Kid Rock ‘fortunate’ to be able to slash gig prices

Kid Rock says keeping the costs of his live shows down is vital and reveals he’s surprised other artists haven’t followed suit.

He heads out on the road across the US this summer to support his upcoming album First Kiss. And he’s frozen ticket costs at $20 – a price he introduced during his Best Night Ever Tour in 2013.

He tells Billboard: “I’m so happy about the $20 thing. I’ve said before, I feel like I’ll be able to ride this into the sunset. We’ve even learned more from being the guinea pig to do it the first time, and now we’ve learned so much more.

“We thought about raising the ticket price five bucks, and then we’re like, ‘Let’s just keep it $20. Let’s find ways that we can be more efficient now that we’ve done it one time, that we can make more money but we’re not messing with the people who are paying.’ I’m just very fortunate to be in a position to do it.”

Rock is able to keep his ticket prices down by partnering with the gig venues and ticket outlet Live Nation and then splitting the costs from the shows. And he says he’s no idea why other artists haven’t copied his business model.

He continues: “It’s still nuts to me that nobody else has done it – not just $20, but has used the business model of showing up without a guaranteed amount of money and sharing the concessions and merchandise and really putting the weight on your back and passing the savings on to the fans.

“It’s a scary thing, because if nobody shows up, it’s time to hang it up if you’re playing for cheap like that. But it’s a lot of incentive for people to show up, too.”

Rock’s 10th studio outing First Kiss launches on February 24 via Warner Bros. Records.

He’s also featured in the latest edition of Classic Rock magazine where he talks about his early life and the closeness between him and his band. It’s on sale now.

Scott has spent 37 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in 2014 before moving into e-commerce in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, highlights deals, and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 12 years, Scott has written more than 11,500 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from news and features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.