Celebrities charging fans to meet them? It’s pure greed By Alison Boshoff PUBLISHED: 22:01 GMT, 20 June 2012 | UPDATED: 16:04 GMT, 21 June 2012 196 View comments Pricey: Fans have to shell out £1,100 to meet Beyonce Pricey: Fans have to shell out £1,100 to meet Beyonce Not so long ago, if you wanted to meet your musical idol backstage after a concert, there were only two ways to go about it — to win a competition, or to sneak past the burly security guards into their dressing room. Now, however, if you have deep pockets then pretty much anything is possible. The Mail can reveal that a lucrative ‘meet-and-greet’ industry has grown up around pop stars such as One Direction, Justin Bieber and Cheryl Cole. Meetings last only seconds before fans are sent packing with a photo of themselves with their idol (and a poster and T-shirt if they are lucky), but they pay hundreds of pounds for the privilege. And it isn’t just teen pop stars getting in on the act — even veteran artists such as the Beach Boys are joining in. Tickets for these ‘meet-and-greets’ start at around £100, but ticket touts are snapping them up, often selling the tickets on for eye-watering sums. This money-spinning industry hit the headlines last week when Cheryl Cole was criticised for charging £350 to meet-and-greet concert goers. But insiders insist the trend is driven by fans — not stars. As music PR Stuart Bell, who represents Sir Paul McCartney, says: ‘Some stars’ fan bases are used to engaging with the stars directly through social networking. There is a sense in which they kind of expect to be able to get direct physical access to them as well.’ But he conceded: ‘It’s true that with record sales going down, you have to look at every bit of revenue that you can.’ Meet-and-greets can add up to £600,000 to tour revenues, if you assume two dozen per show on a 50-date tour. It is notable that most pop stars who have been in the business for a few decades don’t do ticketed meet-and-greets. Neither Sir Paul McCartney nor Rod Stewart offer such packages. Nor does Kylie Minogue. However, they all offer VIP or Platinum packages which allow fans to attend the soundcheck — like a private concert — and get guaranteed front-row seating, gifts and food or a party, too. Rod Stewart sells a ‘Hot Legs’ package along these lines for £1,250. Fans should be aware that most meet-and-greets tend to be delivered very much on the terms of their idols. In 2010, Sir Elton John sold a meet-and-greet package that came with the warning: ‘Photographs are at the discretion of Sir Elton.’ In other words, if you don’t behave yourself, he jolly well won’t pose for a picture. Read more: dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2162298/Celebrities-charging-fans-meet-It-s-pure-greed.html#ixzz2dxLH82L8 Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
Posted on: Wed, 04 Sep 2013 20:05:49 +0000
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