Ekko allows visitors to decide how much to pay for concert tickets

Concert tickets have gotten considerably more expensive in 2024, observes Dirk Baart, who is responsible for Ekko's programme. The concert venue fears that part of the audience can no longer afford tickets, which is why they are carrying out a pilot alongside the booking agency Friendly Fire. The idea is to lower prices for that group without losing too much revenue.

Next year, concerts organised by Ekko and Friendly Fire will offer a flexible pricing system. Visitors can choose from three options: the cheapest rate, aimed at those with little to spend; the regular rate; and the high rate, for those with more discretionary income. A regular ticket usually costs around 15 euros. Cheap tickets will cost 5 euros less and expensive tickets 5 euros more.

The choice is voluntary and based on solidarity. "We hope people with enough money will be willing to pay a bit more to keep the price low for people with little money," Baart explains. Throughout the year, Ekko will evaluate whether the system works and ask those who choose to pay more about what their reasons for doing so.

According to Baart, this pilot does not mean that students will automatically always pay the low rate. "Some students do not have a lot of money in their wallets, while others have a decent side job or rich parents, so they can afford the regular rate." The venue will not check whether or not people paying the cheap rate could afford to pay more. It will be up to customers to make an appropriate decision.

Ekko stresses that the flexible pricing system only applies to concerts organised alongside Friendly Fire. Sometimes the duo organises concerts in other venues, such as Acu or De Nijverheid. The flexible arrangement will apply to those concerts too. All other concerts and parties held at Ekko will maintain their prices.

This is not the first time this has happened in Utrecht. The festival Le Guess Who has devised a similar system called "pay what you can". Some of the day tickets were on sale in a way that allowed guests to decide how much to pay. They could choose between 10, 20, 30 or 40 euros, while regular tickets cost between 65 to 78 euros. The difference between Le Guess Who and Ekko is that the latter also allows customers to pay more than the regular fee if they can. They argue that this possibility would make the system last longer.