chrisjoseph
03-09-2009, 09:40 AM
March 4, 2009
Music Festivals Adopt an Installment Pay Plan
By JENNA WORTHAM
Consumers can use layaway to buy outdoor grills and patio sets at Sears, winter coats at Burlington Coat Factory and dining sets at Kmart. Now music fans can get concert tickets on installment plans, too.
For the first time in the 10-year history of the event, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif., offered the option of spreading out the $269 cost of a three-day pass.
Customers had two options besides buying their ticket in one payment: splitting the amount into two equal parts or putting down 10 percent of the total, then paying the rest in two installments, in March and April, before the festival begins on April 17.
Other music festivals taking the same approach include Bonnaroo in Tennessee, All Points West in New Jersey and Country Thunder in Arizona.
Paul Tollett, president of GoldenVoice, the production company behind Coachella, said the company began offering layaway as a pre-emptive measure against sluggish ticket sales that have already hurt other music festivals, including Langerado, an event planned for Miami that was canceled last month because of low sales.
Since Coachella tickets went on sale in late January, 18 percent of sales have been under some form of payment plan, Mr. Tollett said. He would not say how many tickets had been sold. “Without the layaway option, maybe we wouldn’t have done so well,” Mr. Tollett said. He predicted that 50,000 to 60,000 people would attend this year’s event, which will feature TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and My Bloody Valentine, among other bands.
Mr. Tollett said the company had decided to test a layaway option in October for StageCoach, its country music festival on April 25 and 26 in Indio. “That crowd has been rocked by foreclosures,” he said. “We thought if we made it easier, we could still get people there.”
After roughly a quarter of StageCoach tickets were sold under some type of payment plan, GoldenVoice decided to offer similar plans for several more of its weekend-long events, including the Mile High Music Festival in Denver; the Rothbury Music Festival in Michigan and All Points West.
The plans have been a relief for fans who otherwise might have had to forgo the festivals.
“It’s a lot easier coming up with $100 as opposed to $300,” said Nicole Behanna, 27, an engineer at Robert Morris University in Pennsylvania, who is using layaway to see Bruce Springsteen, Phish and Nine Inch Nails at the four-day Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in June in Manchester, Tenn.
Ms. Behanna is paying for her ticket in five installments of $50 each, with shipping and processing fees lumped into the first payment.
About 20 percent of Bonnaroo ticket sales so far this year have been under a payment plan, compared with 4 percent of total ticket sales last year, said Ashley Capps, president of AC Entertainment, one of the organizations behind the event.
Mr. Capps cited the economy as a factor for the increase in layaway, but he said the company also marketed the plan a lot more heavily this year. “For many people, three smaller payments are a lot more effective for their budget,” he said. “Why not make it easier for people to attend?”
Music Festivals Adopt an Installment Pay Plan
By JENNA WORTHAM
Consumers can use layaway to buy outdoor grills and patio sets at Sears, winter coats at Burlington Coat Factory and dining sets at Kmart. Now music fans can get concert tickets on installment plans, too.
For the first time in the 10-year history of the event, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif., offered the option of spreading out the $269 cost of a three-day pass.
Customers had two options besides buying their ticket in one payment: splitting the amount into two equal parts or putting down 10 percent of the total, then paying the rest in two installments, in March and April, before the festival begins on April 17.
Other music festivals taking the same approach include Bonnaroo in Tennessee, All Points West in New Jersey and Country Thunder in Arizona.
Paul Tollett, president of GoldenVoice, the production company behind Coachella, said the company began offering layaway as a pre-emptive measure against sluggish ticket sales that have already hurt other music festivals, including Langerado, an event planned for Miami that was canceled last month because of low sales.
Since Coachella tickets went on sale in late January, 18 percent of sales have been under some form of payment plan, Mr. Tollett said. He would not say how many tickets had been sold. “Without the layaway option, maybe we wouldn’t have done so well,” Mr. Tollett said. He predicted that 50,000 to 60,000 people would attend this year’s event, which will feature TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and My Bloody Valentine, among other bands.
Mr. Tollett said the company had decided to test a layaway option in October for StageCoach, its country music festival on April 25 and 26 in Indio. “That crowd has been rocked by foreclosures,” he said. “We thought if we made it easier, we could still get people there.”
After roughly a quarter of StageCoach tickets were sold under some type of payment plan, GoldenVoice decided to offer similar plans for several more of its weekend-long events, including the Mile High Music Festival in Denver; the Rothbury Music Festival in Michigan and All Points West.
The plans have been a relief for fans who otherwise might have had to forgo the festivals.
“It’s a lot easier coming up with $100 as opposed to $300,” said Nicole Behanna, 27, an engineer at Robert Morris University in Pennsylvania, who is using layaway to see Bruce Springsteen, Phish and Nine Inch Nails at the four-day Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in June in Manchester, Tenn.
Ms. Behanna is paying for her ticket in five installments of $50 each, with shipping and processing fees lumped into the first payment.
About 20 percent of Bonnaroo ticket sales so far this year have been under a payment plan, compared with 4 percent of total ticket sales last year, said Ashley Capps, president of AC Entertainment, one of the organizations behind the event.
Mr. Capps cited the economy as a factor for the increase in layaway, but he said the company also marketed the plan a lot more heavily this year. “For many people, three smaller payments are a lot more effective for their budget,” he said. “Why not make it easier for people to attend?”