This AP story doesn’t make the case. A few $20 tickets at a Keith Urban show doesn’t mean anything, and cheap seats in the back have been around for a long time.

The story cheerfully parrots the Ticketmaster-Live Nation line: That cheaper concert tix are on the way! As for the artists, they don’t want to make money either:

“It’s a balance for me,” Urban added, “because we want to put on a good show. I’d make every ticket $10, but we’d be up there with a megaphone and a flashlight with some colored paper over it.”

Sure he would. The AP writer, John Gerome, incredibly, doesn’t even mention the impending merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, in which the entities most responsible for rising ticket prices are actually joining forces.

Why confuse readers with all that annoying context, when it’s easier to quote Live Nation execs about all the fabulous things they are doing for music fans?

I didn’t know this, incidentally:

[A]lt-country star Lucinda Williams, also worried about the economy and miffed about fees tacked on to her concert tickets, is offering a credit on concert merchandise, about $7 on clothing and $5 on CDs, and on merchandise on her online store, lucindawilliams.com. The offer is through July 31 to accommodate people who attended her shows before the announcement.

“I understand that this may only be a small gesture and in no way solves the problem long-term, but I feel that it is important to try and do something to make it a little easier during this time,” she said in a statement.

I’ll insert the full statement at the end of this post. You can also read it here.

The economics of her offer are sad, illustrating the craziness of the concert industry. Since Ticketmaster and Live Nation have the ticketing industry sewn up, you have to believe her when she says she doesn’t have control over ticket fees.

She could try an independent touring route, but that’s a lot of work to make a point. I assume she makes a decent living, but she’s also one of those artists whose succès d’estime livelihood isn’t necessarily a permanent one.

Anyway, if you use her discount at a show, you’re paying show prices—marked up prices, that is, because the venues (and, I’m sure in some cases, the promoters) take a cut of the merchandise sales. It would be interesting to hear whether the discount Williams is offering is shared by the venues or just taken out of her side of the profits.

In any case, it’s probably more beneficial for both consumer and artist to use the discount on her site.

Her complete statement:

LUCINDA WILLIAMS OFFERS RELIEF TO FANS FROM HIGH TICKET FEES DURING TIGHT ECONOMIC TIMES

Nashville, TN Three-time Grammy Award-winner Lucinda Williams knows how tough it is out there during the current economic climate. She also knows that the fees attached to her concert tickets (and most others) are making things even tougher for fans. Since Williams cannot control these fees, she wanted to do something to offer some kind of relief to her fans.

“I cannot, in good conscience, sit back and watch my fans get blatantly gouged.” says Williams. “As an attempt to offset these fees, we are going to offer a standing credit at our merchandise table to everyone attending our upcoming US shows in 2009.”

Each fan who attends a Lucinda Williams show in 2009 will receive a credit on merchandise sold at the concerts. The credit will be applied at the merchandise table at each venue. The discount will be approximately $7 on clothing and $5 on CDs. This credit will also be extended to her online store at lucindawilliams.com from April 1 to July 31 to accommodate those who may have attended shows prior to this announcement.

Williams adds, “I understand that this may only be a small gesture and in no way solves the problem long term, but I feel that it is important to try and do something to make it a little easier during this time.”