They say that you should never meet your heroes. However it is becoming more and more popular for bands and singers to sell separate VIP and meet and greet packages to fans. On average VIP packages add up to £600,000 to tour revenue so we can see why many stars are eager to add these tickets to their tours. there has been many disputes on whether stars should charge hundreds of pounds just for a meet and greet and a photo opportunity, purely this is juts taking advantage of people’s dreams of meeting their idols? This is an event that only the rich can take part in as they have the money to afford the ridiculous amount that they charge. Cheryl Cole was criticised a couple of years for charging £350 per meet and greet ticket, however the tour company insisted that the ‘meet and greet craze’ is fuelled by fans, and nothing to do with the singer or tour company.
Altpress.com defines a meet and greet as ‘In its most basic form, the peculiar transaction plays out like this: One human being pays—usually a substantial amount of money—to be in close proximity to another human being.’ So can it really be justified that one human being has to pay an outstanding amount just to meet another human? Does their celebrity status make them above everyone else so they feel the need to charge for people to be in their presence? For example, many of Justin Bieber’s fans are young girls who would feel extremely pressured into wanting to meet their ‘hero’. Therefore I believe this would then put parents and other family members in unfair and uncomfortable positions as they may not have the money to be able to pay for the meet and greet their daughter most desperately wants. In this sense the meet and greets makes the singer or band seem extremely selfish and harsh, if they really cared about and appreciated their fans surely they would find a way for the fans to be able to meet them for free.
A lot of fans are known to wait for hours and hours outside concert venues just for the chance to be able to catch a glimpse of their favourite band or singer. I have first hand experience of this myself. After attending an Ed Sheeran concert myself and friend and many other fans waited at a backstage door to see if we could meet him. After one hour of waiting in the freezing cold the security were adamant that he had already left, we decided to give up and made our way home. Ten minutes later we saw photos on Twitter of him leaving the venue, highly guarded by security and not stopping to see anyone. Since then I have never waited outside a concert venue, a lesson learnt. Although it can be understood that after playing a concert and being on tour for days on end, a singer may be exhausted and need to get back on the road. However to just completely disregard fans and not even wave or say hello, is extremely selfish.
Here are a few examples of recent meet and greets:
ONE DIRECTION – Tickets for VIP meet-and-greets on their tour of North America were on sale through concert promoters Live Nation for £225. Ticket Agency USA were offering a meet-and-greet with the boys when they played in Dallas — for £1,160 per ticket. That enabled fans to attend the band’s soundcheck, take home a gift and a commemorative laminated pass, meet the band and have their photograph taken with them.
JESSIE J: For £110, fans of The Voice judge could purchase a Very Important Heartbeats package that includes tickets near the stage and a chance to meet their idol before the show and a signed print and a souvenir pass.
MADONNA: She so rarely holds meet-and-greets that there was a single ticket available for her Hyde Park date in July. The cost? £1,195. It included a ‘guaranteed photo’ with the star and one signed item.
RIHANNA: Fans who bought the ‘platinum experience’ on her Loud tour had a chance to meet the Barbadian singer. Tickets, priced at £340, included a photo, a signing opportunity, a watch and a laminated pass.
KATY PERRY: The American pop princess offers meet-and-greets to competition winners and those who purchase the VIP package on sale for £319 — which includes a gift bag, laminated pass, free parking and a photo opportunity.
BEYONCE: She caused controversy when she asked for £1,100 for meet-and-greet tickets on her 2009 tour — a big jump from her 2003 tour when they were £285. Only ten fans were allowed to meet the star before each one and they had to observe a ‘no hugging’ rule.
So as you can see to be able to meet your favourite star you need to be able to afford it. Which is particularly out of reach to most teenage fans who are unemployed and would never be able to come up with such a large sum of money. And if by some miracle we were able to afford it, it could be a huge, huge waste of money and probably bitterly disappointing. Back in 2010 the tickets for a meet and greet with Sir Elton John came with the warning of ‘Photographs are at the discretion of Sir Elton.’ Basically meaning if he doesn’t like the look of you, he probably won’t pose for a photo with you. A meet and greet with Avril Lavigne came with a strict ‘no touching’ rule which makes the photos look extremely awkward as you can see.
At the end of March I’ll be going to see Mcbusted in concert, who I’ve already seen a few times before and I know I won’t be disappointed. However the band are also selling meet and greet tickets for £100 on top of the price for the concert ticket which is £45, after seeing the greed and selfishness of most stars in meet and greet situations this is not something that I would ever consider doing. I believe that bands/singers should only meet fans for free, or in situations where the money is donated to charity. Stars already make enough money from their concerts and merchandise, why should fans have to pay to meet people that are only famous because of their support?
chloetomkins1 