Remember, some people in the forum lack common sense and business sense.
Exactly.
This has been a disturbing thread to read.
It's actually surprising how people who claim to be so "knowledgable about the underground" are extremely clueless about the business.
I understand that many of the comments are simply an extention of "take a cheap shot at Metallica" Those will never go away. That is fine if it is warranted (IE - "St Anger should have never been released", "Lars should keep his mouth shut more", etc, etc.)
Metallica has always set themselves apart from many of their early peers when it comes to their live show. This dates back to when they were playing clubs. It has extended into their commercial successful years. They put on an amazing production which costs mucho $$$$ in expenses to put on. Probably over 100 people travel with the band to make it happen.
Metallica in the past has done a number of smaller shows, primarily for Metclub members. Also, they did the Garage Inc tour about 10 years ago or whatever, where they played clubs / theaters.
They do plenty to keep in contact with the band, esp if you are a Metclub member.
Even though the ticket revenue for a sold out $75 / ticket show exceeds $1,000,000, think about the extremely large percentage of that which goes to expenses for the evening. This is why, for the most part, t-shirts at bigger shows are $35 - $45, as the band receives the majority of this, after the venue takes it's cut.
