With summer around the corner, concert season is in full swing. But how affordable are tickets to see your favorite music artist? According to several sources including The New York Times and USA Today there has been a skyrocketing rise in admission prices over the past couple of years, putting the experience out of reach for many fans. Teens get excited to see their favorite artists playing nearby, but are trapped when deciding if it’s worth paying for such expensive tickets.
Mostly due to a higher demand for concerts and live music experiences, ticket pricing has nearly doubled over the past few years, with an average ticket price of 135.92 per ticket as of recent years. In 2020, the average ticket price for the top 100 artists was 100 per ticket. These kinds of prices are discouraging for people who long to go see their beloved artists, especially during the summer, because of favorable weather and a seasonal atmosphere.
Demand and production costs are increasing, so artists and companies are required to charge more to compensate. But does this justify the extensive ticket prices? Avid concert-goers may be feeling frustrated and exploited by the rise, but talking statistically, the prices make a little bit of sense. Popular artists like Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, and Beyoncé have concerts that cost millions of dollars nightly just to operate. However, could they still be overcharging their avid supporters?
As music lovers, we are concerned about the recent rise in concert prices. The drastic shift in prices is unnecessary and unfair, changing the exciting experience into a luxury for a select few who can afford it. The main issue is that it’s not so easy to spend hundreds of dollars attending concerts. Concerts should not be an exclusive club to those who have excess spending money, but a cherished experience for the many.
In addition to ticket prices, people may be required to spend even more money on travel, food, lodging, and drinks for the concert itself. Even though most of those are optional, they are basic, often basic needs and wants. Some artists like Ed Sheeran, Billie Eilish, and Taylor Swift offer concerts on a much smaller scale, which allows for more affordable pricing when it comes to tickets, but tour companies continually push for bigger and overpriced stadium shows instead. Intimate concerts are easier to manage and should be held more often to expand to larger audiences, and are usually just more preferable when concerts are much less crowded and chaotic.
Concerts are no doubt expensive. When factoring in expenses that most people include when going to concerts like food or merch, they may not be the most cost-efficient. So, overall concerts are great but aren’t totally worth it when considering the prices and the overall expense put into your experience.
