Michael Jackson was scheduled to perform 50 shows in London as a form of comeback/farewell. As we all know by now, Jackson died of cardiac arrest and those concerts will never happen.
A refund policy has been announced that people who bought tickets can get a full refund, or can keep the ticket as a souvenir. A souvenir? Really? For a concert that never happened?
Here’s my question – why would they be worth anything? Tickets for his last actual concert would be worth a lot more. If I go out and print tickets that say “Michael Jackson: Live in Charlotte” for a date in 2010, that’s not going to make them a souvenir.
Jackson had already canceled four shows and it’s possible he may have never performed any of them. It’s more likely that the ticket brokers are trying to make a little money instead of having to return roughly $85 million.
Tickets for a concert that happened – a souvenir label and memories are attached to that. Tickets for an event that never happened – it’s called a worthless piece of paper.
This article appears in Jun 30 – Jul 7, 2009.
