Aussie rock band Midnight Oil’s frontman Peter Garrett had some choice words to say about Taylor Swift and the price of her tickets.
Speaking on 107.1 SAFM’s Bec & Soda show this morning, the singer took a swipe at Swift for the ticket prices of her Australian shows, which were up to $1250 each for the most expensive ones.
“I’m not price gouging like Taylor, to be blunt,” he said, with radio host Soda reminding him Midnight Oil’s tickets used to be priced at $15.90. “The dollar end of it having looked at it from a distance, having been in this business forever, it is pretty brutal.”
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He clarified that he is not trying to dismiss her success as a cultural phenomenon.
“I wouldn’t begrudge anyone’s success, that’s the first thing to say, she’s obviously touching a chord with masses of people, particularly people of a certain age group who have experienced growing up at a certain time, and what she’s singing and talking about is really ringing true with them,” he said.
However, the former politician said that her success on the Australian charts is “displacing artists left right and centre.”
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“I think at one point in the last week or two, we only had three Australian artists in that top 100 (ARIA Top 100),” he said.
“Not good enough! That’s not me crying about it, I’ve had an incredible run. But I think about the younger artists coming through and it’s extremely hard for them now.”
A long-time climate activist and former Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts, he also criticised her use of her private jet, most recently used for a round-trip to Hawaii to pick up her boyfriend, Travis Kelce.
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“She’s not setting a good example, fixing it is a matter of Governments getting tough on corporations and changing over to renewable energies,” the singer said.
“I’m sure they could sit up the front of a Qantas plane, and, or, a you know, Japan Airlines plane or whatever and still get a tummy tickle.”