I'm the mother of a Hannah Montana fan . . .

. . . and I was fine with that, until the greed monster settled in. We tried to get tickets for Gwynnie's birthday, but only about five people got them ahead of Will before it was "sold out". (Can someone explain to me how tickets can sell out that quickly?) However, if you signed onto the official fan club at mileyworld.com for $29.99, you were led to believe you'd get a ticket to the popular, always sold out concerts Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana) is putting on these days.

Well, it didn't work out quite that way. The organization is being sued by some angry parents who plunked down the almost 30 bucks.

I have a couple of thoughts on this:

1. Anybody willing to pay thirty bucks to pay another fifty for a ticket needs their head examined.

2. I wouldn't join the club on principal. It seemed that once again, here was somebody catering to the rich kids, somebody who didn't care a fig about their little fans from less prosperous households.

3. It seemed so overtly greed-greed-greedy that, as someone who believes in benevolent capitalism, I decided to vote with my pocketbook by keeping it shut.

Wow, things are sure different than they used to be!

Link: Pout and Shout - New York Times.

ALL is not well in MileyWorld.

Jeff Swensen for The New York Times

I QUIT Mia Piazza, 9, in her Hannah Montana costume, wants out of an official fan club.

Members of mileyworld.com, mostly preteen and young teenage girls devoted to the Disney TV show “Hannah Montana” and the show’s star, Miley Cyrus, are suing the singer’s official fan Web site for allegedly promising them first dibs on concert tickets and leaving them empty-handed.

Comments

[dianne]

This kind of stuff gets my goat too. I hope enough people complain loudly enough because I'm a long time Billy Ray fan and this just doesn't seem to go along with what I like about him (I'm sure it corporate promoters, nevertheless they have to know it reflects badly on them).

[Jimmy_C]

The HM show came through here the weekend after Thanksgiving. Greensboro and Charlotte were full of young ladies who could not afford, let alone buy tickets. Parents were paying $1500.00 to $2000.00 PER SEAT to see the phenom.
Abhorrent!!

[lisa]

I've heard about what's happening with the ticket prices, Jimmy! Parents who'll pay $2000 to shut up their child deserve to. I mean, it's not like the money was destined for a good cause anyway.

Dianne, I know, I think they were suckered in by a big marketing firm or something too. But still, they're the ones that come off looking bad, and they should. Asking people to pay for a better chance to get a ticket is, at best, sleazy.

[Katy McKenna]

I am rather new to the Hannah Montana thing. She was here in KC a few nights ago, packing out our new arena downtown. My sister works there at concerts, etc, selling drinks. I'll ask her what she knows about how much kids paid to get in...cause now I wanna know!!! BTW, I'd love to see Manheim Steamroller at this new arena next week, but the tickets are $100 each, so I refuse, on principle. It's just too much.

[Katy McKenna]

Yeah, the kids missed out here, too. Missouri's Attorney General is suing three ticket brokers for scalping the tickets for, typically 20 times their value. Reportedly, by one minute after the tickets went on sale, they were sold out. Then, within three minutes, you could get those same tickets on eBay, at jacked up prices few could (or would...) afford.

[Leanna Ellis]

My daughter (8) wants to be into Hannah Montana and I've resisted. She's asking for a cd for Christmas. And I'm really clueless. Is it appropriate? We've never even seen her show.

[lisa]

I haven't found anything traditionally offensive about Hannah Montana. The humor is clean and zany and there's a lot of family love going on.

If you're trying to ward off against materialism and 14-year-olds with lots of make-up and hair extensions, I might take a pass. We're so overtly outspoken in our house about how fake Hollywood is and these shows are, that Gwynnie isn't overly influenced by the typical Disney Image, where everybody's thin and glamorous. Except for Raven who's the best of the bunch.

[Katy McKenna]

One of the stores here in a swankier mall did "makeovers" of the little girls all day before the concert that night. After the girls had their hair, face, and outfits done, they practiced their dance moves while singing into mics. The store spokeswoman on the local news said they were helping the kids "bring out their inner Hannah Montana." That kind of stuff drives me crazy, plus it was a school day. Are all of these girls REALLY homeschooled and even if they ARE, what subject does "make-overs" fall under? ;)