How Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson Would Change Ticket Pricing

What you pay to headbang to Iron Maiden would be much different if frontman Bruce Dickinson had his way.

He says in a new interview with ATMosferas magazine that those closest to the performers — "which everybody says should be the most expensive tickets" — should instead be "the most reasonably priced tickets."

Dickinson argues that "the people who are gonna go there to the front of the stage are gonna be people who are real fans – people who are kids, people who can't afford the crazy money. But they are the people that need to be down the front. They're the people that are gonna keep this music alive."

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Costs for those who remain further back would then be higher, he said. "They might be fans, but they wanna bring their wife and they don’t wanna get too hot and sweaty and all the rest of it," Dickinson said. "So, there’s some seats at the top or something else like that, what they're gonna pick, and those get priced differently."

Usual Pricing in Place at Bruce Dickinson's Shows

Dickinson has assembled a solo touring band to support his latest album, The Mandrake Project. He'll be touring in Mexico and South America beginning in April. Tickets for these shows are priced in the usual way, however, as were Iron Maiden's most recent concerts.

"The promoters have somehow gotta make their money back," Dickinson admitted. "So, it's a delicate balance, but in general, ticket prices have gone through the roof. And some of the ticket prices that people pay – well, some of the prices people pay, for me, it's insane."

Dickinson's comments seem to have been sparked by astonishment over costs for U2's recent blockbuster residency in Las Vegas. "If you wanna go and see the U2 show, I think it was $1,200 per seat in the Sphere," Dickinson said. "I've got no interest in paying $1,200 to go and see U2 in the Sphere — none. A hundred bucks, maybe."