Concert ticket prices have steadily increased over the past few decades. This has made attending live music shows more expensive for fans. There are several factors that have driven the rise in ticket prices over time.
Increased Costs for Artists
Putting on a live concert tour is expensive for music artists and bands. The costs associated with touring have gone up substantially, and artists now charge higher ticket prices to cover these increased expenses. Some of the key factors behind the rising costs of concert tours include:
- Higher fees charged by venues and promoters – Venues take a percentage cut of ticket sales. Promoters also charge fees and take a share of the revenue.
- More elaborate stage productions – Big concert tours now have very complex stage setups, pyrotechnics, massive video walls, and other special effects that cost a lot of money.
- Larger touring entourages – Artists now travel with huge entourages of band members, backup singers, dancers, production crews, managers, etc. All these people need to be paid, fed, and housed during tours.
- Expensive equipment transportation – Moving all the stage gear, instruments, lighting, speakers, and other equipment between tour stops is pricey. There are high costs for trucks, fuel, logistics, and storage.
- Higher band salaries – Successful musicians now earn much more money than in decades past. Higher band member salaries also factor into rising tour costs.
With all these escalating expenses associated with putting on live shows, performers have to charge higher ticket prices just to break even or turn a profit. The costs per show can easily run into the hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars once you account for all the various operational expenses involved with a big concert tour.
The Secondary Ticket Market
Another factor that has driven up the cost of concert tickets is the secondary ticket market. Third-party ticket resellers and exchanges like StubHub, Vivid Seats, Ticketmaster Resale, SeatGeek, and others have created a robust secondary market for tickets. This secondary market has dramatically inflated ticket prices.
Some of the key ways the secondary ticket market increases prices include:
- Resellers can charge well above face value – There is often no cap on how much markup resellers can charge once they acquire tickets.
- Dynamic pricing algorithms – Prices fluctuate based on demand. The more in-demand an event is, the higher resale sites will raise prices.
- Limited ticket releases – Primary ticket sellers like Ticketmaster will hold back lots of tickets to sell later on resale sites at inflated prices.
- Speculators snap up tickets – Large ticket brokers and speculators use bots to quickly buy up huge blocks of tickets to relist at higher prices.
Major artists and promoters have come under fire for potentially working with large secondary ticket sellers to offer tickets directly on resale markets at prices several times the initial list prices. The presence of the secondary market definitely adds to the overall rising cost of tickets.
Higher Fees and Service Charges
There was a time when you could buy a concert ticket for just the base price printed on the ticket. Today, you’ll pay much more than the face value thanks to an array of tacked on service fees and charges:
- Order processing fees
- Facility fees or venue premiums
- Convenience fees for online/phone orders
- Ticket delivery fees
- Parking pass fees
These extra fees can add 25%, 50%, or even 100% to the overall cost versus the initial list price. Convenience fees for using payment cards can be as high as 7-10% of an order. Ticketing companies have received substantial criticism for these add-on fees that massively increase the cost.
Higher Prices for VIP Packages
In addition to basic tickets, many big touring acts now offer expensive VIP packages as part of their concert promotions. These packages bundle together a regular ticket with various upgrades and collector items. Common VIP package perks include:
- Backstage tour passes
- Meet & greet with band members
- Front row/pit tickets
- Merchandise bundles (shirts, hats, hoodies, etc.)
- Autographed memorabilia
- Limited edition posters or lithographs
- Official VIP laminate pass
These special packages typically cost between a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars extra per ticket. Their high profit margins make them attractive revenue generators for performers. The downside is fans who can’t afford the VIP upgrades end up stuck buying basic tickets with less desirable locations at inflated prices.
The Used Ticket Market
In another tactic seen as exploiting fans, some prominent acts void and reissue tickets to try and undercut brokers reselling tickets. Fans who bought tickets at lower initial prices then try to resell them are left holding suddenly invalidated stubs. The bands then sell those same tickets at higher current prices.
This practice blocks ordinary fans from reselling or transferring tickets they can’t use. Instead, the band captures all the profit by voiding the initial tickets and reselling them at inflated, market-adjusted prices. Coldplay, Bruce Springsteen, and other big artists have faced blowback for void-and-reissue schemes.
Dynamic and Surge Pricing
Using real-time data analytics, ticket sellers now adjust prices on the fly based on demand to extract maximum profit.
Tickets may start at lower prices when they first go on sale. But as an event draws near and remaining seats get scarce, prices can surge. Weekend and peak hour shows often cost substantially more than weeknights. Seats located front-and-center or closest to the stage also command big premiums versus further back sections.
Implementing demand-based dynamic and surge pricing enables companies like Ticketmaster to capture greater revenue. But it makes getting affordable tickets even harder for buyers.
Data Tracking of Fans
Another controversial tactic involves data mining and tracking the online activities of fans before ticket sales begin.
By monitoring fan sites, music blogs, social media posts, and other digital engagement, companies can gauge demand and willingness to pay. They then price tickets dynamically based on complex consumer behavior analysis and modeling.
This kind of data tracking and demand forecasting helps maximize revenues. But it also represents an intrusive overreach into fan privacy and unfair pricing practices based on intel gained from surveillance of buyers.
Impact on Fans and Consumers
The combined effect of all these practices has been steadily increasing ticket prices over the past 10-20 years. Fans today routinely face absolute sticker-shock when their favorite artists announce a tour.
It’s now common for ordinary mid-range tickets to big shows by major touring acts to cost several hundred dollars each. Prime floor seats or VIP packages often run $1,000-$3,000 per seat. Even lawn seats at amphitheaters now cost $50-$100 each – quadruple or more their prices in the 1990s and early 2000s.
These soaring costs make concerts unaffordable luxuries for many working-class and middle-class fans. Instead of being able to attend multiple shows per year, many can now only afford to see one or two, if any at all.
Long gone are the days when teenagers could pay for tickets using their allowance money or paychecks from an after-school job. Today’s prices put live music out of reach for many younger fans.
The median per capita income in the US is around $35,000. So a $300 concert ticket now runs nearly 1% of many Americans’ annual incomes. And that’s before factoring in fees and other expenses like food, merchandise, parking, and transportation.
While upper middle-class and wealthy fans may not flinch too much at pricey tickets, huge swaths of the population now get priced out of the live concert experience. The fan bases at shows have become older and more affluent compared to decades past.
Some performers have spoken out against the soaring costs and lack of access for less privileged groups. But the overall concert ticketing system seems rigged to maximize profits rather than expand affordability.
Alternatives for Fans
What options do budget-conscious fans have in an era of skyrocketing ticket prices?
- Look for pre-sales – Many artists and promotors hold pre-sale events giving fans early access to buy tickets before the general public. Pre-sales may have lower initial pricing levels before dynamic pricing kicks in.
- Join fan clubs – Artists’ official fan clubs often get access to preferred pre-sale tickets at good prices as a membership benefit.
- Find radio promotions – Local radio stations may offer contests and giveaways for free tickets to various concerts.
- Enter ticket lotteries – Some performers offer ticket lotteries where a lucky few fans can score seats at low prices.
- Wait for late inventory – Checking back late in the sales cycle can reveal last-minute ticket dumps at potentially better prices.
- Buy obstructed view seats – Obstructed view seats with partially blocked sightlines tend to cost much less.
- Try general admission – General admission standing room areas often have reasonable prices compared to reserved seats.
- See smaller shows – Small club shows and theater concerts tend to have lower ticket costs than big arenas and stadiums.
Fans have gotten increasingly creative at hunting down affordable ways to keep attending live shows as regular ticket prices have ballooned higher and higher. Being persistent and flexible can help you still see artists you love for less.
Conclusion
The upward trajectory in concert ticket prices over the past 20-30 years has outpaced general inflation by a huge margin. This has priced many music fans out of the live event experience. A variety of factors have caused the dramatic increases, from artists’ rising touring costs to the proliferation of predatory secondary resellers. Major companies like Ticketmaster facilitate dynamic ticket pricing models that maximize revenues at the expense of ordinary fans.
The days of cheap concert tickets available to all are likely gone for good. But savvy consumers still have some opportunities to find affordable tickets off the beaten path. Fans may have to settle for less popular shows and seats that are further from the stage. Yet live music still promises a one-of-a-kind connection between performers and audiences. By supporting up-and-coming acts at smaller venues, fans can keep enjoying the communal energy of concert going.