when there is a limited "supply." In this scenario, I can easily see theatres making more money having cast members sign on to the show for much shorter periods only guaranteeing their spots for a little bit, causing theatre-goers to want to see specific casts more. The article also shows an interesting point that if a theatre charges $500 for a ticket, there will always be an audience member willing to pay - if producers say a seat is worth $500, then who are they buyers to argue? The prospect of charging more money can lead into many separate arguments about both ethics and the purpose of the raised prices.
I think this article makes a good point about the increase in theatre ticket prices, but I think that’s to be expected. Some people say that theatre is dead and that movies, and television are alive, but I think it’s not that simple. Broadway and theatre in general used to be the main/only way for people to be entertained. That’s obviously not true anymore. I think theatre has more or less shifted from being the mainstream entertainment form, which movies and TV are now, into a more specialized form of entertainment, and I think this dictates the increase in price of tickets, along with standard inflation. Since movies and TV are so common now, people are willing to pay more for the experience that is a live show. Since people are willing to pay more, producers increases ticket prices, and thus begins the spiral that is the rapid increase in ticket prices.
The author of this article seems to be complaining about ticket prices, but not offering a solution. the fact of the matter is, theatre is an expensive business. The people expect amazing works of art to be staged, maintained and then taken down in a few years (at most) and they complain when the prices are high. The willingness of the rich to pay for it is not the problem, the problem is that making theatre cheap is hard, and when the rich are willing to pay the producers can and will take advantage of that. Capitalism is going to happen, especially in such an economically lush place like New York City.
The author of this article seems to be complaining about ticket prices, but not offering a solution. the fact of the matter is, theatre is an expensive business. The people expect amazing works of art to be staged, maintained and then taken down in a few years (at most) and they complain when the prices are high. The willingness of the rich to pay for it is not the problem, the problem is that making theatre cheap is hard, and when the rich are willing to pay the producers can and will take advantage of that. Capitalism is going to happen, especially in such an economically lush place like New York City.
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