Taylor Swift and some other performers appear to have decided the old concert ticket-pricing model was not profitable enough and they have changed pricing strategies. Historically the most common strategy has been to price tickets low enough to ensure a rapid sellout of each venue. The sellouts provided bragging rights and strengthened demand for the artists by provoking fans’ fear of missing out (FOMO). The rapid sellouts also provided opportunities for scalpers to buy large blocks of tickets and resell them at much higher prices, which meant much of the income from the concert ended up in scalpers’ pockets rather than the artists. Now Miss Swift and others have decided profit is more important than volume, and initial ticket prices are much higher. Read more
Last week I read an article in the Wall Street Journal, ‘How to Lie With Statistics’: Teachers Union Edition, in which Alyssia Finley pointed out a number of misleading statistics reported by teachers unions. The statistics she cited included picking the baseline most advantageous to the union’s position, using misleading comparisons with groups that are not comparable, and referencing a stat from a different metric than the one they were actually discussing. These types of BS (Bad Statistics) are not unique to unions. We see them in all types of debates and negotiations. Specifically, BS are often used to justify lowering prices. Don’t be fooled. Use your analytics.