Open Letters to GN’R from Fans

[troccoli]

NO OFFENSE IS INTENDED BY THIS AND NONE TAKEN IF MOVED OR REMOVED.  THANX

It’s hard to know how to start this but let me start by saying what this is not.  This is not more of the usual griping/nonsense/bitching/hogcock (an amalgam of hogwash and poppycock thanks to the great show 30 Rock!) that you hear from the online community (or maybe even in person) on a daily basis.  I know by now that you are plenty sick and tired (and sick and tired of being sick and tired – Ozzy reference!) of hearing about personnel complaints, new material complaints, ticket prices, setlist complaints, and other complaints.  Where’s Izzy?  When are you going to record new material?  What’s up with Axl’s (insert whatever the latest topic du jour is these days)?  How come tickets aren’t free?  Why can’t the setlist be changed every night and the band play for four hours?  How come life’s not fair?  How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?  I may be an asshole but I am not a fucking asshole and therefore I don’t beat dead horses (or live ones for that matter) and in the interest of full disclosure I really don’t have a problem with any of those areas.  The issue sadly is the fan club, how it is run, the company behind it, and how I think things can improve for the better.  I don’t expect anyone or anything to be perfect and yes, the argument can be made that there are plenty more serious things to discuss in the world.  That may be true and I am more than happy to discuss them at a later time but for now we will stay on topic.

I also want to be clear that this discussion is not directed at anyone in particular and is meant to have a tone of generality to it.  If it comes off otherwise I apologize sincerely.  After all tone is very difficult (most of the time) to infer from the written word.  Just ask any friends that have ever had an argument over a text.  I fully understand that the band, the band management, and an army of others behind the scenes are working their asses off and we do appreciate that.  But I think we have all heard the old adage of “work smarter, not harder” and this is meant to be like that.  To be clear I’m not saying that you are not smart and I’m not saying that I have all the answers.  Like any ordinary son of a bitch out there I do not.  But I have concerns and I have ideas and goddamit this is a forum.  Are you ready to go on a journey with me?  Strap on in then and let’s begin.

From what I have been told, from what I have read, and from what I have seen, the organization currently behind this fan club is Live Nation/Ticketmaster.  I am not sure which since I am unclear which company bought the other out.  Regardless I can tell you that when I first heard that I thought my head was going to fucking explode.  Am I saying that groundctrl or Wonderful Union were perfect?  Hardly dear reader.  But Ticketmaster/Live Nation!??!?!  Are you shitting me?  In case you don’t already know this then let me warn you that you may be about to have your mind blown.  Ticketmaster/Live Nation allows scalping on their own goddam website.  Oh yes.  That’s one thing but they also openly price gouge as well.  The user heavenaboveyou already talked about this with the whole platinum pricing horseshit.  As mentioned previously I don’t fuck around with horses but I do know horseshit when I smell it.  Yes, groundctrl and Wonderful Union both had/have their share of problems as well and I am not saying to go back to them.  OK, someone has to do the job though right?  Indeed so let’s get into that. 

Another user mentioned the Pearl Jam fan club.  I will also bring up the Metallica fan club.  These are just two examples though I’m sure there are others.  Again let me say that I am sure neither of these or any other fan clubs are perfect.  But the satisfaction rate at those fan clubs is very high.  Let’s try to see why.  I will only mention three things but the list could and does go on.  One, they both offer downloads of their shows.  That’s something I feel could easily be accomplished with the GN’R fan club.  I’d recommend that each show be available for any member to buy, and to really increase morale maybe you offer a free copy to those who bought their tickets through the fan club presale.  From what I understand this was already being looked into previously.  Two, items that are mailed out, if any, actually arrive on time.  I am unsure of the current GN’R fan club’s problem with this.  Keep in mind I fully understand that this aspect of the club may be contractually farmed out to a separate entity but ultimately the buck stops with the fan club.  I have mailed plenty of things, even internationally, and have never had problems.  Am I just the luckiest bastard in the world?  Doubtful considering the rest of my life but maybe.  Again I read the forums of the Pearl Jam fan club and the Metallica fan club and don’t hear about similar problems.  At the very least it seems like it’s time to pick a new company for this contract.  One that offers multiple shipping options including ones with insurance, tracking, priority mail options, registered mail options, etc.  Lastly is in how they handle fan club ticket presales.  Again another user already posted how the Pearl Jam fan club does it but since that post is hard to read (and I can’t find it anymore) here’s a link:

https://help.pearljam.com/hc/en-us/articles/204909414-Ticket-Policy

Pretty cool stuff, eh?  You may be wondering though, how the hell did they pull that off?  Well, wonder no more:

https://www.inc.com/3-superfan-strategies-from-pearl-jam.html

What about Metallica you ask?  First of all, fans that have been in the fan club longer will have first dibs.  If it is a limited event then they will do what Pearl Jam does in that members who are able to get tickets can only get two, they will have to be picked up in person, and one person has to be the fan club member.  And they will make sure that member walks in the venue (can’t sell it to someone).  This cuts down on but does not completely eliminate scalping since they can still sell the other ticket to someone and have that person meet them at the show.  Personally, and I know this may piss off some folks, I’d recommend only one ticket per member for all shows.

Here’s what I would recommend.  Create some sort of internal ticketing system like Pearl Jam did or better yet just ask them for their assistance in doing this.  Don’t limit the amount of shows someone can buy tickets for.  You’d be amazed how many people attend multiple GNR shows (Tyler, elias, margott, etc.).  Do limit how many tickets they can buy.  Again I would say one but fine let’s max it out at two.  For special events (like the Troubadour show) I would absolutely limit it to one.  Have all tickets bought through the fan club include early entry.  Members will go in a special line where they will pick up their tickets with ID (again this ensures at least one of those tickets is not scalped – maybe you could make it that when someone buys two tickets they have to provide they name of the other person they are buying for).  Ensure they go straight into the venue.  If the early entry thing happens make sure the merchandise stands are open (more on this later).  I would also give first dibs to the members that have been in the longest.  Those members are more unlikely to be scalpers.  I think you guys are probably even aware of this.  When it was announced that Slash and Duff were back in the fold, Coachella tickets were the first shows announced and sold.  You guys stopped new memberships before and during the fan club presales for that. 

I also feel that all the tickets should be available for the fan club presale.  I understand that certain bands out there may not have the clout to make this demand of the venue/promoter/whoever.  But I’m sure that GN’R (and PJ and Metallica) do have that clout.  Especially now with Slash and Duff back in the fold (no offense to the rest of the band, IMO the demand was there regardless).  Why make this demand you ask?  Because not everyone in the fan club wants to be in the pit.  If someone wants to be in GA or in the very farthest seat from the goddam stage that’s their business.  Why is it only certain sections?  That doesn’t make much sense to me.  Every interested party I can think of only has one goal in mind and that’s to sell every last ticket in the place.  Does it matter who gets the tickets (fan club, Citi, Amex, etc.)?  For proof of clout that GN’R holds I would refer you to the 2006 Hammerstein shows.  Small (relatively) venue and high demand (especially since it was NY).  If I remember correctly the fan club had not yet existed at that point and mygnrforum.com and heretodaygonetohell.com (and maybe another website forum) worked with someone (GN’R, GN’R management, Ticketmaster, not sure really) to generate presale passcodes for the fans.  And guess what?  To my surprise I never had an easier time getting tickets.  Now that we have an official fan club what changed?  An argument you hear all the time is about demand, OK, but you seriously trying to tell me that there wasn’t a big demand in 2006 when they played the Hammerstein shows?  If anything it should have been harder to get tickets for those shows.  At the very least all of the GA tickets should be available to fan club members first.

In terms of ticketing I know you guys have limits placed but scalpers will just purchase multiple memberships.  A drop in the bucket compared to what they are making.  And if you or Ticketmaster/Live Nation think that whole “I am not a robot” and “check all the squares that have road signs” shit is preventing the bots the scalpers use from working well then think again goddamit.  They know the systems inside and out and part of that is because Ticketmaster/Live Nation are intimately involved with it sadly.  Again to beat this we limit it to 2 tickets per member per show, fan club membership seniority will play a role, the member has to pick up the tickets in person with ID, include early entry, and the member has to provide the name of the person they are buying the other ticket for if they are buying another ticket (and that ID will also need to be presented when picking up tickets).  People might ask well what if that person can no longer go, is sick, etc.?  A small price to pay to end all this nonsense is my answer to that.

Another weird thing about ticketing that seems to be the case with GN’R is how all of a sudden a flood of tickets become available for a show, usually general admission tickets.  While this is great of course there are some concerns.  One, why in the fuck did this happen any why oh why weren’t they available from the jump?  I theorize that they are tickets bought by scalpers that aren’t selling.  I’d be more than happy to be wrong about that if someone can provide a real reason this happens.  What sucks about it is that most hard core fans, having been denied these prime tickets during the original sale, have already bought scalped tickets being the dedicated fans that they are.  Why?  One, many of them travel from afar and they do not want to make flight and hotel plans without even having a ticket to the show.  Two, even if they live locally, they don’t know for a fact that more tickets will get released at some point and instead of taking chances they bite the bullet and get a scalped ticket.  The biggest case of this that I can recall in recent memory was the Vegas shows in April of 2016.  Was it a month before the show perhaps when all of a sudden there were these great hotel deals that came with tickets?  Don’t get me wrong here.  Kudos for arranging a deal like this, and double brownie points for having the option of seated or GA tickets.  Too bad most fans already bought scalped tickets and had hotel plans.

The point by mentioning Pearl Jam and Metallica is not to say that they have superior fans, or superior management or are superior bands.  The point is to try to relay some killer news to you.  You don’t have to reinvent the wheel!  Woohoo!!  Try reaching out and asking them how they are able to pull all this off.  I can’t see why they wouldn’t share that information.  The argument I always hear is about blaming the venue, or the promoter, or the ticketing company, etc.  If that’s the case then how did these other bands pull it off then?  And those clubs are run by the fans for the fans.  I am not just talking about the forum boards.  At every level it’s by the fans for the fans.  I know I’d be willing to do what I can to make this happen and I assume there are others that would too.  I also understand that some of the people currently involved are fans (Jarmo for instance) and we thank them for their efforts so far.  At this juncture in our discussion let’s take a moment to talk about the VIP tickets the fan club offers.  Don’t worry, we’re almost done, hang in there.  I don’t want to derail things by talking about pricing so let’s not get into that for now.  I am talking about yet another fairly basic concept.  Each tier that is offered with VIP should include either a seated option for those who wish to do that and a general admission option for those that swing that way.  I mean honestly, why the fuck not? 

As for the merchandise stands I really cannot fathom what the hell is going on.  One, although it was well intended (and it may not still be happening for all I know), don’t have that merchandise stand that opens early outside of the venue.  What’s happening is that people (that aren’t even attending the show) are buying multiple limited event shirts and posters and selling them for profit on eBay.  This is not speculation but fact.  Two, for some reason not every merchandise stand carries the same stuff.  I can understand if one runs out of something, but I am talking about even when they first open.  This is bewildering.  Third, they run out of bags for people to carry stuff in.  Again I can completely relate to running out of a shirt/poster/bandana/etc., but bags?  Really?!?!?  Fourth, I would advise limiting the limited-edition show event posters and shirts to one each per customer.  Believe me when I tell you this is against my own interest since I am a collector and most times my only way to get my hands on something is from a friend at the show.  But it would be the fair thing to do for those that are attending the shows.  Lastly, if there is any merchandise left from a show it should be available for purchase on the GN’R store.  At the very least an email should be sent to fan club member with links on where to buy it.  Leftover merchandise from the New Zealand/Australia/Singapore shows was available on third party websites.  The great news is that it was available at show prices.  The bad news is that by the time most people found out a lot of items were sold out.  Just better overall awareness is needed, you know?

I’d like to end now on a positive note here.  And please know that I am not just blowing smoke here.  I mean what I am about to say.  Thank you for keeping the band alive and touring all these years.  Regardless of the bumpy road traveled the shows are always great.  Thank you for the seemingly new practice of announcing shows in a good amount in advance.  This helps us out a ton in making plans and truly makes a difference.  Thanks for working hard and trying with the fan club.  Yes it may not be perfect but you could have just not even started a fan club again.  We appreciate that you did and we appreciate the times the members come on the forums, we appreciate the merchandise (however long it takes to arrive!), and we appreciate the contests that are held.  Thank you for the Troubadour show!  I personally was not there but it was handled well (one ticket per person, amazing pricing, making sure there was no scalping, etc.) and everyone said it was a magical experience.  In hand with that, thanks for the whole Tower Records GN’R museum.  Again I wasn’t there, but as a huge collector I loved seeing the pics and the videos.  And thanks for supplying food and drink during the event.  That was appreciated by all.  Thanks for bringing back Coma, Estranged, and other fan favorites to the setlist.  Thanks for having the limited edition shirts and posters at most of the concerts these days.  Well this is already way too long so I will end it here.  Take it easy.

Edited June 7, 2017 by troccoli

[gnfnrs1972]

The short answer is..... This is the most fucked up and worst run band out there.

[DieselDaisy]

Fernando has just put your post at the top of his agenda for the next two hour meeting I believe.

[diegodasilva23]

Nice attitude! I really hope they see this! And, it would be nice if they offer downloads of shows from other periods of the band too, like 2006, 2007 and, especially, 2010.

[6lake sa66ath]

Would love to read it all, but I think I need to sit down at a desktop! ;-D

Deserves a bump at the very least. 

Should I be ashamed to admit I've already renewed my membership for this year?

What can I say, I'm a merch fiend!

[downzy]

At the end of the day, it comes down to priorities, for both the band and us fans.  

For some artists, making money supersedes every other concern.  For others, doing right by fans factors into the equation.  

Determine which category you think GNR falls into and decide whether you can accept it or not.  

The band and the way it operates is never going to change.  It is what it is, and while I don't disagree with much of what the OP states, I think it's akin to wishing your spouse was someone they are not.  

[Blackjacker]

I only made it about an hour into that read, but two takeaways:

That font hurts my eye holes, and the fan club is poorly run.

[k12]

GNR is about making money, they couldn't care less about having the "fans" get the best seats, that is Pearl Jam's shtick, and Metallica is known as fan friendly band as well hence their free Meet and Greet and Snake Pit giveaways , if you think this GNR semi-reunion is about anything other than making as much money as possible than you are kidding yourself, and having the "fans" get the best seats at a reduced price is going to hinder that

[DieselDaisy]

Guns N' Roses, since Rose took over, have always done things seemingly antithetical to logic and altruism.

[2414225]

Let me tell you something, brother...GnR don't care about you. And Gn'R will never do unless you are supermodel or current pop starlet. Then they will fuck you and even give you a personal tour jacket. 

GnR has the worst fan service of all rock bands. 

You wanna hear this and that with Axl? Axl's answer: The Seeker. 

 

 

 

[2414225]

6 minutes ago, DieselDaisy said:

Guns N' Roses, since Rose took over, have always done things seemingly antithetical to logic and altruism.

The most horrible thing about this fact is that Slash and Duff have joined this scientology politics... 

[AlexC]

That font though. 

[AxlRoseCDII]

This is nice and all but we all know Guns isn't going to waste even 2 seconds reading it.

[Marie82]

Great post @troccoli but Guns N' Roses has never been fan friendly and I don't think they have plans to change anytime soon. 

[shotsfired cro]

what is this guy trying to do? Get free tickets for the next show?

if you want to write the managment, then write the managment, managment sure as hell doesn't come to read your post here.

Personaly, there are at least 3 major problems to be adressed that are more important.

 

1) Where is Izzy?

2) why the fuck are techno chick, drummer beginner and Izzy wannabe still in this band?

3) why didn't the setlist change much in the last 15 months?

4) what is the freakin' deal with 1/5 of the setlist being covers?

and, and, and...

 

[ZoSoRose]

Tldr

But Nightrain is an abomination of a fan club. The mods (save for one) dont take their jobs seriously or just dont care, customer service is non existent,  fan ticket sales are a joke, merchandise doesnt get shipped and gets botched, etc. I dont blame the band or even Fernando, really, its the people in charge of the fan club

So you go, Troccoli

7 minutes ago, shotsfired cro said:

 

if you want to write the managment, then write the managment, managment sure as hell doesn't come to read your post here.

 

 

Lol you would be surprised...

Edited June 6, 2017 by ZoSoRose

[2414225]

6 minutes ago, ZoSoRose said:

I dont blame the band or even Fernando, really, its the people in charge of the fan club

Who else? Someone from the camp should be mod or our lovely /j. 

[Loot Man]

My two cents: bring Izzy back or fuck off. You have money to do that. And let Steven play more songs; for fucks sake dude is sober and waited this for years. 

[Towelie]

Who in their right minds would join a fan club of a band that doesn't even release new music? All there is to GNR these days is live shows, either go see them or don't. What can a GNR fan club offer you in 2017 other than discounted prices of their cheap tat and promises of priority seats which likely don't amount to anything?

I seriously can't believe anybody would chuck £50 down the shitter on joining this club....

Edited June 6, 2017 by Towelie

[Ratam]

3 hours ago, troccoli said:

NO OFFENSE IS INTENDED BY THIS AND NONE TAKEN IF MOVED OR REMOVED.  THANX

It’s hard to know how to start this but let me start by saying what this is not.  This is not more of the usual griping/nonsense/bitching/hogcock (an amalgam of hogwash and poppycock thanks to the great show 30 Rock!) that you hear from the online community (or maybe even in person) on a daily basis.  I know by now that you are plenty sick and tired (and sick and tired of being sick and tired – Ozzy reference!) of hearing about personnel complaints, new material complaints, ticket prices, setlist complaints, and other complaints.  Where’s Izzy?  When are you going to record new material?  What’s up with Axl’s (insert whatever the latest topic du jour is these days)?  How come tickets aren’t free?  Why can’t the setlist be changed every night and the band play for four hours?  How come life’s not fair?  How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?  I may be an asshole but I am not a fucking asshole and therefore I don’t beat dead horses (or live ones for that matter) and in the interest of full disclosure I really don’t have a problem with any of those areas.  The issue sadly is the fan club, how it is run, the company behind it, and how I think things can improve for the better.  I don’t expect anyone or anything to be perfect and yes, the argument can be made that there are plenty more serious things to discuss in the world.  That may be true and I am more than happy to discuss them at a later time but for now we will stay on topic.

I also want to be clear that this discussion is not directed at anyone in particular and is meant to have a tone of generality to it.  If it comes off otherwise I apologize sincerely.  After all tone is very difficult (most of the time) to infer from the written word.  Just ask any friends that have ever had an argument over a text.  I fully understand that the band, the band management, and an army of others behind the scenes are working their asses off and we do appreciate that.  But I think we have all heard the old adage of “work smarter, not harder” and this is meant to be like that.  To be clear I’m not saying that you are not smart and I’m not saying that I have all the answers.  Like any ordinary son of a bitch out there I do not.  But I have concerns and I have ideas and goddamit this is a forum.  Are you ready to go on a journey with me?  Strap on in then and let’s begin.

From what I have been told, from what I have read, and from what I have seen, the organization currently behind this fan club is Live Nation/Ticketmaster.  I am not sure which since I am unclear which company bought the other out.  Regardless I can tell you that when I first heard that I thought my head was going to fucking explode.  Am I saying that groundctrl or Wonderful Union were perfect?  Hardly dear reader.  But Ticketmaster/Live Nation!??!?!  Are you shitting me?  In case you don’t already know this then let me warn you that you may be about to have your mind blown.  Ticketmaster/Live Nation allows scalping on their own goddam website.  Oh yes.  That’s one thing but they also openly price gouge as well.  The user heavenaboveyou already talked about this with the whole platinum pricing horseshit.  As mentioned previously I don’t fuck around with horses but I do know horseshit when I smell it.  Yes, groundctrl and Wonderful Union both had/have their share of problems as well and I am not saying to go back to them.  OK, someone has to do the job though right?  Indeed so let’s get into that. 

Another user mentioned the Pearl Jam fan club.  I will also bring up the Metallica fan club.  These are just two examples though I’m sure there are others.  Again let me say that I am sure neither of these or any other fan clubs are perfect.  But the satisfaction rate at those fan clubs is very high.  Let’s try to see why.  I will only mention three things but the list could and does go on.  One, they both offer downloads of their shows.  That’s something I feel could easily be accomplished with the GN’R fan club.  I’d recommend that each show be available for any member to buy, and to really increase morale maybe you offer a free copy to those who bought their tickets through the fan club presale.  From what I understand this was already being looked into previously.  Two, items that are mailed out, if any, actually arrive on time.  I am unsure of the current GN’R fan club’s problem with this.  Keep in mind I fully understand that this aspect of the club may be contractually farmed out to a separate entity but ultimately the buck stops with the fan club.  I have mailed plenty of things, even internationally, and have never had problems.  Am I just the luckiest bastard in the world?  Doubtful considering the rest of my life but maybe.  Again I read the forums of the Pearl Jam fan club and the Metallica fan club and don’t hear about similar problems.  At the very least it seems like it’s time to pick a new company for this contract.  One that offers multiple shipping options including ones with insurance, tracking, priority mail options, registered mail options, etc.  Lastly is in how they handle fan club ticket presales.  Again another user already posted how the Pearl Jam fan club does it but since that post is hard to read (and I can’t find it anymore) here’s a link:

https://help.pearljam.com/hc/en-us/articles/204909414-Ticket-Policy

Pretty cool stuff, eh?  You may be wondering though, how the hell did they pull that off?  Well, wonder no more:

https://www.inc.com/3-superfan-strategies-from-pearl-jam.html

What about Metallica you ask?  First of all, fans that have been in the fan club longer will have first dibs.  If it is a limited event then they will do what Pearl Jam does in that members who are able to get tickets can only get two, they will have to be picked up in person, and one person has to be the fan club member.  And they will make sure that member walks in the venue (can’t sell it to someone).  This cuts down on but does not completely eliminate scalping since they can still sell the other ticket to someone and have that person meet them at the show.  Personally, and I know this may piss off some folks, I’d recommend only one ticket per member for all shows.

Here’s what I would recommend.  Create some sort of internal ticketing system like Pearl Jam did or better yet just ask them for their assistance in doing this.  Don’t limit the amount of shows someone can buy tickets for.  You’d be amazed how many people attend multiple GNR shows (Tyler, elias, margott, etc.).  Do limit how many tickets they can buy.  Again I would say one but fine let’s max it out at two.  For special events (like the Troubadour show) I would absolutely limit it to one.  Have all tickets bought through the fan club include early entry.  Members will go in a special line where they will pick up their tickets with ID (again this ensures at least one of those tickets is not scalped – maybe you could make it that when someone buys two tickets they have to provide they name of the other person they are buying for).  Ensure they go straight into the venue.  If the early entry thing happens make sure the merchandise stands are open (more on this later).  I would also give first dibs to the members that have been in the longest.  Those members are more unlikely to be scalpers.  I think you guys are probably even aware of this.  When it was announced that Slash and Duff were back in the fold, Coachella tickets were the first shows announced and sold.  You guys stopped new memberships before and during the fan club presales for that. 

I also feel that all the tickets should be available for the fan club presale.  I understand that certain bands out there may not have the clout to make this demand of the venue/promoter/whoever.  But I’m sure that GN’R (and PJ and Metallica) do have that clout.  Especially now with Slash and Duff back in the fold (no offense to the rest of the band, IMO the demand was there regardless).  Why make this demand you ask?  Because not everyone in the fan club wants to be in the pit.  If someone wants to be in GA or in the very farthest seat from the goddam stage that’s their business.  Why is it only certain sections?  That doesn’t make much sense to me.  Every interested party I can think of only has one goal in mind and that’s to sell every last ticket in the place.  Does it matter who gets the tickets (fan club, Citi, Amex, etc.)?  For proof of clout that GN’R holds I would refer you to the 2006 Hammerstein shows.  Small (relatively) venue and high demand (especially since it was NY).  If I remember correctly the fan club had not yet existed at that point and mygnrforum.com and heretodaygonetohell.com (and maybe another website forum) worked with someone (GN’R, GN’R management, Ticketmaster, not sure really) to generate presale passcodes for the fans.  And guess what?  To my surprise I never had an easier time getting tickets.  Now that we have an official fan club what changed?  An argument you hear all the time is about demand, OK, but you seriously trying to tell me that there wasn’t a big demand in 2006 when they played the Hammerstein shows?  If anything it should have been harder to get tickets for those shows.  At the very least all of the GA tickets should be available to fan club members first.

In terms of ticketing I know you guys have limits placed but scalpers will just purchase multiple memberships.  A drop in the bucket compared to what they are making.  And if you or Ticketmaster/Live Nation think that whole “I am not a robot” and “check all the squares that have road signs” shit is preventing the bots the scalpers use from working well then think again goddamit.  They know the systems inside and out and part of that is because Ticketmaster/Live Nation are intimately involved with it sadly.  Again to beat this we limit it to 2 tickets per member per show, fan club membership seniority will play a role, the member has to pick up the tickets in person with ID, include early entry, and the member has to provide the name of the person they are buying the other ticket for if they are buying another ticket (and that ID will also need to be presented when picking up tickets).  People might ask well what if that person can no longer go, is sick, etc.?  A small price to pay to end all this nonsense is my answer to that.

Another weird thing about ticketing that seems to be the case with GN’R is how all of a sudden a flood of tickets become available for a show, usually general admission tickets.  While this is great of course there are some concerns.  One, why in the fuck did this happen any why oh why weren’t they available from the jump?  I theorize that they are tickets bought by scalpers that aren’t selling.  I’d be more than happy to be wrong about that if someone can provide a real reason this happens.  What sucks about it is that most hard core fans, having been denied these prime tickets during the original sale, have already bought scalped tickets being the dedicated fans that they are.  Why?  One, many of them travel from afar and they do not want to make flight and hotel plans without even having a ticket to the show.  Two, even if they live locally, they don’t know for a fact that more tickets will get released at some point and instead of taking chances they bite the bullet and get a scalped ticket.  The biggest case of this that I can recall in recent memory was the Vegas shows in April of 2016.  Was it a month before the show perhaps when all of a sudden there were these great hotel deals that came with tickets?  Don’t get me wrong here.  Kudos for arranging a deal like this, and double brownie points for having the option of seated or GA tickets.  Too bad most fans already bought scalped tickets and had hotel plans.

The point by mentioning Pearl Jam and Metallica is not to say that they have superior fans, or superior management or are superior bands.  The point is to try to relay some killer news to you.  You don’t have to reinvent the wheel!  Woohoo!!  Try reaching out and asking them how they are able to pull all this off.  I can’t see why they wouldn’t share that information.  The argument I always hear is about blaming the venue, or the promoter, or the ticketing company, etc.  If that’s the case then how did these other bands pull it off then?  And those clubs are run by the fans for the fans.  I am not just talking about the forum boards.  At every level it’s by the fans for the fans.  I know I’d be willing to do what I can to make this happen and I assume there are others that would too.  I also understand that some of the people currently involved are fans (Jarmo for instance) and we thank them for their efforts so far.  At this juncture in our discussion let’s take a moment to talk about the VIP tickets the fan club offers.  Don’t worry, we’re almost done, hang in there.  I don’t want to derail things by talking about pricing so let’s not get into that for now.  I am talking about yet another fairly basic concept.  Each tier that is offered with VIP should include either a seated option for those who wish to do that and a general admission option for those that swing that way.  I mean honestly, why the fuck not? 

As for the merchandise stands I really cannot fathom what the hell is going on.  One, although it was well intended (and it may not still be happening for all I know), don’t have that merchandise stand that opens early outside of the venue.  What’s happening is that people (that aren’t even attending the show) are buying multiple limited event shirts and posters and selling them for profit on eBay.  This is not speculation but fact.  Two, for some reason not every merchandise stand carries the same stuff.  I can understand if one runs out of something, but I am talking about even when they first open.  This is bewildering.  Third, they run out of bags for people to carry stuff in.  Again I can completely relate to running out of a shirt/poster/bandana/etc., but bags?  Really?!?!?  Fourth, I would advise limiting the limited-edition show event posters and shirts to one each per customer.  Believe me when I tell you this is against my own interest since I am a collector and most times my only way to get my hands on something is from a friend at the show.  But it would be the fair thing to do for those that are attending the shows.  Lastly, if there is any merchandise left from a show it should be available for purchase on the GN’R store.  At the very least an email should be sent to fan club member with links on where to buy it.  Leftover merchandise from the New Zealand/Australia/Singapore shows was available on third party websites.  The great news is that it was available at show prices.  The bad news is that by the time most people found out a lot of items were sold out.  Just better overall awareness is needed, you know?

I’d like to end now on a positive note here.  And please know that I am not just blowing smoke here.  I mean what I am about to say.  Thank you for keeping the band alive and touring all these years.  Regardless of the bumpy road traveled the shows are always great.  Thank you for the seemingly new practice of announcing shows in a good amount in advance.  This helps us out a ton in making plans and truly makes a difference.  Thanks for working hard and trying with the fan club.  Yes it may not be perfect but you could have just not even started a fan club again.  We appreciate that you did and we appreciate the times the members come on the forums, we appreciate the merchandise (however long it takes to arrive!), and we appreciate the contests that are held.  Thank you for the Troubadour show!  I personally was not there but it was handled well (one ticket per person, amazing pricing, making sure there was no scalping, etc.) and everyone said it was a magical experience.  In hand with that, thanks for the whole Tower Records GN’R museum.  Again I wasn’t there, but as a huge collector I loved seeing the pics and the videos.  And thanks for supplying food and drink during the event.  That was appreciated by all.  Thanks for bringing back Coma, Estranged, and other fan favorites to the setlist.  Thanks for having the limited edition shirts and posters at most of the concerts these days.  Well this is already way too long so I will end it here.  Take it easy.

Great post,you next mgmnt,greAt☺

[Ratam]

2 hours ago, Blackjacker said:

I only made it about an hour into that read, but two takeaways:

That font hurts my eye holes, and the fan club is poorly run.

Hello!! BETAAAA ?

[default_]

I have no idea why this fanclub still exists lol It is useless, pointless and the band gives a total of zero fucks to it.

They dont even have privileged news or content to share with members as they do nothing but shows. lol

 

[Lowrlder54]

In terms of videos.. The difference is that Eddie Vedder sounds amazing in videos and does not require as much editing as GnR needs. Axl sounds pretty awful in the majority of the videos I've seen since 2002. They sound great when you are in the pit though! 

The ticket issue is pathetic. But look, this tour is basically live nation's biggest priority for the past year. I can tell you Live Nation has invested more marketing dollars into this show than practically any other world tour. They are looking for their ROI and don't honestly give a shit about the hardcore fans that want PIT or really good floor tickets at fair value. They start off tickets at "platinum prices", PIT was starting out at $1000 dollars for this most recent additions and that wasn't even resale tickets. These platinum tickets have already dropped in price to 575 & will probably continue to drop until they find a price level fans are OK with. 

It sucks but come on, this tour is such a money grab. The fan club is a $45 t-shirt. 

 

 

[Chris 55]

6 hours ago, Silent Jay said:

tl;dr

Well, that added NOTHING. 

 

I agree OP, things need to change! Hopefully this is seen. 

[killuridols]

Great post Troccoli, but change that font please!! This way you will get to more people

As for the fanclub, yeah, it's a shame and I don't think it will last long after this tour is over, tons of people will just let their subscriptions expire and move on to free forums.

Most of Troccoli's ideas are great but no one will listen because the band just doesn't care, especially when it comes to MUSIC, either old or new, they just won't release anything because Axl thinks of his music as some sort of sacred shit no one must listen to it anymore.