The inflation crisis started in early 2020, and, almost five years later, it is still affecting the price of live events.
The average price for a concert ticket hit a record high at $127.38 this year. In 2020, the average ticket price was $91.86, and in the 2000s, only $40.74.
Freshman Olivia Wlazlo attended a Zach Bryan concert this past spring and paid around $400 for her ticket.
“…honestly, the tickets should not have been that expensive,” Wlazlo said. “You’re there to enjoy the show and listen to your favorite musician, but in order to do that, you have to pay so much money… on top of that, you are also spending more money at the concert for merch and food and drinks.”
Why are tickets so expensive? And will Americans ever see prices of concert tickets go back down?
Concerts start off with a base price. This is for renting the venue, marketing and production costs. Many artists are currently on tour, limiting the availability of venues; so the base price alone is costly.
When you purchase a concert ticket, you are not only paying the artist you are going to see but also the promoter of the event.
Promoters used to receive higher profits. However, in recent years streaming has become more popular, and record sales have become less, leading artists to seek the majority of their income from touring. Therefore, they are raising their prices, with artists now receiving about 85% of the profit and promoters only 15%.
While we may never see the prices of concert tickets return to the way they used to be, there is typically a cost trend on the timeline of buying your tickets. Tickets hit their peak price a few months before the concert. When it’s two weeks before the concert date, data shows that prices start to drop dramatically.
In 2022, consumers trying to purchase tickets for Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour” battled with bots. Automated software allowed bots to bulk buy tickets, and they were then sold for resale on knock-off websites.
With so many trying to get a hold of tickets after the debacle with Ticketmaster, people were willing to pay any price. Websites with tickets for resale jacked up prices as high as they could, knowing people would fall for their tricks and invest their savings into them.
The same is true for any other concert. Tickets are always resold, and many try to raise the price significantly to make a profit of their own.
Be smart when purchasing your tickets, and don’t let scammers fool you.
