VIP Package
Entertainment

Hella Mega Expensive: What’s a VIP Package Worth?

Do you have a Hella Mega amount of dough? Because next summer, Green Day, Fall Out Boy, and Weezer will go on the Hella Mega World Tour together.

Fans have started purchasing their tickets and many noticed something strange about the VIP tickets. The admission only tickets range from $50 to $300 depending upon the venue size and seating location. It’s not cheap for a concert, but it’s to be expected with a show of three well known bands.

The four VIP ticket options cost $230, $279, $429, and $654, which arguably could be worth it to meet the members of one or all of the bands right? Well, you got to at least shake one of their hands at $654, right?

Think again, because in bold print on the bottom of the VIP package pages reads, “NO VIP PACKAGES INCLUDE A MEET & GREET. THERE IS NO ARTIST INVOLVEMENT WITH ANY OF THE PACKAGES.” Instead these packages include things like early venue access, a snack bar, pins, bandanas, water bottles, and commemorative laminates. As expected, fans flooded social media with their outrage fueled feedback. 

This flare up ignited a conversation that’s been going on since the dawn of priority tickets: what should a VIP ticket include and how much is it worth? 

First, let’s go over the basics. A VIP ticket to a concert gives you access to the show, along with perks like meeting the artist, taking a picture together, or merchandise. The price of VIP tickets are always more than those to just attend the show and the benefits included are determined by the artist, their management, and the venue.

VIP Package 2In determining their worth, there are many different factors to consider. The price of the tickets, what the package includes, the popularity of the artist/band, the size of the venue, and the circumstances of the show. 

What’s included in the package also contributes to the price and value of the ticket. Meeting the artist is of the highest value that could be included, because it can’t be purchased at any other time like the merchandise can.

This was one of the big arguments fans used in response to the Hella Mega Tour’s VIP packages; buying a merchandise only package makes sense if you intended to buy the merchandise anyway, but not if you only care more about the seeing the band and listening to the music. Regardless, you could probably buy a bootleg shirt off the street outside the venue for $10 anyway.

There are sometimes when a package looks like a rip off and other times where it’s worth it for a great experience. For example, let’s compare the Hella Mega Tour to Carly Rae Jepsen’s current Dedicated Tour.

For Hella Mega, at $654, you get a bunch of merch that you could get at the stand anyway, a snack bar, and close seats. Contrarily, for the Dedicated Tour, at $150, you get a meet and greet photo with Jepsen, listen in on a short sound check, participate in a Q&A, a signed poster, lanyard, and front row general admission access.

It’s seems like the smaller the tour, the bigger bang for your buck with VIP tickets.

So when would you buy a VIP package? To Claire Rankin, a sophomore communications and political science student and avid concert goer, she said, “I think it’s cooler if it’s an artist who has less followers because financially those smaller artists don’t make a lot.” Rankin feels that type of VIP package would be more special. “You can [converse with the artist] instead of a [a package with] Justin Bieber where for $500 you get a hug and then move on. That’s ridiculous.”

In some ways, VIP tickets can be a ploy for artists and their team to make more money. However, it depends on the fan.

There’s a market out there that’s willing to pay that price for extra merchandise and to meet a person who means so much to them.

So continue on going to concerts, meeting artist, and buying merch. But before you hop on Ticketmaster, don’t lose your shirt buying tickets (even if one’s included with the VIP experience).

IMAGE TAKEN from npr.org

IMAGE TAKEN from inews