Has concerts gotten more expensive now these days?

[TiggerTrigger]

I saw the Stones in 1994 during the Voodoo Lounge tour. My friend lucked out with a phenomenal spot in a physical line for tickets. We wound up sitting front row center. Positioning alone led to an epic interaction with Mick Jagger and a little chat with Keith Richards. I still have the ticket stub on a cork board in my office. I paid exactly $50. With inflation, that would equate to about $105 today. I had to find some media pics of the stage, because I remember this huge cobra-like structure, tons of imagery and pyro, a number of wardrobe changes and a big inflatable effect towards the end. Pics are courtesy of The Guardian and a couple of other sources. If the link below works correctly, it should go to a playlist from several venues for this tour and illustrate other lighting and visuals that I got with my $50 ticket. That being said, the spectacle was on par with a lot of the concert footage I've seen recently. I know I'd be paying a lot more than $105 for those same seats today. I took DD17 to see Ringo Starr back in the fall. While it was an incredible music experience, the spectacle didn't really go beyond that...and I spent A LOT more.



https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0356B935F7EFAE6E

 

[sarahann77]

Yes higher. I have more issue with the fees that cost just as much as the actual ticket. Seems the Tickmaster lawsuit about the erroneous fees only made it worse and I'm not seeing a difference between now and then. $50 Service Fees - yea no thanks

 

[tvguy]

I don’t remember that boycott? Maybe I was doing a vegetarian macrobiotic thing then, . What was the basis for the boycott?

Beef prices soared, triggering the boycott.

https://www.thedailystar.com/opinio...cle_973bfbd8-d87c-11ed-8c90-ff05332a4728.html

https://www.nytimes.com/1973/04/08/...a-call-for-new-protests-beef-supply-down.html

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Well considering Taylor Swift tickets on the secondary market cost these days, I'd say her face price tickets are a bargain if you're quick enough to get one. She did 3 shows in a football stadium here and they still sold out.

 

[tony67]

Yeah its pretty ridiculous and there are very few I am willing to spend any money on anymore.

I don't need to go see some multi millionaire preach to me when they do everything they can to avoid paying their taxes or they want to play their new stuff no one cares about.

 

[Nayan]

https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/...nsive-and-who-all-those-fees-benefit/2865851/

 

[Skippy918]

So I’ve heard that in order to avoid Ticketmaster fees, you can buy tickets directly from the box office? How does this work? I didn’t think you could buy tickets in person anymore.
I’m going to a new kids on the block concert this summer and spent about $300 on my ticket.
If you want to talk expensive tickets, look up F1 racing tickets. Top tier are like 10k.

 

[DodgerGirl]

In the 80's my mother went to see Kenny Rogers twice with Emmylou Harris as his opening act and the second time Kenny Rogers had a concert the band Asleep At The Wheel was his opening act and I can't recall how much the tickets she got for the concerts were. But one concert that my mother really wanted to go to but she sadly missed out on was a George Strait concert and she waited and waited for the tickets to come out but by the time she tried to get tickets my mom's friend "Dad at the time" told her they had sold out and poor Mom was given a Jimmy Buffett cassette as a consolation prize from Dad. I saved the day by buying her a George Strait concert DVD two years ago for Mother's Day and she loved it. But I believe you used to buy concert tickets at Wherehouse Music because when I would buy music CDs there they would have a Ticketmaster station at the checkout register and people would buy concert tickets there all the time. But if you join a singer's fan club you can get discounts on that certain singer's concert seats "Leann Rimes especially does this for her fan club members"

 

[GreatLakes]

You also have to look at the demographic that are fans. Acts like Paul McCartney and Billy Joel have a lot of fans that are older with expendable income. Bands that cater to the younger crowd, with some obvious exceptions like Taylor Swift, have fans that can't afford $500 floor seats and they also play venues that cost less.

Find a band that you like but isn't mainstream popular and still plays the smaller venues and you can still get reasonably priced to jets. Also check Groupon, I saw some decent bands locally from there getting buy one get one lawn seat deals. I paid maybe $40 per person for Weezer and Green Day that way.

 

[NotUrsula]

So I’ve heard that in order to avoid Ticketmaster fees, you can buy tickets directly from the box office? How does this work? I didn’t think you could buy tickets in person anymore.
I’m going to a new kids on the block concert this summer and spent about $300 on my ticket.
If you want to talk expensive tickets, look up F1 racing tickets. Top tier are like 10k.

That depends on the venue. Some venues are locked into exclusive contracts with TicketMaster, but others have reserved the right to still sell in-person on the premises without the fee. (Also, sometimes they normally have reserved that right of sale, but have waived it for a particular tour because that was the only way to get a piece of it.)

I do seriously hate TicketMaster and LiveNation; they are gouging fees all over the place that the artists get no piece of, and in many markets they have a total monopoly on every single performance venue large enough to host a touring show. Artists and venues need to stop doing business with them: their automated sales capability was once unusual and expensive to replicate, but that's no longer the case in most situations. However, they still have so much power that artists and venues are afraid to try to cut them out lest they make tour goals impossible by blocking access to artists (for venues) or to venues (for artists.)

My DS used to live on the route of a major F1 race; it was a PITA to deal with 3 days of noise and restricted access to his building, but his bedroom window was a free front-row seat.

 

[jimmymc]

Yes they have, and thanks to technology, the price discrimination has also gone way up. Two seats right next to each other could have very different prices.

 

[peabody58]

We are now in our later 60's, so concert going is more of a mini-vacation for us. We don't like to drive at night, hence location becomes crucial. We just saw Dan & Shay in Savannah. We turned it into a 2 night trip to enjoy the city. Was a great time and tickets after fees, parking and more fees around $300. Yes, a lot more than my 1977 ELO $15 street hawker ticket in Philadelphia. Total concert 'experience' trip after food, lodging, pet boarding and travel came in around $1.300 for 2 nights of mini-vacation.

In comparison, we can do a 5 night stay at our DVC and spend less than $1.200 all-in (yes, I'm a spreadsheet guy). Plenty of top notch entertainment at WDW to enjoy.

With that being said, we will still go to the occasional concert 'experience' mini-vacation as it is fun, we are still able to enjoy them, and there is still a lot of the kid's inheritance left to spend. Biggest problem now is finding concert bands left that we actually know of, want to go see. Boomer problems!

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

WHEN? over 20 years!
I remember my aunt and I wanting to see Barbra Streisand as she was during a tour again. We were both excited at the idea until we saw the ticket prices. $175 ish over 20 years ago. We didn't go.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

I’m going to a new kids on the block concert this summer

New Kids on the block? Quick. Lie and change that before it's too late and someone notices.



Oh wait. Too late.

Everything is more expensive. People complain about Disney but there is no way I will see most concerts or professional sporting events.

True that. Given the price of a 3 hour concert, Disney tickets don't seem too bad.

 

[sasywtch]

When the Eagles were here last year, I had comp tickets in the second row center. I got to talking to the couple behind me and they paid $900 each for their tickets at the venue. Ouch. Ran into some friends on the way out, they were in the 3rd balcony, nose bleed and paid $300 each.

 

[cabanafrau]

It's Live Nation Concert Week. $25 tickets are available for a long list of artists this summer -- NKOTB was included on that list @Skippy918. Pink, Maroon 5 and plenty of others were also listed.

You also have to look at the demographic that are fans. Acts like Paul McCartney and Billy Joel have a lot of fans that are older with expendable income. Bands that cater to the younger crowd, with some obvious exceptions like Taylor Swift, have fans that can't afford $500 floor seats and they also play venues that cost less.

Find a band that you like but isn't mainstream popular and still plays the smaller venues and you can still get reasonably priced to jets. Also check Groupon, I saw some decent bands locally from there getting buy one get one lawn seat deals. I paid maybe $40 per person for Weezer and Green Day that way.

Interestingly last year I had seen a few articles regarding Bruce Springsteen's tour and the fact that he was participating in the surge pricing structure. Seems Bruce fits the category of having plenty of fans in the older demographic with disposable income. The articles mentioned how Bruce has such a loyal following that many have seen him multiple times at multiple stops on his tours for decades now. Amongst those loyal fans who've travelled many times over the years to see Bruce play live are some fans that have been putting together their own fan magazine for years based on their experiences and enjoyment of touring to see him live. Last year's price hikes put paid to their ability and/or willingness to spend the $$$ necessary to obtain tickets to see him. Due to their non-attendance for his tour they announced they would be shutting down their fan magazine that they had been putting out for over 30 years.

 

[DeeBee3]

When the Eagles were here last year, I had comp tickets in the second row center. I got to talking to the couple behind me and they paid $900 each for their tickets at the venue. Ouch. Ran into some friends on the way out, they were in the 3rd balcony, nose bleed and paid $300 each.

I had the chance to see The Eagles more than 15 years ago when it was still Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Joe Walsh, TImothy Schmitt, etc. $300/ticket for the balcony area on the side. Worth it to me because it was more than 3 hours of music from great musicians.

 

[Dan Murphy]

The last time I saw the Rolling Stones, my tickets cost about $4 each Granted, that was 1964.

Last time!?!? Brings back memories from then.

 

[fly girl]

Yes, ticket prices have soared, especially for high profile artists. The most I ever spent was to take dd to see Harry Styles. It was her first concert and I did it up right. We had phenomenal seats, and I paid a pretty penny for them. Was it worth it? To us, yes, but it is subjective. (fyi, not as much at Taylor Swift tickets - those are just too high for me.)

Thankfully, the band she is into now their tickets are a lot, and I mean A LOT cheaper. They are the cost I would spend to see my favorite band in good seats. I think I spent more for a concert 10 years ago.

I did buy Charli XCX tickets for dd on Monday and those were a little more pricey than I expected, but there are 2 headliners so I guess it isn't that bad after all.

But @sam_gordon and @kdonnel sum it up nicely. They are more expensive because:
A. Supply and Demand
B. Revenue for artists to offset the new way of obtaining music. (i.e., decline of album sales)

It really does make sense. Of course I have a limit on what I will pay, but that depends on how much I really love the artist.

However, I don't like the monopoly of Ticketmaster. The fees are obnoxious, the ticket is almost doubled in price by the time you check out. And I really despise scalpers who buy them during presale only to jack up the price five to ten times as much to resell.

 

[barkley]

Find a band that you like but isn't mainstream popular and still plays the smaller venues and you can still get reasonably priced to jets. Also check Groupon, I saw some decent bands locally from there getting buy one get one lawn seat deals. I paid maybe $40 per person for Weezer and Green Day that way.

if you live local to a venue that's associated with a casino/hotel and have friends that work there let them know if you're interested in a particular upcoming group (that's not sold out) b/c it's not unheard of for staff to be offered concert day half price tickets if sales are lagging.

The last time I saw the Rolling Stones, my tickets cost about $4 each Granted, that was 1964.

i paid $12 (including the ticketmaster fee) to see boston, sammy hagar AND eddie money...............in 1979. if i remember right i think parking at the venue was free-now the same place charges minimum of $40 up to $100 for event parking