Why Are Concert Tickets So Pricey?
Note: This article is an extension of the VIP+ special report “State of the Live Music Business,” for subscribers only.
How much is too much for a concert ticket?
In an entertainment landscape enthralled by the likes of Taylor Swift and Beyoncé’s legendary summer tours, the live music market could very well see a surge in pricing.
The most recent prominent artist who offered fans high ticket prices is Bad Bunny, making the North American rounds with his “Most Wanted” tour. After presale ticketing opened on Oct. 25, fans took to TikTok to share their distaste with nosebleed seats costing $150-$250.
Last year he triumphed over Elton John with a tour gross of $393.3 million, the highest for an artist in 2022, boosted by his sold-out ventures, the early-year “El Último Tour Del Mundo” and, later, “World’s Hottest Tour.”
Bad Bunny’s prices aren’t a new fad, though, as the cost for tickets overall has notably increased by 35% since 2019, according to trade publication Pollstar. But why?
To support the VIP+ and UTA IQ special report “State of the Live Music Business,” VIP+ hosted industry experts in a LinkedIn Live conversation that provided clarity on surging prices — and insights on whether they’re likely to continue. If you didn’t catch it, replay the webinar now.
Eric Frankenberg, senior charts/data analyst at Billboard, cited dynamic pricing and the growing resale market as a rationale for the new trend.
“Dynamic pricing is a new strategic ticketing practice where ticket prices for concerts behave in the way airline prices or surge pricing for Uber does when there’s high demand,” said Frankenberg. “We’re also able to resell tickets on Ticketmaster. There’s probably a lot of this money being made on the secondary market that [wasn’t] being reported in these official ticket prices.”
Though concertgoers are audibly outraged by rising ticket prices, Catherine Yi, a talent strategy executive at UTA, has found that doesn’t hold fans back from shelling out to score a ticket. “When people really care about a show, they’ll do whatever it takes to attend,” she said. “People prioritize live music events in their disposable spending — they’re willing to open credit cards, do payment plans and splurge when it’s important to them.”
For Jem Aswad, executive music editor at Variety, the surge is inherent in today’s economy and blame can’t actually be directed at ticketing companies or even artists. “Everybody blames Ticketmaster, Live Nation and the artists for these prices — but if that’s what the market will bear, what are you supposed to do?”
Now dig into the VIP+ subscriber report, with updated data ...
