Lekzy DeComic admits giving out free tickets to fill up auditoriums
Ghanaian comedian Lekzy DeComic has revealed that he sometimes gives out complimentary tickets to fill up seats at his shows when ticket sales fall short.
In an interview on Joy FM, Lekzy admitted that there are times when distributing free tickets becomes necessary, particularly when an investor is involved or when the event is being recorded for television or other commercial purposes.
According to him, ensuring a full house in such situations helps maintain the show’s atmosphere and professional image.
“Yes, it has happened before because whoever is investing in the event, or probably if you are shooting it for TV or for some other commercial reasons, can’t shoot an event in an empty or half-empty auditorium. You still have to fill it up,” Lekzy DeComic stated.
He cited his recent show at the Bukom Arena as an example, revealing that just two days before the event, ticket sales were underwhelming.
As a result, he said he had to distribute additional complimentary tickets to avoid having empty seats in the venue.
“Like the show we did at Bukom Arena like this, two days to the event when we checked the ticket sales, it wasn’t anything encouraging. So, we had to find a way to give some of the tickets out. People bought tickets but it wasn’t as much as we expected. So, sometimes we need to give out some free tickets,” he said.
Lekzy also noted that during media rounds to promote his shows, media houses, along with their audiences, often expect him to give out free tickets.
He explained that these expectations add up to reducing the number of tickets that could have been sold.
“If I’m running interviews, if I’m doing about 10 TV stations and maybe 5-10 FM stations interviews, if I go everywhere, callers will expect me to give free tickets, production will need tickets. So, just the interviews alone probably would take about 50 tickets. You know, these are seats probably I could have probably sold, but if the media house is also to quantify the airtime they are giving me, maybe it will also cost me,” he said.
He added that complimentary tickets are sometimes given to friends, family, and even old acquaintances who reach out for favours.
“I’m just trying to say that with complimentary tickets, a lot of things go into it. Like, you’re giving media houses some, you’re giving friends and family some. Somebody who has fetched you water when you were in secondary school would want you to give him a ticket because now you’re a star,” he added.
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