Back in 1980, a 20-year-old guitarist named Warren Haynes got his start as a member of David Allan Coe’s touring and recording band. Spending the bulk of his career with the Allman Brothers Band, the North Carolina native formed the Southern rock jam band Gov’t Mule in 1994. He has also released four solo albums, including 2024’s Million Voices Whisper. All that to say, the seasoned performer, 65, has borne witness to many changes in the music industry—and not all of them, he says, for the better.
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“You know, when I was growing up, going to a concert didn’t really cost that much money,” Warren Haynes said during a recent appearance on Andy Frasco’s World Saving Podcast. “You could even go see Led Zeppelin for $10, right? Not that I ever did. I never saw Led Zeppelin, but the fact now that people spend thousands of dollars on a concert experience is just crazy to me, and it’s definitely gotten out of hand.”
Warren Haynes Praises Pearl Jam For Resisting Rising Prices
Partially due to the rise of streaming platforms like Spotify, record sales are no longer a reliable source of income for artists. To offset those losses, many artists have bumped up ticket prices to their concerts.
“I hate the fact that a lot of music fans can’t afford to go to the shows,” Warren Haynes said. “It’s crazy, you know, and I love that bands like Pearl Jam are trying to be so fan-friendly, and keep ticket prices down, and always have affordable tickets of some sort.”
Pearl Jam has historically resisted soaring ticket prices. At the peak of their fame in the ’90s, the grunge outfit accused Ticketmaster of overcharging their fans, even going so far as filing an antitrust complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice. Three decades later, the “Black” hitmakers haven’t given up the fight.
“If we can save money, we pass it on to the fans. But it’s essential for us to at least cover our costs,” frontman Eddie Vedder said in a June 2024 interview. “If we had to pay extra and couldn’t earn any money at all, we wouldn’t go on tour anymore.
Featured image by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
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