They only want to be your Friend - membership schemes at London music venues
Is it worth forking out for Friends' or Members' privileges at London's classical music venues? This is my experience:
The sell - Priority booking, dress rehearsal tickets, and a magazine
The truth - Friends can book earlier than the general public can, but there's a (unofficial) seniority system in operation which means longer-standing Friends are dealt with before newer ones. The Royal Opera House hold back a proportion of main house tickets for sale to the general public, so in theory you don't need to join the Friends to get a seat. What Friends' membership does give you is a wider choice of seats, and a greater chance of getting into popular Linbury Studio shows.
Although Friends can apply for dress rehearsal tickets for £10 (not open to the general public), there are only a limited number available, and in practice I've applied many times and never been allocated any.
The magazine comes, which four times a year, is really well put together - better in fact than many commercial publications. I'd happily buy it if it was available in the shops.
ENO Friends £50
The sell - Priority booking and dress rehearsal tickets
The truth - ENO shows rarely sell strongly in advance, so the advantages of priority booking are debatable. Coupled with which ENO don't always let you know when booking starts anyway.
Dress rehearsal tickets cost £10-20 and rarely seem to sell out. They're not available to the general public, and for many people are the main advantage of membership, costing up to 4x less than full-price tickets.
Southbank Centre Membership £45 or £25
The sell - Limited priority booking, no booking fee. At the £45 level only you also get free entry to the Hayward Gallery, members' bar, some special events
The truth - Priority booking, in the Southbank Centre's book, just means you get a day or so's advance notice over the general public - and even then it doesn't apply for all events. The only time I've found it an asset is for the most popular contemporary music events, especially the Meltdown Festival. Even then it's a bit of a lottery - tickets for some events can disappear in ten minutes. The booking fee waiver is obviously helpful if you book a lot, though why they charge £2 for booking in the first place is mystery.
The members' bar is just as crowded as every other bar in the place, but at least it's got terrific river views. Hayward exhibitions currently charge £9 for entrance.
The sell - Priority booking for most events, 20% discount off most tickets, 15% off in Barbican cafés, bars and shop, a few special events
The truth - Some artists, like Cecilia Bartoli and Juan Diego Flórez, can sell out the Barbican almost instantly, months in advance. This is when priority booking comes in useful. The discounts are the real draw with this membership though. If you go to the Barbican regularly, membership can pay for itself many times over. And how many memberships - anywhere - give you a food and drink discount?
Wigmore Hall Friends £35 upwards
The sell - Priority booking, 10% discount on CDs and books sold at the Hall
The truth - The Wigmore Hall is teeny weeny, and stars like Andreas Scholl and Angelika Kirschlager can sell it out instantly. Unlike the Royal Opera House, the Wigmore doesn't hold back any tickets for the public, and these days several concerts sell out before public booking opens. So (unless you're lucky with returns), membership may be the only way to get tickets for some artists. Even then, the basic £35 membership is no guarantee, so upgrading to the higher priority of the higher levels (£85+) may be required. An upgrade also makes it more likely you'll get your preferred seat allocation, as the Friends booking process only allows you to state seat preferences, not to pick your seats.
Comments