Way back in 2008, I looked at whether it was worth forking out for Friends' or Members' privileges at London's main classical music venues. The picture has changed since then - ROH booking has gone online, prices have gone up, demand has gone down. So here's a revised view based on my own experience.
Royal Opera House Friends £83, £345, £930 and up
The sell - Priority booking, dress rehearsal tickets, and a magazine
The truth - There are several levels of Friends - the more you pay, the higher booking priority you get. 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 sell-out shows. Plus less time in the infamous 'Waiting Room' if you book online. If you're happy with a cheap seat and go to a lot of shows, membership can even save you money, as the best cheap seats sell out quickly. Waiting for last-minute online returns is an alternative option to Friends membership for those with plenty of time on their hands.
Friends can apply for a limited number of dress rehearsal tickets for £16 (not open to the general public) - again, higher levels get higher priority, and are also allowed to buy more tickets.
The magazine, produced four times a year, is very old-fashioned compared to many European houses' offerings. But it's well put together, better in fact than many commercial publications, and I'd happily buy it if it was available in the shops.
ENO Friends £50 and up
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. Probably only an advantage if you need the best seats for the first night of the hottest shows (as many of these are held back as complementary seats for the other sort of 'friend').
Dress rehearsal tickets cost around £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. You could recoup your annual fee easily by attending rehearsals instead of full-price performances. On the other hand, it's so easy to get discount seats for most shows that you might think it's worth the gamble of waiting. Dress rehearsals are sometimes held during the day.
Southbank Centre Membership £45 or £27.50
The sell - Priority booking, no booking fee. At the £45 level only you also get free entry to the Hayward Gallery, members' bar, some special events (which are not usually free).
The truth - Few shows sell well enough to make priority booking a necessity. Plus, for most shows, the Southbank Centre hold back a large number of tickets for public booking and for later bookers. Often the held back tickets are the best ones. 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 despite the website's notoriously low speed. The booking fee waiver is obviously helpful if you book a lot, though why they charge £1.75 for booking in the first place is mystery. You don't need to be a member to take advantage of the various subscription discounts offered for buying 3 or more concerts in a series.
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 £10 for entrance, so if you {heart} art, then membership could be a good deal.
Barbican Membership £20, £40 or £100
The sell - Priority booking for most events and free art gallery entry at £40 and £100 levels, 20% discount off film tickets, 15% off in Barbican cafés, bars and shop, a few special events, members bar at £100 level
The truth - This used to be a great deal. Then they stopped giving a 20% members discount on classical music concerts (from 2012-13) and started discounting tickets for late buyers. Now it makes more sense to hold out and buy tickets at the last minute. Priority booking for most shows (except the odd contemporary music event) is worthless, since the prices have gone up so much recently that nothing sells quickly. If you want to save money, the best advice is - unless a show seems to be selling fast - to wait until a week or so before the show, and see what discounts are available. Also bear in mind that the cheap (balcony) tickets are not put on sale unless a fairly full house is anticipated, so you might want to wait for these. To save money on LSO concerts, book at the start of the season, when you can get a discount of up to 15% for multiple bookings - member or not.
Art gallery entry is normally £10, so if you're an arty, movie-loving type with an undiscriminating palate, then the gallery, cinema and food discounts may make membership more worthwhile.
Wigmore Hall Friends £40, £100, £200 or £500
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 Jonas Kaufmann and Daniel Barenboim 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 (£100+) may be required. For the hottest of the hot tickets - such as Herr Kaufmann - even the £100 level may not be enough. 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. If you're a regular Wigmore-goer, you can ease the financial pain by regarding the price of membership on a cost-per-seat basis - £100 spread out over 20 or 30 concerts doesn't seem quite such a shock.
