Just about every concert you go to is classified as either a “Hard Ticket” or a “Soft Ticket” event.  A “Hard Ticket” concert is one held at a traditional venue where you pay an amount for a ticket that is based on supply and demand.  Seeing Coldplay at an arena and paying $75 is an example of a “Hard Ticket”.  A “Soft Ticket” concert is often held at a non-traditional venue where the amount you pay for a ticket is either free or unreasonably cheap based on the caliber of artists are playing. An example might be a casino or fair, where crowds will gather regardless of the act and where performers can make decent guaranteed money without having to count on people paying for a ticket that allows entrance into a concert and nothing else.

Why is this important?

We consider our events to be the “Ultimate Hard Ticket”.  It’s one thing to pay $50 to see your favorite artist at a concert in your hometown but it’s a much more significant investment of time and money to take 5 days off work and part with $1,000 to go on vacation with that same artist.  When we are looking for artists to join us on a cruise, answering the “Hard Ticket vs. Soft Ticket” question is key.

And to be clear, it is not important that 1,000′s of people will buy a “Hard Ticket” for every artist.  We will take an artist who can sell 100 “Hard Ticket”s over 1,000 “Soft Tickets” any day.

-Andy