Word of concert discounts is music to fans’ ears

Priorities often get in the way of fun.

These days, if the choice is between an extra trip to Ukrop's or a concert ticket to see that band you've loved for years, deciding what to do can be a bit difficult.

So even with the recession supposedly loosening its chokehold on the economy, the time is right -- overdue, actually -- for the concert industry to step up and make it worthwhile for people to hire a baby sitter and go out for the night.

Yesterday, behemoth concert-promoter Live Nation launched a national summer-long promotion dubbed Free-Nation. For the entire day, the company dropped those blood-boiling "service fees" for lawn tickets to most concerts scheduled at its amphitheaters, including Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater and Nissan Pavilion in Manassas.

As seasoned concertgoers know, those "service fees," which usually benefit the ticket-selling company and the venue owner (both Live Nation, in this case), can add $10 to $15 to a ticket, and sometimes more.

But "No Service Fee Wednesdays" was just the beginning of a fan-friendly initiative with a dual purpose: to fill the ample lawn areas at these sheds and to give fans a break.

"Times are tough. Music is going to be more of an important escape than ever," said Jeremiah Xenakis, director of marketing for Live Nation in Virginia Beach. "This whole thing is to reward the fans with a live-music stimulus package."

Of course, the cynical response is that, clearly, ticket sales must be soft.

But last month, Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino told investors in an earnings call that ticket sales were pacing ahead of 2008's numbers at the same period, an uptick he credited to the demand for tickets to U2's upcoming stadium tour and Madonna's extended European run.

Still, in a recent Associated Press story, Live Nation acknowledged that often as much as 40 percent of seats remain empty, and more than half of the 13,000 lawn tickets at a 20,000-capacity venue (such as the Virginia Beach Amphitheater) go unsold.

So, the new thinking is, why not try to at least get bodies in the gate?

"There are some people who have a price limit for what they're willing to pay for a ticket, and hopefully, we'll get some people who might not have thought of coming otherwise," Xenakis said.

Though details were still hazy, the plan is for a different Wednesday special to be posted on http://www.livenation.com at the beginning of each week.

Xenakis wasn't sure if the offers would be uniform nationwide, or if they would pertain to certain shows at certain venues.

But even the most miniscule savings for an overpriced ticket is more than concertgoers have previously received.

The folks who book and promote Innsbrook After Hours are taking this recession-busting mentality an extra step and giving attendees free general admission to two upcoming shows.

The June 12 Big Head Todd and the Monsters-Tonic concert (the Gin Blossoms are no longer part of the date) and the June 17 double bill of tribute bands Frontiers (who cover Journey) and Limelight (Rush) require no general-admission ticket.

However, for those who, as Innsbrook promoter Laurin Willis put it, "have to see the sweat form on the brow of the artist," up-close gold-circle seating will be available for purchase.

Willis said advance ticket sales to both shows were fine especially since those acts aren't quite as expensive to bring in as, say, The B-52s.

"But we figured why not turn [the shows] into a party and let people who are having a hard time financially come out and have a good time," he said.

Those who already purchased tickets to either show will automatically receive a refund if they bought them through http://www.ticketstobuy.com. Otherwise, refunds are available at point of purchase.

Right now, there are no plans for other Innsbrook shows to become complimentary, but they haven't ruled out the possibility, Willis said.

"This was just a golden opportunity," he said of having the right shows at the right time to offer for free.

And maybe even allow some people to shuffle their priorities.

Contact Melissa Ruggieri at (804) 649-6120 or .