Katy Perry tickets have been hot - and then a little cold - as promoters slash prices for her second show to try to make up numbers.
Photo: AFP
In 2010 and 2014 Katy Perry's shows sold out but this time around, her second Auckland concert is proving a hard sell.
Tickets prices were dropped to as low as $69 this week - half the original lowest ticket price.
Dunedin woman Julie Moyle's six and eight-year-old girls are huge Katy Perry fans so she had decided to take them to Auckland.
She was "pretty gutted" when she heard about the slashed price.
"We also have to fly up there, accommodation, rental car - the cost for me to go is humungous so to think the prices are now half price really, really annoys me."
Wellington man Brad Warrington - an RNZ sound engineer - is taking his daughter for her first concert.
"While the slashed tickets might be exciting for those who lived close to Auckland, the rest of the country couldn't risk waiting to see if they happened.
"In hindsight, you could be like, 'I should have held off'. But if you hold off and you're from out of town you have to make up the extra cost of airfares and accommodation."
He focussed on how special the night would be for his daughter.
RNZ has been unable to reach Perry's promoters TEG/Dainty for comment.
But another New Zealand promoter Manolo Echave, who's not involved in the Katy Perry gig, said it was unusual for promoters to slash prices.
It was part of a promoter's job to weigh up how many people would want to see an entertainer and book the right number of shows.
They were then contractually obliged to pay the entertainer for the shows - no matter how many people attended.
Slashing ticket prices was relatively unusual and was normally a last ditch effort to regain costs, Mr Echave said.
But it reflected badly on the industry and concert goers did not always understand the nitty gritty, he said.
"All they see is 'I paid $200 and that bugger paid $100' and it's just not fair," he said.
Auckland man Anthony Metcalfe found himself on the other side of the ticketing situation earlier this month.
When rap superstar Kendrick Lamar announced his tour, Mr Metcalfe balked at paying $160 a ticket, thinking, "Oh well, I'll see him another time."
But a couple of days before the show he checked Ticketek's resale website which often features last minute tickets.
"Usually if a show is sold out they're at an exorbitant price but I managed to get four tickets for me and my friends at half price - it seemed amazing."
Ms Moyle said she understood the promoter's situation but they should have gone about things better, perhaps offering something extra to those who had already paid top dollar.
