Amid all this corporatization, some acts are bucking the trend. Though a $40 concert ticket is hardly a free pass, it's a low price compared to other entertainment events. A brief list: Major League Baseball's All-Star Game ($150); a road production of Disney's "The Lion King" ($120); a preseason Los Angeles Lakers NBA game ($100); a New England Patriots football game ($75). After looking at this menu, a two-hour concert from a platinum-selling act stacks up pretty well. (Or, in the case of the Metallica/Korn/Kid Rock summer tour, three multiplatinum acts for $65.)

"These younger acts are all making a point of not letting prices get crazy," says Phoenix promoter Danny Zelisko. "I hope they continue to do it because that means more people will come out to shows."

If you're looking for a poster band for this Summer of Love, look no further than Limp Bizkit. The aggro-rock band will launch a completely free, 10-city tour next week. Though the controversial music-swapping company Napster is picking up the $2 million tab (a move well worth the free press from Limp Bizkit's decision), it's hard to recall the last time a rock act at the top of its game comped its fans nationwide.

Still, much of the credit for the current bargain-basement craze goes to the pop stars over at Jive Records -- the Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync and Spears -- and the low ticket prices they've been setting for the past 12 months. With combined sales of more than 20 million CDs, the groups could literally charge whatever they want. "We could charge $150 for Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync, no problem," says Mitch Slater at SFX, "because every parent wants to buy them for their kids."

Despite their power, these acts have regularly gone out with $30 and $40 tickets. "Their business people are just being smart," says Zelisko. With such a reasonable ticket, acts can return to the same market repeatedly and still do strong business. Another trick: "Those Jive acts sell their tickets so far in advance that by the time the show rolls around you forget you've spent the money," says the Phoenix promoter. "So you'll buy a T-shirt and key chain. Pretty soon it's a $100 per-head night."

That's not to say the entire summer is on sale. Some baby boom favorites are still targeting Gold Card consumers. Sting, Tina Turner, Steely Dan, KISS, Neil Young, the Who and Don Henley are all flirting with $100 tickets. (Notable boomer exceptions include Jimmy Buffett, Santana and Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, who are getting from $50 to $70.) Diana Ross and the Supremes' reunion tour is asking $250 for its best seats. (And more often than not, hearing "no" according to promoters.)

Yet compared to recent seasons, when tours by Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, Whitney Houston, Bette Midler, the Rolling Stones, Cher, Elton John and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young all steamrolled the $100 mark (some recent CSN&Y tickets hit $200), this year's lineup looks downright economical.

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