Pearl jam rocks

In 1995, Pearl Jam canceled their tour due to a dispute with Ticketmaster, which began in 1992 with two free concerts in Seattle. Ticketmaster charged a fee of one dollar per ticket, which Pearl Jam found unacceptable. The band decided to distribute the tickets themselves.

In 1993, they set a maximum price of $18 for their concerts, despite promoters suggesting triple the price. They also reduced the price of their T-shirts, giving up $2 million in revenue.

In 1994, Pearl Jam declared that they would only play at venues that respected the maximum price of $18 and fees of less than $1.80. This led to a conflict with Ticketmaster, whose "service charge" ranged from $4 to $8. The band refused to give in, and because Ticketmaster controlled most of the concert venues, the 1994 summer tour was canceled, resulting in a loss of $3 million.

After the release of Vitalogy in 1994, Pearl Jam announced a summer tour only at venues not affiliated with Ticketmaster, organizing everything themselves.

Pearl Jam

Keeper · M

Pearl Jam also released official “bootleg” CDs of their live concerts (each city) and sold them for like $10. circa 2000

This was to additionally spite TM for their unfair fees and give back to the fans. They also got sick of others illegally recording their entire live shows and selling on the black market. All of course before the total digital age.

I still have the CD from the show that I went to that year. Kind of cool (at the time) to be able to listen to the full concert that you just went to. I believe they released 60 or 70 different shows/cities that tour.

They tried to fight the beast. I give them credit.