The musical Starmania may be a Franco-Quebec work, but audiences from both countries are not in the same boat. Tickets for the highly anticipated show, which will take place at Place Bell in Laval in August 2024, cost twice as much in Quebec as in France. We tried to find an explanation.
To see the new version of the rock opera by Luc Plamondon and Michel Berger and hear cult songs such as Le blues du businessman and Le monde est stone, a French viewer can spend 45 US dollars (30 euros). In Quebec you have to pay at least US$91.
However, it is the same show and the same artists as in Paris, explained Starmania producer Thierry Suc during a press conference on Thursday in Montreal.
For us, Evenko is co-producer of the event. Tickets are sold on the Ticketmaster platform. We compared prices in both countries for all seat types.
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We see that in Quebec there are many more different price categories, reaching a maximum price of $316.5, including taxes and fees, while in France the most expensive seat is $141.5 (95 euros).
Nothing unusual, Evenko replies
We asked Evenko what explains the price difference between single and double prices. The communications department initially answered us that the ticket prices for the shows presented at Place Bell are similar to those of the shows in France, taking into account the exchange rate.
Then Evenko reiterates that the seats, which cost 30 euros ($45) in France, come with a limited view of the stage and that we cannot see the entire scenography. However, the author of these lines attended the show in Paris with a 30 euro ticket and the visibility was very good.
Ticket prices for a musical event of this magnitude are comparable to other musicals performed in North America.
Evenko adds that Starmania is a large-scale and complex rock opera with more than a hundred people on tour.
During the press conference to announce the show’s release on Thursday, producer Thierry Suc explained that it was a huge challenge to bring the show to market and that it was very expensive to produce.
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If we look at the ticket prices
In France, only 2.20 dollars (1.5 euros) are added to the initial sales price for the costs associated with issuing the electronic ticket. In Quebec we charge a fixed fee of $3.75 as well as service fees proportional to the ticket price. These service fees range from $12 for the cheapest tickets to $52.75 for the most expensive.
The Ticketmaster website states that the fee goes to the venue and is used to cover the costs of hosting the event. The service fees are shared between the parties involved in running the event, including the venue, Ticketmaster, the organizers…
However, these additional costs are not enough to justify the price difference.
We therefore asked the production of Starmania in France if they had an explanation. “We are not in a position to answer your question,” a spokesman replied, before asking us to contact the show’s producers in Quebec.
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In this spherical event hall in the middle of the river and on the outskirts of Paris, the Starmania show has been presented for over a year.
Photo: The Musical Seine
Supply and demand?
Professor Johanne Brunet, an expert in cultural industry marketing at HEC Montréal, suspects that there may be subsidies in France. It also reminds us that we do not know the agreements with ticket sellers, which may vary from country to country.
There is also supply and demand, she adds. Currently, Starmania is only showing for a week in Quebec, while the show has been running in France for more than a year.
You may skim, it is the principle of launching a product when there is little competition. Then we can afford to sell at a higher price.
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The musical Seine, which is currently hosting the show in France, has 4,000 seats. Place Bell will present Starmania in a 6,000-seat configuration.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Justine Roberge
The price of tickets has been the subject of much debate in Quebec and the rest of Canada in recent months. A visit to Toronto by singer Taylor Swift costs $2,000. Highlighted are resale sites (new window), but also dynamic pricing tools.