Kimmel Center Hits Back After Josh Groban Comments About Price Gouging
Josh Groban may have a sweet voice but maybe not the sweetest disposition when it comes to price gouging. For an upcoming show in Philadelphia, Groban found out that the Kimmel Center was supposedly price gouging, charging an extra $20 per ticket more than all the other venues he was performing at, and he wasn’t happy.
As seen on CBS Local, Groban explained to Philly radio host Chris Stigall, “We said, ‘If you do that, we’re going to move venues,’ and they said, ‘Well, we’re going to do it.’ So, we said, ‘Okay, here we go’…They tried to gouge the fans in a way that other venues weren’t doing, so we left.”
Josh Groban ditched @KimmelCenter after they tried to jack up prices on tickets to his show: http://t.co/sqOxyEqVX2 pic.twitter.com/fW0NCe74nj
— Philly.com Ent (@PhillydotcomENT) May 12, 2015
And leave he did. Groban moved his September 16 show to the Tower Theater, which wasn’t a problem for him.
Groban said, “So we love the Tower Theater, they renovated it and I’m excited to go back there. That was my first concert in Philly, [at] the Tower, so it’s going to be full circle.”
So how exactly does the Kimmel Center feel about Groban’s accusations of price gouging? Not so happy as can be seen in their official statement.
On Tuesday, the Kimmel Center stated that they were “surprised by the comments made by Mr. Josh Groban this morning during a radio interview in Philadelphia.”
They then stated that despite the fact that they “worked very closely with our co-presenting partner LiveNation on this concert,” that Groban “decided to go to the Tower Theater before our negotiations were complete.”
What’s more, they refer to Groban as being “ill-informed.”
Josh Groban says no to price-gouging Kimmel Center. Kimmel says: “Mr. Groban was ill-informed” http://t.co/YkkIXFfh2F pic.twitter.com/tGWdQ5pq9S
— Philly.com (@phillydotcom) May 13, 2015
They fired back at Groban, saying, “The Kimmel Center’s ticketing system is on par with other performing arts centers both locally and nationally, providing a valuable patron experience among its campus-wide venues.”
Groban has not responded to the Kimmel Center’s recent statements.
Despite the whole debacle, Josh Groban is more than happy to be back in Philly period.
As seen on Philly.com, Groban said, “Philly is a city that has so many great venues and so many great musicians, of course, that it naturally attracts the best. I’m excited to get back here.”
Whether the Kimmel Center actually price gouged or not, one thing is certain — Josh Groban won’t be performing there anytime soon.
[Photo Courtesy of Indiana Public Media]
