Dr. Simi’s question that highlighted dissatisfaction with concerts in Mexico

Dr. Simi thought of asking on his social networks what would happen if he started his own music festival. And although his proposal received all kinds of reactions, many comments They showed general dissatisfaction with how priceless festivals and concerts have become in Mexico.

Paraphrasing the motto “Same but cheaper” used by Farmacias Similares, their Followers supported Dr. Simi’s suggestion and asked him to make this initiative possible to make the festival with more accessible prices for the public.

Some opinions stated that the invited artists did not even matter as long as it was a program that considered a low-resource audience within the rates currently managed by music shows.

With social and economic reactivation after the pandemic emergency was lifted, prices for concerts and festivals in Mexico increased between 50 and 150 percent. A general membership to Corona Capital in 2019 (it was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic) cost 2,198 pesos. The same pass for the 2023 edition was priced at 10,980 pesos, meaning its price increased five times.

Meanwhile, Vive Latino tried not to raise its rates too much. For the 2020 edition, which took place at the beginning of the pandemic, the general pass cost 1,550 pesos. Its price for 2023 was 2,300 pesos. The difference was about 800 pesos.

Something similar happens in the case of concerts also. Paul McCartney has been one of the most flexible artists with his fans. For the 2017 presentation at the Azteca Stadium, the cheapest general ticket was offered at 450 pesos. For their 2023 tour at Foro Sol, the most affordable ticket was 680 pesos. In contrast, other international data companies have increased the amount. For example, regular tickets that used to cost a minimum of 300 pesos before the pandemic are sold for more than 600 today.

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This is no exception with National Artists. To see Alejandro Fernandez front row at CDMX during 2021 at the Telmex Auditorium, the ticket price was 2,850 pesos. Two years later in Plaza Mexico, as part of his tour love and motherland, The price was 5,978 pesos i.e. double.

In this situation, another inconvenience has been added to the public, that is the hindrance in purchasing tickets. Tickets for most concerts and festivals are sold exclusively to cardholders of the banking institution, Banamex. In other words, only those people who have a credit card of that bank can make purchases. As a result, fans and interested parties without the said bank identification stand no chance.

Another point of complaint is the additional service charge charged by Ticketmaster, the platform in charge of issuing tickets. For Corona Capital 2023, the company set a fee of 836.25 pesos to present its system to the purchasing user and added a cost of 28 pesos for the online shipping of the purchased ticket. It is a practice that consumers report to the Federal Consumer Prosecutor’s Office (Profeco) so that it can take action on the case.

Added to the above is also the effect of resale, an evil that takes its toll with the mass acquisition of tickets sold either digitally or physically. For Taylor Swift concerts in 2023, Tickets which were officially priced at 1,656 pesos were resold for 5,000 pesos.

Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson will perform with his solo project in Guadalajara, Jalisco and CDMX in April 2024. Mandrake Project, When announcing his tour, he spoke out against increasing concert prices. She is one of the industry voices urging reconsideration of costs to include all audiences.

There has been strong demand for festivals and concerts post-pandemic. Many people go into debt and pay in order not to miss an event. But another large segment of the music-loving population has still not recovered economically from the economic blow caused by confinement, That’s why he has not been able to participate in the show.

If we add to this the huge inconvenience of how pricey the tickets are, the more remote the chances of them being able to enjoy live music seem, Either in an enclosed space (such as the National Auditorium) or outside (such as the Foro Sol).

That is why he does not consider Dr. Simi’s idea of ​​organizing his own music festival as madness. Everything has its own taste. Internet users ask about Mexican regional representatives, others ask about national rockers and some ask about stars like Adele. But the majority agrees that the most important thing is to think about the pockets of people with low priced tickets so that music does not remain for the few.

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