Locals' Tickets Sell Out at 11:45 this morning

[FaceOnMars]

Not sure how many in total they had, but they were all snatched up in less than two hours.

[local]

In a town of 2000, you would think they would put aside more than 450.

They sure ask a lot of us locals, considering 75% of the residents are gonna be locked out.

Wow, how long do you think Telluride will continue to let this happen?

[landshark]

In a town of 2000, you would think they would put aside more than 450.

They sure ask a lot of us locals, considering 75% of the residents are gonna be locked out.

Wow, how long do you think Telluride will continue to let this happen?

Oh, as long as I dish out 3k for a few days stay, just to catch the TBF love train, I spouse.... 

[local]

That decision might be above both our pay grades'.
I imagine the powers at be are mulling this new debacle.

[landshark]

For years I have heard alot of bad juju about PBG and how they should be more generous. It was almost insulting to me as a patron of Telluride and of this Fest.

It is folks like PBG that make your valley thrive. Be greatful and have better timing next time.  Always more. Is there ever enough for some folk. I think not.

[FaceOnMars]

Didn't intend inflame, rather just comment on the recent and very broad trend of high demand for the TBF over the past couple of years.

I must've been near the very end ... since I was there around 10:40.  One of the TMC's owners said they opened up early at 9am when they saw people waiting early in the morning ... didn't want to see them wait in the cold.  I had actually picked up a regular rate ticket at the end of Dec ... didn't want to take a chance, nor wait in the cold.  Already have a few people asking for that one (for face) & I'll hold on to the slightly discounted local's ticket.

I know it won't help for those who don't have, but any local could've bought the tix earlier when they went on sale in the general pool.   The only contention I have (which isn't very big) is to suggest simply putting the locals' block on sale first ... this way, once they're gone they're gone, and locals without locals' tickets will know what they have to do vs. being dependent upon a somewhat misguided notion that they'll be "looked after" on the ticket front.

[helixer]

Yeah right!
  I was a T-ride local for 4 years.  A few of the locals always complained, but I can assure you 90% of us dug the festival. True, it was a pain in the ass if music or crowds wasn't your thing , but those few people just got outta town for a few days. Besides, those of us who didn't go to the festival or owned a business were psyched because for 4 days there were more than the usual 12 pretty girls in town to look at....I tell you the truth!

 Listening to: Tony Rice live , somewhere in NC...

[landshark]

Didn't intend inflame, rather just comment(Quote)

I know, it's that stupid moon. But I must say, I do feel like a little sister defending her big brother. I think this fest is just so special and Telluride makes it to the poewr of 10. When I hear the locals talk bad about Ferg or the Planet, as a long time supporter I am takin it personal.

This ticket thing has got everyones attention this year and the Planet is listening and growing every day. That's why we luv em.

[Matt]

That decision might be above both our pay grades'.
I imagine the powers at be are mulling this new debacle.

If such a debate were to take place I'd imagine that the "powers that be" would decide to keep the festival. 

I used to live in a town about the same size as Telluride that had an annual Harley Rally.  8k-10k bikers would show up at our quite little mountain town, tripling the population.  Lots of people complained about it, but even those that raised a stink knew that nothing else brought that much money into our little community.  My friends that worked at local bars and restaurants would go home with 4x (or more) in tips as they would any other night, and that doesn't count all the merchandise that gets purchased that weekend.   One day my boss's 10 year old (our there abouts) son opened a lemonade stand and make $300+ in an afternoon.  When it came down to it, the people who didn't like the crowds, and who didn't have to work, would leave town for the weekend.

And personally, I'd rather have 10k (generally) well behaved hippies in my town than 10k bikers.

[BluegrassBrian]

The only contention I have (which isn't very big) is to suggest simply putting the locals' block on sale first ... this way, once they're gone they're gone, and locals without locals' tickets will know what they have to do vs. being dependent upon a somewhat misguided notion that they'll be "looked after" on the ticket front.

This is certainly something we'll consider for next year. 

FYI... On the afternoon that tickets went onsale in December, we had our first meetings about what to do if tickets sell out earlier than April (the previous record set in 2011).  The first thing we discussed was moving up locals tickets, so they'd be available before the general pool of 4-day passes sold-out.  January 9 was the earliest we could do it to give everyone fair warning and avoid conflicts with holiday schedules.  Backed by 38 years of historical ticket sales data, we thought there was no way 4-day passes could sell-out before then... 

[FaceOnMars]

The only contention I have (which isn't very big) is to suggest simply putting the locals' block on sale first ... this way, once they're gone they're gone, and locals without locals' tickets will know what they have to do vs. being dependent upon a somewhat misguided notion that they'll be "looked after" on the ticket front.

This is certainly something we'll consider for next year. 

FYI... On the afternoon that tickets went onsale in December, we had our first meetings about what to do if tickets sell out earlier than April (the previous record set in 2011).  The first thing we discussed was moving up locals tickets, so they'd be available before the general pool of 4-day passes sold-out.  January 9 was the earliest we could do it to give everyone fair warning and avoid conflicts with holiday schedules.  Backed by 38 years of historical ticket sales data, we thought there was no way 4-day passes could sell-out before then... 

Thanks Brian ... just a thought, there's always many ways to look at these things ... and probably many considerations which aren't always apparent.  I knew that you had originally planned on making locals' tickets available in March, but it was moved up to January 9 ... which was a probably a good thing.  It all caught me by surprise too.

There was another local in line who I frequently see at other shows around the country ... where he always seems to wait to get tix until the very last second in the lots (but always manages to get in), yet even he was standing in line for a ticket in Jan.   I thought it was kinda funny, but also telling about knowing when to be on the ball with all of this ... although some locals will probably be taken by surprise or just not up to or able to commit the $$ at the moment.   The whole really high demand thing hasn't been part of the equation for a while .... so it's going to throw those who aren't paying attention.    Guess people will just have to learn and adapt for the next go around ... although there's still single days to be released.

[Pilgrim99]

Oh, as long as I dish out 3k for a few days stay, just to catch the TBF love train, I spouse.... 

Yes. And my wife, two kids and I will be adding our 3 or 4k to the local economy, since we also stay on after the fest for a couple days, patronize the local establishments, and shop a bit. Without the festival, we'd have dropped our 12-15k over the last few years somewhere else.

I was hanging out here in Cleveland with a fellow festivarian last weekend, and he has an interesting take on the sudden explosion of popularity of TBF. He can expound on it, I'm sure, since I know he'll read this, but the short version is: this, too, shall pass.


 Listening to: Audio proofs of the online courses I wrote last quarter. ZZzzzzzz......

[landshark]

  Yes indeed

[FaceOnMars]

click on the link for a picture, but story follows (was wrong, 11:45am vs. 10:45)

http://www.telluridenews.com/articles/2012/01/10/news/doc4f0b9f0d9182b696659389.txt

Telluride Bluegrass Festival locals passes sell out in less than three hours
By Kathrine Warren
Staff Reporter
Published: Tuesday, January 10, 2012 6:08 AM CST
At 5:30 a.m. on Monday, Darcie and Ginny Gordon set up two camp chairs in front of the Telluride Music Company. It was a chilly 15 degrees outside, but Darcie was determined to secure four-day passes to the Telluride Bluegrass Festival this summer.

“It was very cold, and we were kind of lonely,” Ginny said later in the day with a laugh. Darcie held down the fort while Ginny went back home to make breakfast. Soon enough they were joined by a few more people and by 9 a.m. a low-key line of 20 to 30 people was queued up in the bitter cold in front of the store.

Within a few hours, all of the 450 locals four-day passes that were available at the music store were snapped up. And with that, four-day passes to the festival are officially gone, signifying a record-breaking sellout for the summertime music festival. (Single-day tickets will be available later in the spring).

Dave and Karen Lamb, owners of the Telluride Music Company, said they opened the store an hour early at 9 a.m. because it was so cold outside. They sold their last ticket by 11:45 a.m. Tickets were priced at $180 (a $15 discount) and locals had to show proof of their 81435 residency. Locals were limited to two tickets each.

*
Planet Bluegrass had bumped the locals sale to January from March this year in response to the searing pace of pass sales. All other four-day passes were sold out by last week.

“It’s not totally surprising, given that these are the only four-day passes left in the world,” said Planet Bluegrass’ Director of Communications Brian Eyster of Telluride’s sale.

It was another chapter in what has shaped up to be a year of historic ticket sales for the Bluegrass Festival. Discounted holiday tickets, which usually sell out in mid-January, sold out in two hours last month. The bluegrass.com webserver received more than four times more online users than its busiest day ever. And Planet Bluegrass had 50 percent more entries in its Town Park camping lottery than last year.

Last year four-day passes were sold out by the end of March, and the folks at Planet Bluegrass have been working since to adjust to the unprecedented ticket demands.

Locals passes have historically been released in March while merchant passes were up for grabs in early April. This year, Planet Bluegrass did away with the merchant pass program and made 250 more passes available for sale on Monday at the music company.

Karen Lamb said in past years they used to return leftover locals passes to the festival because they rarely sold out.

She said everyone on Monday was very grateful to be able to buy a pass. As the line died down, the last person in line got the last ticket.

“It wasn’t like we had a huge line of people that we had to say ‘go away,’” Lamb said. “That would have been hard.”

Eyster said Planet Bluegrass is not pushing the festival to new audiences this year and the unparalleled sell-out is due to a new “word of mouth frenzy about the festival.

“We’re on all these new radars that we’ve never been on before,” Eyster said.

Festival organizers would rather not sell out so early because festivarians and Telluride locals are being shut out of tickets since they’re accustomed to buying passes in May or June, he said.

Eyster said it’s been heartbreaking fielding calls from longtime festival patrons who did not get passes in time.

There’s still one more chance for people to get into Town Park during the summer solstice weekend in June, and that’s when single-day tickets are released.

Eyster said they will go on sale as soon as the festival confirms a daily schedule for the main headliners. Tickets will be $65 per day and sold online at bluegrass.com. (The Daily Planet will let readers know when those tickets are about to go on sale.)

Gordon said the new pace of ticket sales for the festival is concerning.

“I don’t know what the festival is going to do,” she said. “Telluride locals are the heart and soul of the festival. Planet Bluegrass needs to come up with a plan to allow a longer amount of time and more tickets for locals.”

The 2012 Telluride Bluegrass Festival is scheduled for June 21-24.

[completejohn]

I was hanging out here in Cleveland with a fellow festivarian last weekend, and he has an interesting take on the sudden explosion of popularity of TBF. He can expound on it, I'm sure, since I know he'll read this, but the short version is: this, too, shall pass.

[/quote]

I really wonder if that, too, shall pass.  The fest has such a great reputation that it's becoming a "bucket list" item for music fans all over the nation.  And once you've attended, you KNOW you're coming back.

If this was a "normal" music festival with a sell-out problem, it would  be instantly solved with a massive price increase.  Marketing 101 points to price elasticity as the answer.  Double the price and you'll lose half your customers, still make the same amount of money, but now with more availability for growth. 

This is NOT a "normal" fest, thank goodness, and PB does a great job of keeping the prices down.  But I think that, with all the increased popularity, one day I'll be without a ticket and not happy.  That's a ledge we all hope to avoid, but looking at the quick sell-out and overabundance of "I'm coming, but still need tickets" listings on this forum, I'm afraid it's something we might all be challenged with someday soon.

I hope your friend in Cleveland can talk me down from that ledge.