Is Rain Worth It?

High Concert Ticket Prices Raise Eyebrows
By Cathy Rose A. Garcia (The Korea Times)
Staff Reporter

Korean superstar Rain, who goes by his real name Chung Ji-hoon when acting, will soon embark on an ambitious world tour.
K-pop superstar Rain's upcoming world concert tour is generating a lot of buzz. After all, "Rain's Coming 06/07 World Tour" is perhaps the most ambitious and expensive world concert tour by any Korean artist.

Expectations are running high for Rain's world tour, which has been called a "make it or break it" tour since it will test his popularity and ability to appeal to people in different countries. With the budget for the concert reportedly reaching several millions of dollars, it is no wonder why concert tickets are being sold at a premium price.

The most expensive tickets for Rain's concerts cost 176,000 won (US$189) in Seoul, US$261 (244,000 won) in Las Vegas and US$313 (293,000 won) in Singapore.

Rain officially kicks off his world tour in Seoul on Dec. 15 and 16 at the Olympic Park Gymnasium. He is then scheduled to perform on Dec. 23 and 24 at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Tickets for the Las Vegas concerts are already sold out at Ticketmaster, even with the price of US$89 to US$261.

Celine Dion also holds concerts at the Colosseum, charging US$165 to US$350 for tickets. The Colosseum has a capacity of 3,800.

For Rain's concerts, organizers have arranged tour package deals for overseas fans who want to attend the concert and take a vacation in Las Vegas.

However, some U.S.-based fans were disappointed with the expensive ticket prices and the concert dates, which are scheduled right before the Christmas holiday. This has dissuaded younger fans from attending the concert.

For the Jan. 21 concert in Singapore, the front row seats were initially to cost as much as 530,000 won or US$570 each. However, these pricey seats are being reserved especially for VIP and purchasers of special package tours.

According to Regina Wong, Singapore's representative for Rain's International Fan Club, JYP Entertainment has also allocated 100 seats in these VIP sections for fan club members at only US$200 each. "JYPE put the seats up for sale last week and the 100 tickets at US$200 each were sold in 5 minutes," she said.

Tickets for the Singapore concert are now sold to the public for as high as US$313 (293,000 won). Rain's concert tickets are even more expensive than the priciest ticket to guitar legend's Eric Clapton's concert in Singapore, which go for US$256 or 240,000 won.

On the Singapore ticketing Web site, Rain's concert is billed as the "largest project in scale among world tours by a Korean artist" and "at par with Madonna's latest tour."

Some of the reasons for the expensive ticket prices are the high production costs and that Rain has hired prominent concert production people. These include stage director Jaime King, who has choreographed dance moves for Madonna and Britney Spears; Roy Bennett, who was production designer for Paul McCartney's 2005 U.S. tour; and visual director Dago Gonzalez.

Star M, organizer of Rain's tour, said in a press release earlier that Rain's world tour is expected to generate 106 billion won (US$113 million) in revenue. It estimated that 56 billion won (US$59 million) will come from admission fees and the rest from tour copyrights, DVD sales and merchandising.

Rain is scheduled to hold a concert on Feb. 3 in Bangkok. Concert dates are also being planned for Japan, Vietnam, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Taiwan.
cathy@koreatimes.co.kr
Source: times.hankooki.com

doozy: Hm... this is a tough question for me to answer. I was definitely shocked when I discovered how expensive the tickets are upon the announcement of his world tour. Also, seeing his concert price compared to the likes of Celine Dion and Eric Clapton is kinda surreal to me. However, the music business is a business so it's basically all about supply and demand. Bi does have a large and diverse fan base and if his fans are willing to fork out the dough to see him in action, then good for them, him, and the charities that will benefit from the concert. Happiness all around.

As for me, as much as I love Bi and his music and would like very much to see him in concert at least once in this lifetime, I'm still not willing to part with my $200 because I love Mr. Franklin just a tad more at this moment. Although, what if the time comes when I'm a little more well-off but Bi's not holding any more concerts? What will I do? Hence, shouldn't I, now, seize the moment and live for the present? Ah~ life is full of potentially regretful moments, isn't it?

Wait a minute, did I answer the question as to whether Bi is worth the money?
Generally speaking, yes, he is. Personally speaking, no. Does that make any sense?