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Notes -
Reminds me of how Billy Joel doesn't have allocated seating at his gigs with his explicit reasoning being that he wants the people in the front row to be dedicated hardcore fans who love his music, as opposed to rich people for whom $1,000 is pocket change and who'll maybe sing along to the chorus of "Uptown Girl" and nothing else.
Sure, one just have to look at some high-end corporate events. I have seen star bands and artists perform to empty dance floor with everybody just standing around and chatting with their peers about latest project or simping for promotion. For them it is mostly social gathering where they want to mingle with their peers, and the artist is there just as an accessory to show off. It requires C level honcho on the dance floor for "fun" to start. It is ridiculous and artists hate it, but they do it to pay the bills.
A corporate event where most of the attendees never even intended to see the artist is completely different from the crowd you'd get at a show with $1000 tickets
Quite to the contrary. A $1000 show means a guy next to you may be somebody to do business with. It becomes a networking event first with performance being secondary. It is something happening even to top 300,000 global wealthiest people - they attend certain events almost out of obligation. There actually are even lower level analogies, something like Vienna Opera Ball
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