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As far as autograph collecting and music fan experiences goes, I find the range of stories I hear about various meet & greets to be pretty fascinating. I've heard of people paying modest fees (or nothing) for wonderful, fun experiences - and other stories of fans shelling out large amounts of money for a massive disappointment. And, of course, everything in between.
I thought we should have a comprehensive thread on the topic. Have you been to a pre-show or post-show meet and greet or know someone who has? Was it a bargain or a ripoff? What was the mood - structured and hurried or casual and fun?
My favorite band does meet and greets at every headline show they perform on this tour, chosen at fandom by fans who sign up for their fanclub and enter the show-specific drawing. There is no charge, and (usually) I don't believe a show ticket is even required. They were asked about this in an interview early this tour, and the response from one of the band members, Martin, was pretty passionate about musicians who charge high prices for meet & greets. FYI: I get that this band isn't quite a household name yet, so there might be a sentiment of "Who are they to say . . ." However they have an interesting perspective as both successful musicians with Top 10 records and huge music fans themselves).
Here's that portion of the interview:
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I've never seen a meet & greet that is free! Who does this? I've seen events where bands or artists go to record or music shops and sign their new release or gear but to me, that's not a meet & greet either, it's a promo event. I guess there are more types of these things than I thought...
A lot more artists do this than you think. Off the top of my head, just this year-
Buckcherry had a free meet and greet after their show- but you did have to buy something from the merch table. Billy Bob Thornton had a free M&G after his band played- signed everything. The Baby's also had a free M&G and were great after the show, Carl Palmer's M&G after the show was free but he did have a bunch of stuff for sale at the merch table, but you didn't have to buy anything to meet him. Felix Cavaliere also had free M&G after his show, he was great and also signed everything you had. Nils Lofgren, JD Souther, and Chris Hillman also had free M&G all after their shows.
So maybe not the biggest names, but still I got 3 hofers, and an Oscar winner. These were all at the merch table after the show and not out by the bus.
I guess i just don't consider that sort of thing a "meet & greet" in the traditional sense. Many, many artists sit at their merch booths and sign after shows. Usually lower tier bands that don't sell out shows anymore, IMO. For me, a M&G is a separate event that costs money to participate in. Sure, pretty much the same exact thing happens at both versions, other than M&G participants usually walk away with some sort of physical souvenir from the band. The artists that sit at the merch booth usually do so to generate income off their merch- many fans have nothing to get signed so they buy a shirt, or a CD and get it signed, sales that probably wouldn't happen without the artists being at the table. The merch booth never comes into play at a paid M&G...
I guess in my book, it's the exact same thing. In a paid meet and greet, you get some swag, the artist signs your item(s) and you get a photo.
If the artist goes to the merch table after the show, you can buy something or not, you still get to meet the person and get a photo, and they may or may not sign your item(s) if you don't buy something.
Either way, the artist is still making some extra money and you are getting that physical souvenir from the band (if you bought something). Personally, I would rather buy a $15 set of drum sticks or photo and get my other items signed then spend $100 or more for the exact same thing.
Keep em coming, I like to read all of the above!
I don't think we're splitting hairs at all!! They are two totally different things that can have similar outcomes but different upsides.For me, the idea of being in a room with Brian Wilson and Al Jardine, meeting them, getting autographs, receiving limited edition merch or memorabilia, with proof of the event that provides informed COA, and not having to wait in line with hundreds or thousands of concert goers in various states of inebriation is pretty cool but at great cost. I think it's different because the bands that do signings at the merch stand almost NEVER do a separate meet and greet before the show- because that could piss fans off who pay a lot of money to meet them only to find out everyone gets to meet them anyways...
I'm not debating the benefits of relating these experiences, I'm just not wanting to see this thread derail into stories of events outside the venue.I don't think this was the intent. We get to see what happens when the artist signs at the merch table, we rarely get to see what happens at that M&G backstage or in a private room.
I think this is a great thread to hear about organized meet and greets also people asked all the time about artist signing habits, so they may be able to read through this thread.
Unfortunately most of my m&g's are informal, just sitting at the pub and having a beer with some artist. Meeting them backstage. Id say a most ip collectors aren't shelling out for paid m&g's.
Sometimes artist tweet lets meet at this venue, club and have a beer, or perhaps there going to announce something a day before I'm going to be at this Barber shop signing and handing out my new single. It's just fun, that's the way I look at it.
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