Monday, The Jacksons, along with the Concert Promoter - Global Live Events- released the much anticipated information on the 'Michael Forever Tribute Concert'. Followed later that day with what could loosely be described as a 'Press Conference' with Katherine, LaToya, Tito, Marlon & Jackie.
Uproar within the fan community followed shortly afterwards....
Why Wales??
The family should not be organising and attending concerts at such a time. The date Oct 8th would more than likely be during the Trial (set to start 20th Sept).
The ticketing process - unlike any other and wholly biased toward the more well heeled fans
&
Who the hell were Global Live Events?
I am doing this Post to try to sort out the two main issues, that are really causing the main rifts in the fan community, namely......
1. The Ticketing
2. The Family attending and organising this when they should be in court representing their brother/son against a murdering b**rd!!
Firstly the ticketing:-
As a Brit this is my main issue and I so agree with a lot of the statements here that at this current time and economic climate, the majority of Michael Jackson fans are going to be hard pressed just finding the cash to purchase the basic ticket prices (let alone price + charity donation). Now I am sure no one here has anything against the idea of the money going to Charity. However, what would be fairer (and what is the usual procedure) would be to have a percentage of the ticket cost going to charity. If we cannot afford any more that £5 or £10 are we going to miss out on getting a ticket, against those more well heeled fans who can? I know that Chris (Hunt, CEO Global Live Events) said they had done it this way, because they felt it was fairer and to give everyone a chance at getting a ticket. However, where is fair, if it all boils down to a case of the more 'well off' standing a better chance, of getting in. Everyone is feeling the pinch just now and with Christmas just round the corner, many of Michael's most loyal fans are going to be 'priced' out of the picture, I feel. Chris Hunt would do well, to perhaps explain further exactly how fair this system will be to us/them. He also added it was to prevent that mass surge for Tickets as soon as they went on sale. Now I dont know about other guys but to me part of the excitement of getting tickets is that build up of waiting by your laptop/computer/phone, for the 'lines' to open and the excitement when you do get through! It is all part of the 'experience'. What though people have to realise is that by removing this he is actually saving himself some money. Since he will not have the cost of providing and maintaining, I would assume the sort of site that would support the volume of traffic generated by selling them this way. So it isnt really just about 'fairness' but a 'cost saving' excercise as well.
Secondly - The Family:-
This is my perception of things.....If some of you have seen my previous postings (some in other forums), I have explained that GLE is a very new Company only set up in March this year (remember that!). It has a 'sister' Company called Iambic Rights which has been running for slightly longer (2010). Both Companies are completely identical - they have concentrated primarily on TV projects, with some live Theatre. It is mainly run by 'TV people'. Neither Company has had any experience in hosting a Live Concert.
I think that the folk from Iambic desperately wanted to 'spread their wings' and venture into the arena of Concert Promoting. What better way to launch yourself than to host the 'mother of all Concerts' - a Tribute to Michael'. They may well have seen many of us moaning online that there hadnt been anything. So they start courting 'The Jacksons' (well, Katherine I think mainly). To seal the deal they throw in the pot a 'Trust Fund' for the kids. Here we hit a grey area, since, if the kids are being taken care of through the Trust Fund in Michael's Estate, then this shouldnt really bare any weight, however, there are obviously 'issues' between 'The Jacksons' and 'The Estate'. We can only speculate what these might be. Anyway obviously, it does and they get them on board. In a Press Release they mention that it was in April of this year ( remember GLE was set up in March) that the deal was sealed.
Here I do concur with what others have stated on postings on here that when they sealed the deal the Trial was due to start in April. They had no idea it was going to be 'bumped up' to September'. Yes, maybe they should have just not organised anything till after the Trial was over, however, they probably, naively, thought it would have been by then.
Now it is set to start end September, however that is only if they have got the Jury sorted out by then. I am extremely dubious that they will have and I would be extremely surprised if Court actually starts on the date it is set for (Sept 20th). Even if it is a week later, the first week or so is generally taken up with 'Opening Statements' and 'Instructions'. I am also sure that even if they are all not all there, they will have a 'presence there. At tops the family may only miss one maybe two days, however, that is only if Court starts on time! Yes, they could have waited but the way, between them, the Prosecution and Defence have been delaying this Trial, it could have been another year and one wonders what sort of pressure the folks at GLE have been putting Katherine under
As for Randy & Jermaine's 'Tweet' about it being postponed till after the Trial. Well let's just cast our minds back about 3/4 weeks and the disasterous Q&A session Randy did on Twitter, for which he was absolutely slated by the fans, then there is Jermaine all the inane comments he comes out with. Neither one are our favourites. So is it surprising that they have seen an opportunity to ingratiate themselves with us, that they have grabbed it? Remember also, as some have mentioned on here that Jermaine will probably anyway be absent doing his book tour! So he has a cheek!
There is no two ways about it this concert and the way it is being handled and promoted is far from the norm. The line up as well hasn't been announced. Is that because which big name artists are going to feel comfortable working with a Company that has no track record of producing a major live event?
There is also the issue of them doing it all outside of The Estate as well. Why? As mentioned above clearly there are issues between Katherine and them. My take, for what it is worth, is that it might be a lot to do with the fact that they are not happy with the people Katherine is doing business with (and one can only speculate whether it is also because one of them is Howard Mann). As mentioned in my previous post. Although The Estate have control over Michael's name and image. These guys obviously have access to the 'initials logo' which they can market things through, and you can bet that none of the proceeds of those items will go to Charity!
Do I think this concert will every see the light of day....right now....NO!
If it does would I attend? Depending on the line up and if they tweeked the ticketing procedure.....Maybe, since in my mind it would be my way of showing my support for Michael, since we in the UK do not have the luxury of being able to stand outside the Courthouse in LA.
All this, I must re-iterate, is just my perspective and a lot of it purely speculative, since because, as usual, our questions never seem to get answered, this is all we are left to do....speculate! It would be wonderful if, just for once, The Jacksons would come out from behind their veil of protective secrecy and actually answer our questions
No comments:
Post a Comment