{"id":140068,"date":"2024-09-23T06:59:05","date_gmt":"2024-09-23T06:59:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/09\/23\/why-do-concert-tickets-now-cost-as-much-as-a-games-console\/"},"modified":"2024-09-23T06:59:06","modified_gmt":"2024-09-23T06:59:06","slug":"why-do-concert-tickets-now-cost-as-much-as-a-games-console","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/09\/23\/why-do-concert-tickets-now-cost-as-much-as-a-games-console\/","title":{"rendered":"Why do concert tickets now cost as much as a games console?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Why<\/div>


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\"BBCBBC<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Tickets to see Taylor Swift, Beyonce and Oasis have set new benchmarks for pricing<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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The last time Oasis played Wembley Stadium, in 2009, a standing ticket cost exactly \u00a344.04.<\/p>\n

For their return next summer, the same ticket was priced at \u00a3150. Vastly more than the old ticket price which, when adjusted for inflation, would cost \u00a368.<\/p>\n

Not only that, but some fans were charged hundreds of pounds more than the face value, after so-called \u201cdynamic pricing\u201d boosted the cost<\/a> in response to high demand.<\/p>\n

But Oasis aren\u2019t alone. If you\u2019ve logged onto Ticketmaster over the last couple of years, you\u2019ll know the cost of live music has soared.<\/p>\n

Ticket prices shot up by 23% last year,<\/a> having already risen 19%<\/a> since the pandemic. Going to a gig can cost the same amount as taking a holiday, and prices are only rising.<\/p>\n

At the most extreme end of the scale, Madonna charged \u00a31,306.75 for VIP passes to her Celebration tour; and Beyonc\u00e9 offered fans the chance to sit on the stage of her Renaissance concerts for the bargain price of \u00a32,400.<\/p>\n

Overall, the average ticket price for the top 100 tours around the world was \u00a3101 last year, up from \u00a382 in 2022, according to Pollstar, a trade publication that tracks the concert industry.<\/p>\n

In the UK, 51% of people say high prices have stopped them going to gigs<\/a> at least once in the last five years. Among 16 to 34-year-olds, two-thirds of concert-goers<\/a> say they\u2019ve reduced the number of shows they attend. But despite this, tours with high-priced tickets keep selling out – but only for the biggest-name artists.<\/p>\n

Abbi Glover, 33, from New Holland, Lincolnshire, said the cost of tickets \u201ccreates a divide\u201d between those who can afford them and those who are \u201cpriced out\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI work hard and earn a decent wage. What do I have to do to be able to just enjoy these things when I’m doing everything I possibly can?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u2018Milking the cow\u2019<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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UK prices are still below those in the US but, as ticketing expert Reg Walker told the BBC, \u201cwhat happens there happens here five to 10 years later\u201d.<\/p>\n

So why have costs skyrocketed?<\/p>\n

If your first thought was \u201cgreed\u201d, well, that\u2019s definitely part of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not speculation to think that some artists want to make as much money as they can,\u201d says Gideon Gottfried, Pollstar\u2019s European editor.<\/p>\n

One musician who\u2019s been bullish about the price hikes is Bruce Springsteen.<\/p>\n

Fans were alarmed when some seats for his 2023 US tour were priced as high as $5,000 (\u00a33,874), thanks to Ticketmaster\u2019s dynamic pricing.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Rolling Stone<\/a>, Springsteen argued that most of the tickets were in an \u201caffordable range\u201d, but he was fed up with touts making money off his back, so he chose to match their prices.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going, \u2018Hey, why shouldn\u2019t that money go to the guys that are going to be up there sweating three hours a night for it?\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Kiss star Gene Simmons also defended the system.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever the pricing is, it\u2019s all academic,\u201d he told Forbes<\/a>.<\/b> \u201cSomebody sits in a room and tries to figure out how far the rubber band can stretch. And if you\u2019re not selling tickets, guess what happens? The price goes down. Capitalism!<\/p>\n

\u201cVote with [your] money,\u201d he concluded. \u201cYou don\u2019t like the ticket pricing? Don\u2019t buy a ticket.\u201d<\/p>\n

Springsteen and Simmons are in good company. Other artists who\u2019ve embraced dynamic pricing include Coldplay, Harry Styles, Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift (although she ditched it for the Eras tour after significant fan backlash).<\/p>\n

Following the Oasis debacle, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer vowed to get a \u201cgrip\u201d on the situation and \u201cmake sure that tickets are available at a price that people can actually afford\u201d.<\/p>\n

But it might not be so simple\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Aside from the lure of a big payday, there are many reasons why artists are charging more.<\/p>\n

Some are trying to combat the impact of streaming – the majority of musicians make just 5% of their income from streaming<\/a>, a sharp decline from the years when vinyl and CD were king.<\/p>\n

Others are worried about their longevity, in an era when entire careers can be measured in the span of a TikTok trend.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody really knows what the heck is going on, and how the economy will develop and what the next crisis is going to be,\u201d says Gottfried, \u201cso some artists are trying to milk the cow as much as possible, while it\u2019s still possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Beyonce<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Beyonce’s Renaissance tour broke records<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Not everyone thinks that way. Punk-pop star Yungblud organised his own festival in Milton Keynes this August, setting prices at a market-beating \u00a349.50.<\/p>\n

He was compelled to take action after noticing unsold seats on his US arena tour last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cFive hundred seats would be completely empty because they were $200 a ticket,\u201d he told Music Week<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019d have 1,000 kids outside the venue who couldn\u2019t afford to come in and I was like, \u2018Something\u2019s got to change here.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

But the festival didn\u2019t go completely to plan<\/a>. Heightened security after a stabbing in Milton Keynes the previous weekend led to delays of up to three hours for fans waiting to get into the venue. As temperatures soared above 30 degrees Celsius, some passed out in the queue. Others gave up and went home.<\/p>\n

Higher-priced tickets could have paid for extra security staff and eased those pressures – illustrating the delicate balance that has to be struck when setting prices.<\/p>\n

Still, Yungblud isn\u2019t the only one trying to get a fair deal for concert-goers. <\/p>\n

Paul Heaton capped prices for his upcoming tour at \u00a335. Pop star Caity Baser set her 2023 concerts at just \u00a311 – or \u201ctwo meal deals\u201d, as she put it \u2013 to help cash-strapped fans.<\/p>\n

But these artists don\u2019t require big productions full of pyrotechnics and jumbotron video screens.<\/p>\n

For acts who do, the cost of touring has spiralled since the pandemic. Here are just a few examples:<\/p>\n