- Regine Velasquez-Alcasid and Ogie Alcasid shared why OPM artists feel dejected when foreign artists come to the Philippines and have a concert.
- They shared why they wish that concert ticket prices should be equal, OPM or foreign.
- They likewise explained why the Philippine government should support OPM financially.
Martin Nievera, Ogie Alcasid, Regine Velasquez-Alcasid and Erik Santos admitted they feel bad when foreign artists have a concert in the Philippines. Foreign artists usually have high prices for a single general admission concert ticket compared to OPM’s. Martin, Ogie, Regine and Erik will have their pre-Valentine’s Day #paMORE concert on February 10, Saturday, in Mall of Asia Arena.
Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mang-aawit (OPM) President, Ogie Alcasid, shared that they actually don’t have a control over the prices of concert tickets.
“The truth is, we have no control over this matter so, sila-sila mismo, ‘yung mga promoters, ang nagpa-price ng mga tickets na ‘yan.”
He continued to compare OPM and foreign artist concert ticket prices.
“And siyempre, aminin man natin o hindi, nahihirapan din ang OPM dahil diyan because ang layu-layo ng prices ng tickets, tapos ‘yung kanila, laging sold out kaagad.”
His wife, Asia’s Songbird, also shared her insights on the said matter:
“Actually, we feel bad about it, like for me. Because you know the cost of producing a concert is very, very expensive now. Everything is so expensive. Kaya nga po, wala nang nagpo-produce masyado.”
Regine also explained that they couldn’t raise the prices.
“Hindi naman daw nila magawang mahalan ang tickets dahil umaalma raw ang manonood ‘pag mahal. Aalma sila kasi local artists lang kami.”
She additionally shared why she feels like a second-rate citizen in the Philippines.
“So we feel kinda bad because if somebody like Madonna comes here and tickets are 50,000 bucks. And the concert-goers would just buy it just like that. So, as OPM artists, parang feeling namin, second-rate citizens kami in our own country. Because we can’t even charge like that in our own country.”
Ogie actually wishes that concert ticket prices cost the same.
“At sana, magkaroon tayo ng body na magko-control nito, sa government. Para ma-protektahan din natin ang mga ticket buyers na hindi na sila lumabas ng bansa para manood.”
Ogie explained further that concertgoers who buys Php 25 thousand worth of ticket for a foreign artist. With seats are far away from the stage. VIP seats are also the only seats close to the stage but cost more than half of the regular seats.
Regine hopes for the Philippine government to do the same as South Korea, supporting their own local artists. This also became the reason why K-Pop remains successful.
“Kaya sila successful kasi talagang sinu-support ng kanilang government. Tayo kasi, hindi masyadong supported.”
