12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief

The benefit concert was first announced in mid-November 2012 and that the producers behind 2001's The Concert for New York City would also produce the Hurricane Sandy benefit which quickly attracted many big names from the music industry. The venue and on sale date for tickets were announced in early December. Madison Square Garden had originally been reserved on December 12 for a New York Rangers game against the Montreal Canadiens that was one of the 510 regular season games that were canceled due to the 2012–13 NHL lockout.{{cite news|author = Staff | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/capitals/a-look-at-the-88th-day-of-the-nhl-lockout/2012/12/12/bce19626-44c2-11e2-8c8f-fbebf7ccab4e_story.html|title=A Look at the 88th Day of the NHL Lockout|date=December 12, 2012|publisher=Associated Press (via The Washington Post) |access-date=December 13, 2012}}{{dead link|date=June 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

Proceeds from the event went to the Robin Hood Relief Fund and benefit victims of the hurricane in areas most impacted, especially New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.Staff (December 4, 2012). [http://www.pollstar.com/news_article.aspx?ID=803505 "12-12-12 Sandy Benefit to Be Aired on 34 Outlets"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150514092457/http://www.pollstar.com/news_article.aspx?ID=803505 |date=May 14, 2015 }}. Associated Press (via Pollstar). Retrieved December 13, 2012. More than $35 million was raised through ticket sales and $50 million total.{{Cite web |date=2012-12-13 |title=TWEETS: 12-12-12 Benefit Concert Raises Millions For Sandy Relief |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/12-12-12-concert-raises-millions-for-sandy-relief_n_2294591 |access-date=2025-01-31 |website=HuffPost |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Webdesk |first=PLSN |date=2013-01-14 |title=12.12.12: The Concert for Sandy Relief {{!}} PLSN |url=https://plsn.com/articles/features/121212-the-concert-for-sandy-relief/ |access-date=2025-01-31 |language=en-US}}

Tickets for the event went on sale through Ticketmaster on December 3, 2012, at noon though Chase Bank customers were allowed to buy tickets at 9 a.m. Tickets quickly sold out in minutes.{{cite magazine | author = Staff | date = December 12, 2012 | url=https://entertainment.time.com/2012/12/12/watch-live-the-12-12-12-sandy-relief-concert-starring-springsteen-mccartney-and-the-stones/ | title=Watch Live: The 12-12-12 Sandy Relief Concert Starring Springsteen, McCartney and the Stones | magazine = Time | access-date=December 13, 2012}} The face-value of tickets ranged from $150 to $2,500,{{cite web | author = Bauder, David | date = December 12, 2012 | url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/12/12-12-12-concert-hurricane-sandy_n_2286723.html | title=12-12-12 Concert For Hurricane Sandy Victims Includes Music Royalty | work = The Huffington Post | access-date=December 13, 2012}} with organizers saying all proceeds would go to the Robin Hood Foundation.{{cite web| author = Brown, Stephen Rex | date = December 12, 2012 | url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/scalpers-making-concert-article-1.1218497| work = Daily News |title=Ticket Scalpers Making Big Bucks Off 12/12/12 Concert to Benefit Hurricane Sandy Victims – Online Ticket Resale Sites Are Busy with $10,000 Seats | access-date = December 13, 2012}} Like most concerts with high demands for tickets, scalpers were able to buy tickets and within minutes of the concert selling out were already available for re-sale at much higher prices on various sites, including StubHub. By December 7, 2012, tickets for the floor in front of the stage were listed for as much as $48,000 while those in the upper level were going for $525 to $3,000.

Producers of the event urged people to not buy from these secondary websites because the money no longer goes to charity. U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer sent a letter to StubHub and three other major online ticket exchanges, urging them to not allow sellers to profit from the demand for the concert stating that "Every dollar spent for these concert tickets should go to help the victims of Superstorm Sandy, not to line the pockets of unscrupulous scalpers". A spokesman for StubHub, Glenn Lehrman, said it did not have the technology to require sellers to give their profits to charity. StubHub gave its commissions of more than $500,000 to the charity.

Jacqueline Peterson, a spokeswoman for Ticketmaster, which handled the initial ticket sales, said her company had evidence that scalpers had used computer programs to snap up large numbers of tickets for resale. She said Ticketmaster had blocked thousands of sales to buyers that it identified as using these programs. Among the recipients of Schumer's letter were TicketMaster's in-house resale marketplaces, TicketsNow and TicketExchange; however, Peterson said that 12-12-12 tickets were not being allowed on those sites. TicketLiquidator, another secondary re-sale website, also said that it had declined to carry tickets for the concert.McKinliney, Jr., James C. (December 7, 2012). [https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/08/arts/music/producers-of-12-12-12-benefit-concert-assail-scalpers.html?partner=rss&emc=rss "Benefit's Producers Condemn Scalpers"]. The New York Times. Retrieved December 12, 2012.

There were also some incidents of counterfeit tickets.{{cite web|url=http://www.insideedition.com/investigative/5496-inside-edition-investigates-counterfeit-tickets |title=INSIDE EDITION Investigates Counterfeit Tickets |work=Inside Edition |date=December 12, 2012 |access-date=December 15, 2012}}

The concert was simulcast live on 39 U.S. television stations, including HBO, AMC, Showtime and AXS TV and on more than 20 international television networks.Staff (undated). [http://www.121212concert.org/broadcast#section-3 "US Television Channels"] {{Webarchive|url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20121212104739/http://www.121212concert.org/broadcast#section-3 |date=December 12, 2012 }}. 12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief. Retrieved December 13, 2012. It was also streamed on over twenty-five websites,{{cite web | author = Deutsch, Lindsay | date = December 12, 2012 | url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2012/12/11/sandy-relief-concert/1762049/ | title=Superstars Team Up for 12-12-12 Sandy Benefit | work = USA Today | access-date=December 13, 2012}} including Fuse.tv, MTV.com, AOL, Yahoo!, YouTube, SiriusXM, Hulu, and Vevo and over fifty radio stations. Select movie theaters in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut displayed the concert as well.Staff (undated). [http://www.121212concert.org/watch "Where to Watch"] {{Webarchive|url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20121212104738/http://www.121212concert.org/watch |date=December 12, 2012 }}. 12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief. Retrieved December 12, 2012. Ion Television, Live Well Network and MundoFox were the only national over-the-air broadcasters to carry the concert. Locally, the PBS consortium WNET/WLIW/NJTV carried it on their stations, along with CBS's WLNY (Channel 55) and WRNN-TV (Channel 48). WPSG (Channel 57) carried the show locally in Philadelphia.

Event producers James Dolan, John Sykes and Harvey Weinstein issued on December 3, 2012, the following joint statement: "The fact that so many major media companies are joining forces to distribute and stream this important event to homes worldwide will enable us to create a tremendous and unprecedented fundraising effort on a global scale to benefit the victims of this devastating storm."Joint press release (December 3, 2012). [http://globenewswire.com/news-release/2012/12/03/509172/10014390/en/12-12-12-Secures-Distribution-to-Over-One-Billion-People-Worldwide.html "12-12-12 Secures Distribution to Over One Billion People Worldwide"]. The Madison Square Garden Company and 12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief (via GlobeNewswire). Retrieved December 13, 2012.

While every major U.S. media company aired the benefit on at least one of their networks, none of the major over-the-air television networks including CBS, ABC, Fox and NBC aired it, and neither did the major cable-news networks of CNN, MSNBC and the Fox News Channel. Clear Channel broadcast the concert live on some of its radio stations across the country and also streamed it live on iHeartRadio, its digital-radio service, and across the websites and Facebook pages of its 850 stations.{{cite web|title=Watch -- 12-12-12 website|url=http://www.121212concert.org/broadcast|access-date=1 March 2013|archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20121212104739/http://www.121212concert.org/broadcast|archive-date=December 12, 2012|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}} The concert also aired in conjunction with the NBA's television and online streaming broadcasts in China and simulcast live on Clear Channel Outdoor digital billboards in Times Square and locations in London and Paris.Giegerich, Liz (December 3, 2012). [http://southeast.patch.com/articles/tickets-now-on-sale-for-12-12-12-sandy-benefit-concert-at-msg "Tickets Now on Sale for 12-12-12 Sandy Benefit Concert at MSG{{spaced ndash}} A Star-Studded Music Event to Raise Money for the Robin Hood Relief Fund Will Be Held at MSG nNxt Wednesday"] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130131050709/http://southeast.patch.com/articles/tickets-now-on-sale-for-12-12-12-sandy-benefit-concert-at-msg |date=January 31, 2013 }}. Patch.com. Retrieved December 12, 2012.

The event began at 7:30 pm and ran until 1:20 am.

1. Video montage of news coverage of the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy
2. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
3. "Land of Hope and Dreams" with portion of "People Get Ready"
4. "Wrecking Ball"
5. "My City of Ruins" with portion of "Jersey Girl"
6. "Born to Run" (with Jon Bon Jovi)
7. Billy Crystal
8. Susan Sarandon
9. Roger Waters
10. "In the Flesh?"
11. "The Happiest Days of Our Lives"
12. "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" (featuring a youth dance troupe)
13. "The Ballad of Jean Charles de Menezes"
14. "Money"
15. "Us and Them"
16. "Comfortably Numb" (with Eddie Vedder)
17. Adam Sandler and Paul Shaffer
18. "Sandy Screw Ya" (comedic take on Sandy and New York set to "Hallelujah")
19. Brian Williams (with Ben Stiller and Whoopi Goldberg)
20. Billy Crystal
21. Kristen Stewart
22. Video segment: Jon Bon Jovi in New Jersey
23. Bon Jovi
24. "It's My Life"
25. "Wanted Dead or Alive"
26. "Who Says You Can't Go Home" (with Bruce Springsteen)
27. "Livin' on a Prayer" (with a cappella intro)
28. Brian Williams (with Tony Danza and Whoopi Goldberg)
29. Jon Stewart
30. Eric Clapton
31. "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out"
32. "Got to Get Better in a Little While"
33. "Crossroads"
34. Chelsea Clinton
35. Video segment of Team Rubicon in the Rockaways
36. Jimmy Fallon
37. Video segment: Pastor Connie Hula
38. The Rolling Stones
39. "You Got Me Rocking"
40. "Jumpin' Jack Flash"
41. Video segment sponsored by Chase
42. Stephen Colbert
43. Sean "Diddy" Combs and Olivia Wilde
44. Alicia Keys
45. "Brand New Me"
46. "No One" with several improvised interpolations of "Put your cellphones in the air"
47. Video segment sponsored by State Farm Insurance
48. Steve Buscemi
49. Video segment: the Graybeards{{cite web |url=http://www.graybeards.com/ |title=Graybeards |publisher=Graybeards |access-date=December 15, 2012 |archive-date=December 17, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121217042356/http://www.graybeards.com/ |url-status=dead }}
50. The Who
51. "Who Are You"
52. "Bell Boy" (featuring Keith Moon on vocals, via audio from Quadrophenia and archival video from Charlton performance of 18 May 1974)
53. "Pinball Wizard"
54. "See Me, Feel Me"
55. "Baba O'Riley"
56. "Love, Reign o'er Me"
57. "Tea & Theatre"
58. Brian Williams (with Joe Pantoliano and James Gandolfini)
59. Video segment: Performers on the aftermath
60. Billy Crystal
61. News 12 New Jersey
62. Video segment: Neighbors in the aftermath, featuring Phyllis Puglia
63. Chris Rock
64. Kanye West (all songs performed as a medley)
65. "Clique"
66. "Mercy"
67. "Power"
68. "Jesus Walks"
69. "All of the Lights"
70. "Run This Town"
71. "Diamonds from Sierra Leone"
72. "Diamonds Remix"
73. "Touch the Sky"
74. "Gold Digger"
75. "Good Life"
76. "Runaway"
77. "Stronger"
78. Brian Williams (with Jack McBrayer and Jimmy Fallon)
79. Seth Meyers with Bobby Moynihan as "Drunk Uncle"
80. Jake Gyllenhaal with Patricia Farrell
81. Billy Joel
82. "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)"
83. "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)"
84. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (portion)
85. "New York State of Mind"
86. "The River of Dreams" (featuring "Gloria")
87. "You May Be Right"
88. "Only the Good Die Young"
89. Blake Lively
90. Chris Martin of Coldplay
91. "Viva la Vida"
92. "Losing My Religion" (with Michael Stipe of R.E.M.)
93. "Us Against the World"
94. Brian Williams
95. Katie Holmes and Jason Sudeikis
96. Video segment: Red Hook Rising
97. Leonardo DiCaprio (via video)
98. Jamie Foxx, Quentin Tarantino, and Christoph Waltz
99. Paul McCartney
100. "Helter Skelter"
101. "Let Me Roll It"
102. "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five"
103. "My Valentine" (with Diana Krall)
104. "Blackbird"
105. "Cut Me Some Slack" (with Krist Novoselic, Dave Grohl and Pat Smear of Nirvana)
106. "I've Got a Feeling"
107. "Live and Let Die"
108. Alicia Keys
109. "Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down"Bernstein, Scott (December 12, 2012).

[http://www.glidemagazine.com/hiddentrack/12-12-12-the-concert-for-sandy-relief-live-updates-setlist-videos-photos "Watch: 12-12-12 The Concert For Sandy Relief + Live Updates"]. Glide Magazine. Retrieved December 13, 2012.

1. Billy Crystal

{{portal|Hurricanes|Music|New York City}}

• Hurricane Sandy
• Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together
• The Concert for New York City
• From the Big Apple to the Big Easy
• A Concert for Hurricane Relief
• Mississippi Rising

{{clear}}

{{Reflist|2}}

• [http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20121213133815/http://www.121212concert.org/ 121212concert.org], the concert's official website

{{Hurricane Sandy series|state=collapsed}}

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Category:2010s American television specials

Category:2012 in American music

Category:2012 in New York City

Category:2012 television specials

Category:Benefit concerts in the United States

Category:Hurricane Sandy

Category:American live television shows

Category:Music television specials

Category:Simulcasts

Category:December 2012 in the United States