Haven't heard much about it here, but what do you think of Christian bands charging for meet and greet passes? I DO NOT agree with it.

There is a particular band who I was going to see in concert lately--who shall remain nameless, who is charging. I REEEAAAALY don't understand why they would do such a think during our WORST ECONOMY EVER--when they know everybody has no money. It has resulted in me not wanting to go see this band at all live...because my original intention was to get something autographed. I didn't really see the point in going at all if the meet and greet could not be included with the show.

Yes..yes, I know time is money. But I just think Christian bands should bare a distinction when it comes to meet and greets.

I think it's lame, but since I also think getting autographs is lame, it's paradoxically fine. Like goes with like.

And maybe the band needs money too, and they figure by charging at least they'll cut out the people who want autographs to resell rather than true autograph collectors.

I don't have a problem with it at all. Playing a concert for you is performing a service, much like having someone clean your house. If you want your cleaning service to do extras, like washing windows, you pay extra for an extra level of service that is not normally included. It's the same thing here.

You wouldn't object to a Christian cleaning service (and there are plenty of them who advertise this) charging more if you ask for more, so why is it wrong for a Christian band to charge more for an informal meet and greet? The fans who want that can pay the cost if they consider it reasonable, and those who just want to see the concert pay a different price.

What's the problem with it? What is so wrong with it that it would cause you not to want to go to the concert? Perhaps you need to explain why you feel it's such a bad thing.

In my opinion, you payed to see the band perform, that is it. They don't owe you anything more than a good concert performance.

I myself am a big music fan and like to get things autographed. I have tons of autographs on records, CDs, promo photos, etc. It's something I like. I've met some of my all time favorite bands over the years. Some of them have charged for meet and greets, others have not. I appreciate those that have come out to greet the fans for free. However, they certainly don't owe us that.

I've met Ted Nugent 3 different times over the years. Two of the three times it was free. One of those times it was a paid meet and greet that was given to me as a gift. Ted and his crew treated us like royalty. I ate dinner with Ted, had him sign autographs, chatted about life, politics, religion, etc. He gave us guitar strings, drum heads, t-shirts, guitar picks, etc. I have no complaints whatsoever.

I know the band we are speaking about is Stryper. I am a big Stryper fan. Have met them multiple times. They've always been very cool with me and have signed all the crap I've thrown their way. On this tour they are charging for fan meet and greets. I have no problem with that if that's what they want to do.

I think it is a great marketing ploy. Especially in a down economy. Not everyone is broke. Those who can afford it get something extra at a reasonable price. The band pulls in extra income. I like it. I have no problem with it.

No problems with it at all. I'm a lot like Ult...I've met a LOT of artists, and while 95% did not charge for anything other than the pictures they signed, a few did have meet-and-greet charges. However, if I wanted to go, and I felt it was worth it, I paid. No biggie. It's not like I am REQUIRED to meet them, nor are they required to meet me. They already played for me.

I'm thinking of charging people to let them read my posts, in fact! I think it's a great idea!



Arttie

Many fans that do not agree with meet & greets feel it's more the principle not the money...Meeting an artist you supported for years & the artist to meet the fan is a privilege & honour. For me once you bring money into it, it sort of takes way from it all. Hard to put into words...But, I understand what Tyrion , Scott, Smart drummer & Arrtie are saying, and I cannot say I disagree with them. I guess it all depends at the way you look at it. It's an individual choice...

Lol, Arttie....



I don't think it's wrong, either. Ult and Tall T pretty much summed it all up.

Another possible reason for doing something like this is falling ticket
sales. A concert tour is expensive, and despite the image of a "rock
star", I doubt that any Christian band is living that lifestyle at this
point, if they ever did at all.

All of these bands have families to feed and bills to pay, so if they
go out on the road and lose money, that could put them in a financial
bind. This is a way to generate revenue so that they can afford to get
out there and play live. I really doubt that any band, even Stryper,
are making much money beyond what working a job would bring in.

If you like getting to see a band and can afford to do so, I would buy the meet and greet pass to support them.

from a promotional managers end of this;i am in agreement with all that said this is not a bad thing.agreeing with scott that said "a band only needs to give you the best performance".however,i have found lately that christian bands playing in a nightclub/bar are very personal and gracious and often enjoy hanging with fans/greetin and posing for pics and the like! its often a very intimate settin for fans and bands to get to know one another! thinking of all the bands i have met that way! if stryper feels they want to charge for this;i agree! there has been a great deal of money,time and preparation that went into this 25th anniversary tour as well as all the rehearsals.folks dont consider that when they are complaining.they only see the meet and greet as an added expense.i see it as a band in a very small way;makin themselves available to fans in a very large venue and attempting in a very small way recupping some expenses.hopin my ramblin makes sense?

If a band(Christian or secular) wants to charge money to meet them, that's their prerogative. However, I WILL NOT pay one cent for the "priviledge" of meeting anyone period! I met Jesus Christ for FREE. I WILL NOT pay money to meet a mere mortal! IMO, it's sorta like paying for sex, in the regard that if you have to pay for it, it doesn't really mean anything. Furthermore, I can't even believe that there are so many people willing to pay just to meet some one else. I think it's ridiculous!

But they can't just allow everyone to come backstage and hang out. It would be chaotic.

I'm talking the meet and greets like Scott had with Uncle Ted, where he got to eat with him and everything. Those can't just be for free; at least not usually.

In Ted Nugent's case, the money generated went to his non-profit organizations he supports. (One of them is Kidz Camp for underprivledged kids.) My friend I went with, who is well off, gave a lot more than Ted asked for, not because Ted was some money smurf-for-hire, but because he wanted to support the causes the money went to.

I also agree with metalheaded. Bigger bands cannot just open the doors to everyone. If they did it would be a mob scene.

For a band like Ultimatum where we draw a few hundred people to a concert, we get to hang out before and after the show with anyone who might want to hang out. However, Ultimatum is not Stryper is not Ted Nugent, etc.

I recently saw where bands are charging like 5 bucks to read there blogs on myspace. I don't get it. freely it has been given freely you should give. not necesarily your cd's but a blog entry talking about the gospel?

agreein metalheaded exactly my point.in a small settin such as the bar/nightclub a band has a chance to make meet and greet and can be enjoyable for both.however,the bigger venue would just be so chaotic.i had a chance to go back stage with the secular artist with a fanclub membership;it was free.although it was a buffet style meal and "adult" beverages( i dont drink) and had alot of fun with the band members.the closest i could get to the "rockstar" was meetin his model wife and then 3 yr old son that kept ducking btw all our legs.his wife was very sweet and gracious and we talked alot however although it was a small crowd;the singer wouldnt come backstage and meet us.i was very disappointed! but,since i have been in the business i have come to see how very much money is put out by the artist and the bigger the artist/venue the bigger the expense.i dont think this is an ego trip.just so hard to recupp losses and finding a way to make themselves available to fans.vs the christian artist playing bars/nightclubs and smaller venues get to hang out and fellowship and its an enjoyable to both the artist and the fan.much more relaxing and less stress for both! agreeing here that,chargin to read a blog is too much! hey read mine for free as well as ultimatums..sorry..just doing my job! shameless plug!

Agreed, jersey. Well said.

I dunno bro... on one hand--I have no prob with it at all... I almost paid to meet Stryper... and it would have been very cool...

On the other hand------it would be cool to "just meet them" ... not as a "paid thing..." but just "meet them."

I don't think either way is "better" than the other... it's just a preference thing...

With bigger bands like Stryper, the better thing is to simply meet them in an everyday setting, other than at their concert. Running into them at the store, for example, or at another kind of event like the NAMM show, or something like that.

Then, if they're gracious, you can hang and talk for a while.

And, it's free!