Paying for Meet and Greets… A reflection….

Recently I was reading the newspaper when I came across a story about recent meet and greets being offered by Justin Bieber in Seattle, Washington where he struggled to raise a smile for those fans who shelled out $2000 to meet him before the concerts on his Purpose tour.

Fans posted their pictures on social media and where he looked disinterested and bored. Many fans expressed how disappointed they were with whole experience, while others defended him.

This is Justin Bieber’s first concert in the over three years and he offered two packages. The packages gave fans the chance to take a selfie with him or a group selfie plus a range of other options.

To be fair to Justin Bieber there are a lot of really nice fan photos taken at these kinds of events. I certainly understand that being his first concert tour in three years he may be a little apprehensive and despondent to fans.

But that is the chance these fans take when they pay big money for meet and greets. Their favourite musicians and artists may be having a bad day. They are after all human. From their perspective it must be awfully annoying and frustrating when fans continually want to meet, talk to, touch, hug and kiss them for these fan pictures and want stuff.

I understand why fans would want these kind of packages as they provide a once in a life time opportunity to meet one of their favourite musicians and artists in a safe environment and in particular one that doesn’t annoy them at private times, in their down time when they don’t want to deal with fans. But there will always fans who disrespect that private time.

Approximately two years ago I wrote a post about meet and greets. “Paying for a meet and greet” posted on 17 February, 2012 about my experiences with meet and greets. Once upon a time meet and greets were free and a great way to promote the product an artist or musician was selling and created a lot of good will amongst their fans. As a fan I still wouldn’t pay for a meet and greet no matter how much I liked them.

I found a really great opinion piece “Why You Shouldn’t Pay For Meet and Greets" by Taryn McElheran published on 22 January, 2015 at Confront.com while researching this post. I agree with everything this writer says about paying for meet and greets, although I wouldn’t pay to meet Taylor Swift even if she did bake cookies.

The article has been edited for copyright reasons and I can not circulate it on my Google + page for those interested.

“I’ll admit, I struggled to open this topic up without making myself sound close-minded about the idea of meet and greets. While I do believe that it’s a fantastic opportunity for fans to be able to get up-close and personal with their favourite musicians/celebrities, I honestly believe that all it is, is a money grab.

When I was younger and going to smaller clubs and venues to see my favourite musicians perform, it was almost expected of them to stick around and hang out with their fans. It was the ultimate form of appreciation for spending the money to see them perform – even if it were only for a measly $10. It was probably a small band mentality that had them being more aware of what their presence would do to their fan base, which in turn would build a more solid base for their ultimate success in the future.

I’ve followed more than a few bands over the years and some of them have stuck with the same mentality that it’s all about the fans. It’s a great way for them to keep building a more solid fan base while continuing to grow in the music business. However, the same bands have also added meet and greet packages to their ticket roster but the meet and greet package itself isn’t what bothers me, it’s the price they charge for it. It’s one thing if you’re spending a decent amount to have an ultimate one-on-one fan experience that will be one for the record books, but it’s another if you’re paying a large amount of money to stand in line with hundreds of other fans for an experience that lasts less than five minutes. Sure, that includes a decent seat in the venue and a boatload of merchandise, but isn’t it the experience we as fans want to remember?

I can’t speak for others, but if I’ve been there supporting the band/musician since the beginning, I find it a little insulting that I would have to pay anywhere from an extra hundred, up towards the thousands to have a three minute conversation with my favourite artist. A conversation that used to be included with just the cost of a ticket. The experiences after the show went from mingling in the venue, to waiting for them by the tour bus, to now having to pay hundreds of dollars to just say hello and maybe grab a picture in between, if we’re lucky. Don’t get me wrong, I’m well aware that everybody needs to make a living and it is just another form of getting paid, but to me it strips the experience of memories because the cost is borderline outrageous. In fact, most prices I see now are at least $200 more than the cost of a regular ticket to see them perform….

In retrospect, I find that when bands and musicians start having paid meet and greets when on tour, it means they’ve made it to the big leagues – so I also get why they do it. They’re no longer capable of handling the mass of fans that want to get up close and personal with their idols and it becomes more of a control issue. When you’re only one person or a group of five people trying to take on thousands of fans, it can become overwhelming and dangerous. A meet and greet allows a fan of any age to have a guaranteed up-close experience with someone they’ve idolized in a safe and controlled environment, which is ideal for both the fans and the artists.

So while I don’t really understand the necessity to pay a large portion of money to meet someone for only a brief moment, kudos to those who can and do – it proves you’re willing to go the extra mile to show support for your favourite musicians. And for those who love small town bands who are just making it, be sure you cherish each and every moment you get to spend with them because you never know when they’ll get discovered by the big guys. The intimate talks you once had with your favourite members could soon be a distant memory.”