Has there been an odder Grammy press release?

Grammy publicity firm Rogers & Cowan on Thursday sent to the press statistics from StubHub, which brag about the inflated prices scalpers have been charging for tickets from Grammy-nominated artists.

Paramore? $88. Feist? $98 Bruce Springsteen? $220.

Take a look at all the numbers, cut-and-pasted from the release:

Average Grammy Nominee Tour Ticket Prices on StubHub

Album of the Year — $144*
Foo Fighters                  $112
Vince Gill                        $116
Herbie Hancock             $133
Kanye West                    $263
Amy Winehouse             $96

*Average of all artists in category

Best New Artist — $98*
Feist                               $98
Ledisi                             NA
Paramore                       $88
Taylor Swift                   $110
Amy Winehouse            $96

Best Country Album — $113*
Dierks Bentley               $97
Vince Gill                        $116
Tim McGraw                  $87
Brad Paisley                   $111
George Strait                 $152

Best Rock Album — $131*
Daughtry                        $78
John Fogerty                  $137
Foo Fighters                   $112
Bruce Springsteen         $220
Wilco                                $106

Best Pop Vocal Album — $139*
Bon Jovi                         $233
Feist                               $98
Maroon 5                       $130
Paul McCartney             NA
Amy Winehouse            $96

And this proves, what?

That the concert business is evil?

That it's nearly impossible to see any of your favorite bands, even Daughtry, for less than $78?

But apparently, according to Rogers & Cowan, this is relevant to the Grammys, and not just because the awards celebrate the music business rather than actual music. See below:

"The data is relevant as it reflects the true value of a ticket to an artist’s live act. Certainly the majority of these acts are selling out at the box office, but secondary pricing can be a true indicator of fan interest ... Maybe this information can even help you predict the winners."

Maybe, but it seems like we've already lost.

In other Grammy news:

This Grammy piece from NY Magazine's Vulture blog is absolutely brilliant.

(Photo courtesy WireImage)

Comments

[Sean Pate]

Todd,

Unless you think unlimited access to tickets to the hottest events and free market pricing are losing propositions then no one has lost in the equation. StubHub via Rogers and Cowan publicized these figures to provide some interesting informational nuggets to fans and industry folks around what bands have a higher market value from those purchasing on StubHub, the largest marketplace for concert tickets on the Internet. The simple laws of supply and demand dictate the ticket selling prices on StubHub and millions of fans have utilized the service to get tickets to these Grammy award nominee's shows and thousands more. Tickets they more than likely wouldn't have been able to get via Ticketmaster as most, if not all, would have been sold out.

As a fan we'd all like to have unlimited access to our favorite acts at $20 a ticket and no associated fees up until the start of the show. Since that will never be a reality for anything but your local bar band, StubHub's goal is to make as many tickets available to the public via our marketplace while allowing the free market and demand to set the prices.

Thank you for the interest in the information though.

Very Kind Regards,

Sean Pate
Head of Corp. Communications
StubHub