Shouldn't tickets be free when one goes to the taping of a TV show? I'm not sure why this show was that much different than any other show that is designed to air on TV. The "audience" in these type of settings are asked to be part of the show. We are asked to applaud, we sit through 2 or 3 performances of the same song, we wait patiently between sets, and sometime we can't see all that well because there are cameras in the way, or the "seat-fillers" are shuffling in front of you constantly.
Granted, it was my choice to pay (almost $300 a ticket), and it was a great evening of music and a great tribute to Paul Simon, but it seems like the producers are double-dipping a bit here.