Why Garth Brooks Still Believes 'Where You Sit In The Arena Shouldn't Depend On How Much You Can Afford.'

Garth Brooks has always believed in treating people equally — and that extends to his ticket prices. That’s why he’s always tried to maintain the same price for seating throughout the venue.

As Brooks prepares to launch his Blame It All On My Roots Tour, the country superstar says his longtime philosophy begins with a decision artists make before a tour is announced.

"'Is the tour a guaranteed tour with a promoter or not?'" Brooks says.

Guaranteed tours have become the industry standard, he explains. Under that model, promoters pay artists a predetermined fee and assume all the financial risk.

"The artist gets a figure, and the promoter takes all the risk on making or losing money,” he says. “This is popular because the artist gets paid no matter what."

The tradeoff, he says, is the artist loses control of the ticket prices. That’s a trade he isn’t willing to make and has long preferred to maintain control himself.

When artists perform festivals or standalone concerts, those shows are usually promoter driven. Therefore, ticket prices often range from the lesser expensive upper-level seats to premium tickets carrying what Brooks calls "sticker shock" for fans — and sometimes even the artists themselves.

"By retaining control over the ticket price, then the artist is having a one-on-one conversation with those people who allow the artist to be an artist ... the fan," Brooks says.

That philosophy has allowed Brooks to reject tiered pricing based on seat location throughout his career. Every seat on his Blame It All On My Roots Tour is priced the same.

"We have always chosen to do the one overall ticket price simply based on this thought: Where you sit in the arena shouldn't depend on how much you can afford,” he says. “It should be all just luck of the draw."

Brooks says his approach hasn't changed – and it’s deeply personal.

"It would break my heart if I was at a show and my kids said, 'Hey, why aren't we sitting down there?' and my answer was, 'We can't afford to sit down there,'" he says. "My thing is, make every ticket the same price, and then it's just a matter of luck where you're sitting in the arena."

He believes the approach matters.

"When this is achieved, there is a family feel in the arena that everyone is equal, and everyone is there for the same reason ... to have the experience of a lifetime ... equally ... together," he says.

Tickets for the first two shows on Brooks’ Blame It All On My Roots Tour — Aug. 21-22 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis — go on sale at 10 am ET Friday, July 17, at www.ticketmaster.com/garthbrooks or through the Ticketmaster App.