Fighting The Good Fight Can Get A Little Tiring

In one of my videos I mentioned that I knew that one day this would call come to an end and at that time I would be both grateful and relieved.  It's very much a true statement. It really goes back to that Spiderman statement "With great power comes great responsibility".

I've been fighting people over these "minor fees". What's frustrating is even some of the people paying them think it's no big deal.  It's a big deal to me because if I give away a free ticket, that ticket should not come with a charge when you get to the door.  If someone calls and asks how much a ticket costs, I don't think there should be another charge later.  I think if you buy a ticket that says "admit one", you should be admitted. That's it.

Now most of you aren't minors and the minors are so used to being treated this way they don't think there is anything wrong with it.  But, think about this.  What if a "smoking fee" was next?  What if there was a "merch fee"? Maybe they'll charge you if you don't buy band stuff.  How about a "bottle fee" if you plan on drinking from non-recyclable bottles?

This isn't the first battle I've fought. I've went to bat over over-aggressive security, nasty bathrooms and many  non-concert related things. There was a time when I had to constantly battle the "drug abusing dirty rock and roll stereotype".  It was years after we launched FMX before a bank would advertise with us.  Probably the battle to have my audience respected was the toughest one (and yes, I won that one a long time ago). Now that my audience is respected as an economic force, I have to fight for them to not be given the shaft by people who do want their cash.

So in the end, it will be a relief when all I have to do is say "Welcome to Walmart" for eight hours and just go home.  In the meantime, I'm happy to stand up for you guys, I just need you to stand up for yourself as well.