MUSIC fans in regional Victoria will face forking out hundreds of dollars to see Aussie singer-songwriter Tina Arena.
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Bendigo’s Ulumbarra Theatre will sell its most expensive tickets in its short history – $463 for a VIP ticket – ahead of Arena’s greatest hits tour.
Tickets for the Innocence to Understanding tour go on sale on April 27, with the cheapest seat set to go for $116.
Die-hard fans of Tina Arena can buy a Ruby package VIP ticket for $463 or a Silver package VIP ticket for $361.
A-Reserve tickets cost $182.60, B-Reserve is $131.60 and C-Reserve tickets go for $116.20.
Arena's Innocence to Understanding tour arrives in Bendigo on September 13 and is part of a 14-date tour that visit capital cities and regional centres including Toowoomba, Geelong and Launceston.
Tickets prices are the same at all stops on the tour.
Capital Venues and Events general manager David Lloyd said the tickets were by far the most expensive sold for Ulumbarra or The Capital, but that it was the artist’s representatives that set the prices.
“As far as the mechanics of who sets prices, it is certainly the artists’ representatives, not us,” he said.
“They hired Ulumbarra from us to present their show. So they pay a hiring fee plus a booking fee and other things in a standard commercial agreement.
“Prices set here are the same as in Melbourne. The difference is (Bendigo people) don’t have to travel because the show is in their own backyard.”
New World Artists, who is presenting the Tina Arena tour, has been contacted for comment.
VIP packages include a host of merchandise and souvenirs, and early access to the venue.
The Ruby package also includes a Q&A session with the songstress, while the Silver package will get people into the afternoon soundcheck.
Mr Lloyd said the theatre had never had an artist like Arena perform there before.
“This is the first time we’ve had an artist of that scale,” he said.
“With Ulumbarra able to show local audiences high quality artists with an international profile, we hope it is start of a few acts coming through Bendigo.”
Mr Lloyd said shows performed through Capital Venues and Events fell into three different types – local hirers who have a separate booking rate but set their own prices; commercial out-of-town hirers bringing shows like Tina Arena; and shows presented by Capital Venues and Events.
He said shows presented by the theatre had ticket prices set by Capital Venues and Events.
“The average price (for shows we present) is between $40 and $45 and we charge what we think is fair and reasonable,” he said.
“There are slight variations depending on the scale of the production and what we believe the audience are willing to pay.
“A vast majority of shows featured in our season brochure are our presentations.”
Prices for coming shows at The Capital and Ulumbarra range from $45 for Coranderrk, Dracula, Lior, and the Australian Doctor’s Orchestra to $69 for John Paul young and the Allstars Band, $89 for Rockwiz Live and $89 for the APIA Good Times Tour, which features The Black Sorrows, Vika and Linda Bull, Colin Hay, Deborah Conway and Mental As Anything.
Ticket prices to Midnight Oil at Hanging Rock ranged from $99 to $153. General admission for this weekend’s Red Hot Summer Tour is $99.
Mr Lloyd said ticket prices in regional areas tended to be less than those in metropolitan areas.
“You will pay significantly less to see most productions staged in Bendigo and other regional centres than if you went to Melbourne for the same show,” he said.
“People always say how affordable (regional shows are). If you go to the Arts Centre in Melbourne, you also have to pay for underground parking, travel and other expenses.
“It all comes down to demand and accessibility. We don’t want prices to be inaccessible.”