| Paranoid? They’re horrified.
Black Sabbath fans were shocked last week to learn the price of tickets to see the heavy metal legends’ farewell gig in their hometown of Birmingham in July.
It’ll be some day out. The original Sabbath lineup – Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward – are playing together for the first time in 20 years.
They will be joined at Villa Park by dozens of bands they inspired, including Metallica, Pantera, Slayer, Gojira and Anthrax.
All profits go to charity.
Even so, Sabbath fans took to social media to vent about how much they had to stump up to say they were there. Pre-sale ticket prices ranged between £197.50 and £834.
One fan shared a screenshot of the £2,932.50 demanded for a Gold Circle ticket “with an Ultimate Side of Stage Experience”. “I’d expect to be rocking out on stage with Black Sabbath for the price of these tickets,” he wrote.
He may have a point, but bands and other events can charge these prices only because people are prepared to pay them.
It’s a trend accelerated by the pandemic, to prize “experiences” over possessions or saving.
Last year, research by Barclays found UK consumers expected to spend an average of £3,322 on events, experiences and holidays between June and September.
People are often happy to spend £100 a month on takeaway coffees, gym membership, fashion and other experiences, even when money is tight.
Instead, diverting that same amount into a pension, ISA or other savings vehicle could lead to a substantial sum by the time they reach their stadium years.
We ran the numbers.
Even stuffing £100 into a sock each month for 25 years would give them £30,000 more than setting aside nothing.
Put that money into a savings account in the bank or a cash Isa, to take the edge off the effect of inflation, and they would be sitting on more like £37,000.
Better still, a managed fund, the sort with a mix of assets we often recommend to clients. Even an “average” performer that kept pace with its global benchmark and no better would have delivered nearly £63,000 over 25 years.
Sheltering that fund in a pension wrapper, and benefitting from the Government’s contribution of £25 for every £100 paid in as a basic rate taxpayer, would have increased the value of those savings to nearly £80,000.
Even Ozzy and the gang would think that rocks.
Martin Brown, Managing Partner at Continuum, was talking to Gary Parkinson, former financial journalist at The Times and BBC. |
