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Jacko: Ticket Or Refund?

Posted Tue 30 Jun 2009 11:47AM BST by Dave Rumour in Snap, Crackle and Pop
As millions continue to mourn the death of Michael Jackson across the globe, many fans who bought tickets for the pop superstar's ill-fated "This Is It" dates have also been wondering when or if they will get their money back. Around 800,000 reportedly paid considerable sums to see his much-anticipated but unlikely comeback, which was scheduled to stretch across 50 dates at London's O2 Arena. Today news emerged that the promoters have come up with a novel idea to commemorate his passing.

All fans will be eligible to a refund or can instead sacrifice the money to receive their exclusive ticket, which features a holographic, 3D image of Jackson in one of his iconic, dancing poses. Eight different versions are understood to have been printed and AEG Live say they have been inundated with requests from fans who are eager to keep what are sure to become collector's items and a highly-sought after piece of music memorabilia.

Company president Randy Phillips explained they were keen to make sure people were treated fairly after missing out on the chance to see Michael. "The world lost a kind soul who just happened to be the greatest entertainer the world has ever known", he explained. "Since he loved his fans in life, it is incumbent upon us to treat them with the same reverence and respect after his death." For more information on the refund policy and to view what are said to be the final live shots of Jackson, taken just two days before his death, view the video clip below:



What do you think of AEG's plan? Is it a cheap gimmick or a fitting tribute to Jackson? Will you be seeking a refund or a commemorative ticket? Have your say here...
648 Comments

21. Steve A -
Im bit unsure about this one, but if it was my money id take the ticket and frame it like said above, it will be a collectors item for sure :D

22. Elizabeth -
It is cheap, they should give out the tickets anyway as well they are not gonna use it are they as well as the refunds, it is their statutory right to get a refund as the event never went ahead.

23. andrew -
What a con.

Funny how this "Special ticket" was suddenly available.

Also, who wants to keep hold of a ticket for a guy who never played the gig. Oh yeat, the people who think that by asking for a refund they're disrespecting the memory of a man who got paid up front even before the gigs took place.

Don't do it !

24. GSter -
Are these people taking the piss?
They must think people who paid good money for tickets are stupid...give us our money back

25. Yahoo! Music User -
i paid for 6 tickets with my credit card so inured the surcharge as well, i paid over 450 for all my tickets so yes will indeed be seeking a refund altho not too sure if its a full refund which includes all the surcharges i had to pay, this does not mean i dont love MJ just its an awful lot of money to me and id rather by some MJ albums with it.

26. Yahoo! Music User -
Having a ticket instead of a refund is on the face of it a good idea for the avid fan - if of course you knew where money already paid had gone. Will it be given to the estate to benefit the children, or would some fat cat eat it up. You could never be sure, so I think most will go for the refund.

27. Kim -
personally, i would have prefered the concert to go ahead as it was with all the dancers, effects, perhaps with tribute acts. thisi would have been a true celebration of his life and music. i don't want my money back and i certainly don't a souvenir ticket!

28. Katie -
I think its disrespectful to ask the fans to choose between the two. As the tickets cost next to nothing to produce, it seems to me they are just making a quick buck out of the death of Michael. I am a true fan, but I think they are just trying to hold on to as much money as possible now that their "recession blanket" is gone.

29. Jonathan -
I'll be seeking a refund.

How about a free commemorative ticket to show how much AEG appreciate the fans?

30. Yahoo! Music User -
I think that fans who originally paid to see the tour should be given both a full refund and the special ticket. It is very cheap of AIG to suggest that simply giving fans a commemorative ticket for such a large sum of money is appropriate. This is just an example of how they are exploiting Michael and his fans now in death, just as many did when he was alive, to make money.

31. Gabrelle -
Cheap trick to glean money from fans. He only made a few albums with much space between. Not that good an artist. See all the white folks having to say something nice to show how much they care. Micky Jacksprat was a pratt. R.I.P
Modelled himself on John Travolta, a spider and Yasar Arafat. Probably a junkie and a mr big in the drugs and arms world.
Got it stashed somewhere.
"BEN" was good, but still a rat
Who is to say all images were jackson, could have been anybody, sure stars have paid doubles. Music engineer, so a clever guy. Forget the nutter, just around when pop competition was limited. Artificial creature

32. Janice D -
How much will it be worth on Ebay

33. Richard -
Ridiculous! An exclusive ticket? Hmmm, I think not when there are hundreds of thousands of them. What a con. Don't be stupid, if you want to get an "exclusive ticket" they'll be on Ebay for £20 from people who realise they've made a big mistake.

34. Andy L -
I'm sure that any true fan would like the memorbila item, but I'm just discusted at the amount of ticket touts that still have exess amounts tickets that are going to make a fortune as always on such unfortunate things

35. steve -
Good idea......but who will benefit from all the money not reclaimed? Surely the price of printing these tickets are only a fraction of the price of what was charged for them. Will the profit be going to help his children or donated to a worthy cause?

36. Francis -
LOL scared of losing money so they come up with this! It's all about the money they couldn't give a monkeys about Jackson the thought of loosing all that money so they got together and came up with this idea??? Bla bla about a novel ticket!! What about all the fans whom came from aus or america to see him and booked hotels? Will they hand out novelty tickets for that.

37. Dick -
Personally I feel this is just a way of the promoters limiting their liability to the fans who have bought tickets. I think fans will have to ask themselves how rare these tickets will be, they have printed so many that their value in years to come will be minimal

38. Yahoo! Music User -
That is just cheap! They try to make fans feel guilty for accepting a refund for a concert which he was probably too ill to perform. Even when somebody has died there are people there thinking about how they can make money on the back of the fans loss.

39. Kusum Sraman Swami M -
OH GOURANGA!!!
Another big big RIP-OFF here!!

40. Not God! -
Much better you know for everyone to take the money back and give it to one of his children's charities. Make a real difference NOW.

He gave millions to others. Now people could do a little of the same thing.
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