As I get older, the more impatient I get – especially when it comes to waiting in lines. While a firm believer in the Law of Changing Lines (the moment you move into the “faster line,” you end up in the slowest one), I have been known to shift around in banks, at Costco, and at toll booths – usually to no avail.
And yet, there’s a whole generation of music lovers who haven’t experienced the unadulterated joy of standing in line to get your hands on great tickets for a hot concert, show, or event. Over the years, I camped out for University of Michigan football tickets, and got up at ungodly hours to get in line to get choice seats to see one of my favorite bands.
But all that came to a grinding halt when ticket sellers met computers a few decades ago, and companies like Ticketmaster and StubHub sprouted up. Now, when a show goes on sale, the trick is to be situated in front of a computer – or several of them – in order to hit “enter” at just the right moment to grab those elusive tickets.
Despite all the algorithms and systems, however, many walk away dissatisfied and even angry at the computerized ticket experience. Too often, they end up with lousy seats despite timing their online experience perfectly. Other times, they get shut out altogether.
So, it caught my attention when I discovered there’s a band trying to change that. Not surprisingly, it’s Trent Reznor’s Nine Inch Nails. On their current concert tour – Cold And Black And Infinite North America 2018 – the band is playing small theaters.
And their concern is the difficulty so many hardcore, devoted fans have in getting tickets, amidst the scalpers and resellers. So, they created The Physical World pre-sales in 14 different markets.
That translates to standing in a physical line for hours, rather than making the transaction from the comfort of home on a mobile device or computer. And despite the hassle, the inconvenience, and the obvious problems caused by inclement weather, these long lines turned into something altogether different:
A communal, fun experience, shared by those with like tastes and mindsets.
Line was long took me about 4 hours but met some cool people and had some REALLY interesting people watching. #nineinchnails #nintour2018 #ninontour @nineinchnails pic.twitter.com/IN5kVd8MR9
— Broken Controller (@BRKN_Controller) May 23, 2018
In much the same way more and more Millennials enjoy the tactile thrill of playing a vinyl record on a turntable or reading a physical book, the concept of waiting in line with hundreds of complete strangers was a new experience for most of these NIN fans.
Not only did they end up getting good tickets to see the band. They had an amazing social experience – not on Facebook, Snapchat, or Instagram.
Back in the day, rock stations often connected with fans in these long lines. At WRIF in Detroit, we had a deal with a local coffee joint. On the morning concert tickets for a major show went on sale, we had the van, an army of interns, and a personality on hand at the ready, greeting listeners, keeping them warm, and caffeinated.
And all those cold, wet, tired rockers in line loved the fact the station “got it,” cared enough to feed them coffee and donuts, and join them as part of what it meant to enjoy the total concert experience. And it was a true bonding adventure with uber fans excited to see us.
Oddly enough, some of those same things happened organically at these NIN pre-sales. Aside from the obligatory band merch on sale, local merchants got in the act, including Chicago coffee shop, Dark Matter, serving up a custom blend of joe to fans waiting in line. In Dallas, Alamo Drafthouse cooked up a special NIN menu on pre-sale day.
By all accounts, this exciting new experience – standing in long lines for hours, hanging out with total strangers in all sorts of weather – was a satisfying, memorable experience for many:
I guess we can’t complain considering we were in line half as long as….. The first person in line? #NIN2018 #NINONTOUR pic.twitter.com/WPhyQAK25V
— Ryan (@Coxitron) May 22, 2018
It seems like it’s more exciting to finally have those physical tickets handed to you rather than printing them off at home.
The Capitol Music Group press release said nothing about local radio stations pulling off a food truck, coffee service. or other promotion, so it’s unknown whether any have participated old school style with fans. (But it’s a great idea.)
What’s next? Holding up BIC lighters for the encore?
(Actually, Jack White is one of several artists using a company like Yondr to ban cell phones from concerts on his current tour.)
What’s old is new again.
Rock ‘n roll.
Thanks, Mike Stern.
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I know I camped out several times when I was young. The last time I remember camping for tickets was to see Bob Seger at what was then called Pine Knob.
I hate to break it to you, but that was a LONG time ago! 🙂
The setting: WLZR/Milwaukee: 1988-1991. We were the official broadcast partner for Alpine Valley Music Theatre. Just as the folks at WRIF did, I too, had some of the absolute best moments of my career and the best introductions to our target audience from those very early Saturday mornings when I would get the station van at 6am and go to a local donut shop and pick up a couple of 5 gallon urns of coffee and anywhere from 10 to 50 dozen donuts.
With a couple of other staffers, I would head out to 3 or 4 of the major Mainstream Records locations where lines were forming for concert tickets that were going on sale at 10am. We would pour free coffee and serve donuts until we ran out to people who in some cases, had been sitting there for 12 hours or more. We’d do a break or two live on the air using the Marti, and tease our next location. The positive feeling and gratitude of the audience was a monstrous asset to the station’s image. It was a party and it was fun, never work!
There are fewer opportunities to do this today of course, with online ticketing…but it can still be done around Black Friday line-ups or other events like video game or major hardware releases at midnight.
Exactly. I used to so look forward to those ticket sales days when the station could sos strongly connect with its core listeners – at virtually no cost. And you’re right – they so appreciated us being there, hanging out with them. There was something very communal about those mornings. Thanks for the story.
A million years ago, WNAP in Indy would spend the night with the people lined up on 16th street waiting to get into the infield at the Indy 500. (couldn’t see the race but it was a hell of a time) WNAP did the same at the NHRA Nationals, going so far as putting a mic at the start line and another at the finish and you could hear the Funny Cars move from left to right on your radio. Businesses “lined up” to sponsor events like that on WNAP. Radio today misses so many chances to connect with the community. The sports stations in Boston (tied for first in 25-54 men) set up in bars across from Fenway, across from Gillete. They connect, face to face with the audience all the time.
That’s what radio can do that none of these other brands and platforms can. Thanks for commenting.
We used to “replay” a concert after it was over. One of the jocks would phone in the set list, the guy on the air would recreate the concert for the listener to relive on their way home, jock on the air would take calls about the show, edit and play them.. It’s about creating a community. Today’s “brand managers” don’t or won’t understand the obvious.
Charlie Kendall and I had a long talk about this the other day. Funny story, he said when he got to WNEW in NY the staff told him, “Charlie, New York is not a rock and roll town. You can’t rock this station like you did in Boston and Philly.” Charlie said, “Really?” and rocked it anyway.
Charlie was spot on (of course). New York City may have had a different rhythm, but it was never just about Manhattan. Don’t tell Bruce (or anyone else) that Jersey, Queens, and all the other places where real people lived didn’t rock. I have worked with many stations that have done those “Concert Echoes” after shows are letting out. It’s at 11pm so there’s no ratings damage, and those 20,000 happy fans are blaring your radio station on the ride home. Isn’t that what radio is supposed to do? Thanks for the reminder.