Whaddya Want for $20? A Ticket to Pearl Jam?

Rock fans aren’t the only ones concerned over the escalating price of concert tickets.

Pearl Jam, arguably the hottest U.S. rock act these days, has put promoters around the country on notice that no ticket at any of its summer shows can be sold for more than $19.80--service fee included.

Tickets for most rock concerts range from around $22 to $55, plus phone service charges that often add about $6 to $8. Promoters sold seats to upcoming Barbra Streisand and Eagles concerts for as much as $350 and $115 respectively.

“Everybody in the music industry is not only out of touch, they’re getting just plain greedy,” Pearl Jam manager Kelly Curtis says. “Pearl Jam doesn’t want to be a part of the way it works now. We’re not trying to go to battle with anybody, but we believe the prices these middlemen charge are simply not worth the service they provide.”

The Seattle quintet issued letters last week to promoters vowing to perform only at venues that charge no more than $1.80 for service or handling charges--a fee that must be clearly printed in concert advertisements and on the face of each $18 ticket.

Pearl Jam’s action flies in the face of industry standards instituted for the most part by Ticketmaster, a Los Angeles-based firm that has dominated the service fee market since 1991 when it bought certain assets from Ticketron, thus putting its primary competitor out of business.

Ticketmaster--which processes more than $1 billion worth of tickets each year to concert and sporting events in 42 states--pays venue owners a portion of each convenience fee it collects to subsidize exclusive long-term contracts. Some promoters and artists also retain a portion of service fees.

Fred Rosen, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Ticketmaster, declined comment on Pearl Jam’s move.

The debate over ticket prices and service fees has been intense for years as fans continue to be charged higher prices by artist managers, promoters and service companies as well as by private brokers and scalpers.

Pearl Jam has tried to save fans money by selling as many tickets as possible directly through its fan club, following in the footsteps, Kelly says, of the Grateful Dead. The club’s address: Ten Club, PO Box 4570, Seattle, Wa. 98104.

The group has found it difficult in the past to lower service fee rates because promoters affiliated with venues under contract to Ticketmaster could not charge such low fees. Two promoters contacted by Pop Eye expressed reservations about Pearl Jam’s new policy, saying it could preclude them from putting on shows this summer.

But Kelly says the band is prepared to book shows in large fields or other outdoor venues not traditionally associated with the national concert circuit. The tour--set to kick off in Montana in June--does not include a Los Angeles area date.

“There are not many bands who are in the position where they can try to do something that really makes a difference for young fans who don’t have much money,” Curtis says.

“(Lead singer) Eddie Vedder knows what it feels like not to have enough money to be able to buy a ticket or a T-shirt at his favorite band’s show and he wants to turn this thing around. We think this new policy is going to put a crack in the dam and that other bands with good intentions will soon follow our lead.”