Concert tickets have gotten more and more expensive over the years for a variety of reasons. Let’s take a look at some of the main factors driving up ticket prices.
High Demand from Fans
One of the biggest reasons concert tickets are so expensive is simply that there is huge demand to see popular artists and bands perform live. Mega stars like Beyonce, Taylor Swift, and U2 routinely sell out massive stadium tours – and when demand is sky high, basic economics suggests prices will rise as well. Fans are willing to pay hundreds of dollars to see their favorite performers, which enables promoters and ticketing platforms to charge top dollar.
Limited Supply
Related to high demand is the factor of limited supply. Most major concert tours play only a handful of shows in each city, if not just one night at a large arena. And venues can only accommodate so many seats. Scarcity allows sellers to extract higher prices. Furthermore, many top artists like playing smaller, more intimate venues when possible. But smaller venues mean even fewer available tickets.
Costs of Touring Have Increased
Putting on large live shows with top production values is expensive for performers. Costs have risen over the years for:
- Equipment (lights, sound, stages)
- Trucking gear from city to city
- Payroll for road crews
- Rehearsal spaces
- Tour buses
- Private jets
- Insurance
- Venue fees
Most of these touring costs get passed along to fans in the form of higher ticket prices. The days of cheap $20 concert tickets are long gone for arena shows of top artists.
Dynamic and Variable Pricing
In decades past, concert tickets were mostly sold at fixed prices – one price for all seats in a section. But with the advent of online ticketing, variable and dynamic pricing models have become common. Promoters now use complex algorithms to adjust prices for each seat individually, similar to how airline tickets are priced. Seats closer to the stage, or in prime sections, fetch much higher prices from the outset.
Furthermore, as an event draws near and remaining tickets are scarcer, prices can skyrocket. Last minute tickets often sell for many times the original prices. This dynamic pricing allows promoters to gauge precisely how much fans are willing to pay for any given seat.
Service and Convenience Fees
In addition to the base ticket prices, there are often an array of add-on fees that can significantly drive up costs:
- Facility fees
- Service fees
- Order processing fees
- Delivery fees
These fees can add 25-30% or more to an order. It’s essentially extra profit margin for promoters and ticketing platforms.
Secondary Market Prices
Once tickets initially go on sale, many get quickly bought up by scalpers and brokers seeking to re-sell them at a profit on secondary markets like StubHub. Lack of regulation in this area means that speculators can drive prices to astronomical levels – sometimes 10X or more the original price, if demand is high enough.
Sites like StubHub capture a healthy commission on all secondary sales too. Between scalpers buying up tickets and inflated resale pricing, genuine fans often have little choice but to pay inflated prices if they really want to attend an event.
VIP Packages
Increasingly, concert promoters offer specialty VIP ticket packages as part of the presale process – at very high premiums. These can include options like:
- Front row seats
- Backstage access
- Exclusive merchandise
- Meet & greet with the artist
- VIP entrance
- Parking passes
Packages like this can cost $500-1000+ per seat, over 10X a regular ticket. And promoters market them heavily to their most dedicated fans.
Captive Audiences
Music fans are often a captive audience once they love a certain artist. If your lifelong favorite band goes on tour, you’ll likely do almost anything within your means to see them live, since it’s a special experience. Artists and promoters use this dynamic to justify high asking prices, knowing their most dedicated followers will pony up the cash.
The fan bases of legacy acts like The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, or The Eagles span generations. These groups can get away with high prices because their fans have built up decades of goodwill and loyalty.
Costs of Everything Have Risen
Beyond the specific factors within the live music business, tickets prices have broadly risen for one simple reason – inflation. Costs for all goods and services have risen dramatically over the past 25+ years. Rent, payroll, equipment, travel, marketing, and all the other products and services required to put on concerts are much higher now. Ticket prices have increased accordingly.
Artists Want More Money
Let’s not forget the talent! Performers themselves also exert pressure to increase ticket prices, especially big legacy acts. Touring has become far more lucrative than album sales for most acts. And when iconic bands like The Rolling Stones can still generate over $100 million touring even in their 70s, they have the leverage to extract ever higher prices.
Even newer artists want big payouts from touring. The music industry has warped to the point where acts rely on live performances for the bulk of income. Smart artists and managers recognize this and negotiate higher concert earnings.
Are Concert Tickets Overpriced?
Whether concert tickets are “overpriced” or not is rather subjective. Any good or service is worth what consumers are willing to pay. And plenty of fans obviously still pay up, even for sky-high ticket prices of $500 or more to see top artists.
But there is an argument that events are increasingly pricing out large segments of their potential fan bases – especially younger and lower-income demographics. There seems to be less willingness in the industry to keep ticket prices affordable and accessible.
On the other hand, putting on big tours is very costly. And fans have demonstrated they will pay premium rates for premium experiences. As long as venues keep selling out at high prices, the trend of rising ticket prices will likely continue.
Will Concert Tickets Ever Be Cheap Again?
Don’t count on concert tickets returning to the bargain prices of the 80s and 90s anytime soon. Costs and demand have simply risen too much at this point. Evenadjusted for inflation, ticket prices are substantially higher now.
However, there are still affordable options for great live music, if you know where to look. Smaller clubs and theaters can offer tickets in the $20-50 range to see acts before they hit it big. Search for pre-sale tickets and fan club offerings. And don’t overlook the many talented local and regional artists playing your town who offer top quality shows on the cheap!
Conclusion
In summary, a confluence of factors have driven concert ticket prices ever higher in recent decades. This includes increased costs of touring, dynamic pricing models, secondary markets, and artists wanting bigger payouts. While “overpriced” is subjective, there is no doubt prices have made concerts unaffordable for many music lovers. But great live music can still be found for fair prices if you look beyond just the chart-topping arena acts.