Hi Gina, I saw what Zayn said at his concert and I really hope he was referring to his own prices, because many of them have been more expensive than Harry's. Although I've heard that the difference is that Harry's cheapest tickets are $1000 and Zayn's most expensive are also $1000, that's not true. I know some fans found tickets for much lower prices (I'm not saying they're cheap, but they're not as bad as people say). I wish someone would take the time to explain how Ticketmaster works because I think we as a fandom need it.
On the other hand, I think we'll never get rid of this image of Harry being evil. They've already started bringing up things from 10 years ago. I'm sorry, but if they leave me in the middle of a tour (although I understand Zayn's decision), I think the least I would do is try to take the situation with humor. Apparently, for Zayn's fans, that's hate.
I'm completely disinterested in interfandom wars. Everyone gets much too defensive and doesn't stop to think anything through.
However, let me clarify a few things. Harry's lowest price for tickets was absolutely NOT $1000. That's just idiotic. I know numerous people who got tickets at very normal prices. I feel as though people throw all common sense out the window with this sort of stuff. No one reads anymore unless it's a single-sentence tweet or bullet-pointed info for Dummies.
It was clearly stated that the top price for Harry's tickets in the US was just under $1200 (I can't recall the exact amount -- $1179 or something). I am at my wits' end with how stupid people are being about ticket prices. So, one last time with bulletpoints for Dummies:
• A ticket range is posted. In this case, $50 - $1179
• OBVIOUSLY, there are only a very small number of $50 tickets (probably only one because they're legally required to sell a $50 ticket if they say they have them, but there's no requirement to list a certain amount).
• Ticketmaster wants to create a sense of scarcity. They announce a pre-sale and only put a very small number of tickets up. Some will be lower cost. MOST will be the tickets they refer to as Preferred or Platinum. These are the highest prices and are generally the "best" seats. They put you in a queue with 150K people ahead of you (unless you're lucky). When you finally get in to buy tickets, if they're not all sold out, you might see a pair or two of $300 seats. Or a single seat for $150. Most of you only see seats for $750, etc. You don't have to buy them. But you're psychologically tricked into thinking this is your only chance to see the artist you love.
• We're now on the fourth day of presale, and more people are saying they got seats and got them for reasonable prices.
• THIS IS TICKETMASTER'S GAME. It's not the artist. They HAVE to use Ticketmaster because there's a monopoly. And in Harry's case, he's tied to Irving Azoff, who is in bed with Ticketmaster, Live Nation, Madison Square Garden, etc., etc., etc. This doesn't mean Harry likes the setup or even that he's making extra money because of it. But people like Irving (and Jeff) most certainly are.
• Then articles come out about how 11.5 million people signed up for the presale. Is this true? Maybe. Maybe not. But it doesn't matter because the fact that you only saw $800 tickets for sale or couldn't even get in to buy tickets at all is making you panic. THIS IS MORE GAME PLAYING. Yes, someone's tour might be extremely popular, and yes, you may not end up getting tickets. But you have to understand that selling out a tour involves a lot of manipulation. THIS GOES FOR EVERY ARTIST AT THIS LEVEL (but I think Irving is a master at this, so I imagine it applies even moreso with Harry's tour).
• General sale is tomorrow. My guess is that they've spent the last four days trying to get as many people as possible to buy the most expensive tickets. They know that fans do presale. They know that "super fans" are more willing to pay $1000 than someone who is just casually interested in an artist. I do think there will be more tickets at the lower prices available on Friday. But there's no way to be sure.
I think the anger aimed at Harry, personally, is not only unfair, but it's also pointless and ineffectual. I get that he's "the face" of the brand. But anyone with even the slightest knowledge of how capitalism operates should know that it's not as simple as "I want to make a lot of money off this tour. Let's charge $1000 per ticket." And those of you in this fandom should know enough about the music industry, closeting, Irving Azoff, Harry's career goals, and Harry as a person to be smarter than that.
Don't allow yourself to just react. Stop and think things through. Your upset and anger may be justified. But focus that anger in a way that actually makes change (or at the very least don't make you into obnoxious assholes).
