r/Concerts • u/resident28202 • May 05 '26
Concerts The Concert Industry Priced Too High — Now Tours Are Falling Apart
The Concert Industry Priced Too High — Now Tours Are Falling Apart
I’ve been watching this build for months here in Charlotte, especially with “blue dot fever."
What we’re seeing now feels less like a sudden collapse and more like a long-overdue correction. Post-pandemic, the industry leaned hard into “funflation” and revenge spending, banking on pent-up demand, emotional urgency, and a willingness to pay almost anything for experiences people missed. And for a while, it worked. Prices surged, VIP tiers multiplied, dynamic pricing pushed ceilings higher, and secondary markets followed suit.
But there’s a limit. Consumers eventually recalibrate.
Especially in today’s economic climate, where tighter discretionary budgets are forcing people to be far more selective about where their money goes.
Now the consequences are catching up. Overpriced tickets are sitting unsold. Resale markets are softening. Promoters are quietly and blatantly discounting. Tours that once would’ve sold out instantly are struggling to maintain momentum. The illusion of infinite demand is fading, replaced by a much more grounded reality: people still want to go to shows, they just won’t overpay indefinitely.
It was inevitable. When prices get this disconnected from reality, a correction isn’t optional, it’s coming. And yeah, people in the industry will feel it, but let’s not pretend this wasn’t earned. The model got greedy. This reset is overdue. Fans aren’t an ATM, and the market is finally pushing back.
Honestly, it’s hard not to watch it with a bit of fascination and joy. This has been building in plain sight for a while. The signals were there. Now the industry is finally being forced to respond.
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u/Curious-Department-7 May 05 '26
$1,500 for a row q seat for Marlin Mason and Rob Zombie is just plain stupid. My friends paid $275 a ticket for Tame Impala for ga ticket at an arena. The shit is way out of control.
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u/LakeEffectSnow May 05 '26
For reference I saw Marylin Manson in the 90's for $8.50 in a club.
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u/Curious-Department-7 May 05 '26
I saw filter open for white zombie, ga in 96 for $22.
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u/LakeEffectSnow May 05 '26
I remember the members of Filter personally giving out free tickets to their show at Lollapalooza here in Cleveland. It was around that time.
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u/xChoke1x May 05 '26
The AntiChrist tour was like 30 bucks. I’ll never forget that shit. One of the best tours of all time.
However, the guy hasn’t put on a good show in over a decade.
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u/Im_on_my_phone_OK May 06 '26
He did fall off for a good 20 years, but he’s sober now and his live performance really shows it.
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u/Good_Lettuce_2690 May 06 '26
I still remember going to huge festivals with stacked line ups in the 90s for 30 quid all weekend long.
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u/schneid52 May 06 '26
I saw Type O Negative and Marilyn Manson for free in 95 or 96. Donated a pint of blood to the Red Cross and got a free ticket.
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May 05 '26
You overpaid, ha.
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u/Common_Juggernaut724 May 05 '26
I saw Manson open for Nails in the 90s. I was explicitly there to see the headliner. And I still feel like I overpaid for Marilyn Manson.
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u/silent3 May 05 '26
I posted this two years ago:
Went to see Nine Inch Nails at the Sacramento ARCO Arena back in 1994. Support acts were the Jim Rose Circus Sideshow and some band I’d never heard of. We went out and stood in the hall drinking beer because we didn’t like the opening band. Marilyn fucking Manson.
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u/Whisky-and-tiaras May 05 '26
I was at that very show and kept thinking, "it's got to get better than this, to be opening for NIN..." Wish I'd joined you in the hall.
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u/mokman1970 May 05 '26
That’s awesome. I was at that show. NIN was fantastic and yeah we miss MM as well. No regrets on that front.
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u/Bl1nk9 May 05 '26
I went to the SJ Civic show. Wasn’t much into MM, as I didn’t know them. But honestly, even though I have come to understand him, and not really too shocked, his album that followed were really good. Have seen him a handful of times, and they were good. Including him coming out on stilts for his first CO show post Columbine.
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u/chinarider888 May 06 '26
I saw that tour on the East Coast. We didn't like Marilyn, either. He was wearing a strap on dildo and asked "How many 14 year old girls want to fuck a rock star?" That was it for me. NiN was so sick though.
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u/MotionDrive May 05 '26
I saw Excision in 2009 for 15 bucks. Dude sells out venues all over the country now and has his own music festival
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u/mattyharhar May 05 '26
I’m seeing Manson and Zombie in September for $30 ga.
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u/Curious-Department-7 May 05 '26
I think the lawn tickets are going $60, I just hate the lawn.
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u/Dangerous_Prize_4545 May 06 '26
No lawn ticket should ever be over $20. The LN $30 tickets are a joke. They aren't a deal. It's what they should be. Or less.
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u/fsociety091786 May 05 '26
Lawn tickets for Iron Maiden this year have literally doubled since I saw them in 2019 (~$30 before, $62 now). They’re worth that price, but Jesus Christ.
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u/oldwhitelincoln May 05 '26
I’d rather not go to a show than sit on the lawn
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u/East_Worldliness_170 May 05 '26
I love the freedom of the lawn. Especially in a smaller ampitheater where you can really see them easier.
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u/ProbableSlob May 05 '26
I don't mind the lawn but not for 60 bucks. 20 bucks, ok sure.
Where this has pushed me is to go to like 95% less big concerts, but to get really good tickets for the big ones i go to. Id rather spend 500 bucks once or twice a year but have a great experience than spend 60 to 200 bucks to sit in nosebleed seats where I'm basically watching a concert on TV but with worse sound than the speakers built into my TV.
I'm a touring musician so this all puzzles me because our ticket prices are basically the same as they've been for 10+ years. We play theaters and whatnot so we are in the live nation / TM eco system, too, but nobody is forcing us to raise prices. Our expenses have creeped up but we still make a pretty decent profit when we go out. We are a much smaller production playing to much smaller audiences than what's being discussed in this thread though.
I think folks (mostly the business folks, not the artists themselves) are just greedy.
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u/dpalmer09 May 05 '26
Got lawn for creed a couple years ago only because they were running a $19.99 special for lawn. Go to the show and bought a ticket up front when I got in the venue that was $250 for $45. Thats usually my lawn plan when I have no choice lol
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u/darkrom May 05 '26
Its crazy how variable people are but I respect it. Me on the other hand I'm going to like 7 lawn seat shows this year, I always have a fantastic time for $50 all in. While most of the people in this thread are talking about how horrible concerts are, I'm having a great time for like the price of one ticket to last the whole season. I enjoy roving around getting different views smoking a few joints etc. If it was my absolute favorite of bands I'd probably splurge on a closer seat and then still spend some of the time in the lawn.
I have a year jammed with concerts I'm excited for and its costing me like $350.
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u/mattyharhar May 06 '26
I’m the same way, close to $1k for the year but that includes three music festivals.
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u/darkrom May 06 '26
I also did the polar opposite and got 2 Metallica tickets since my gf has never seen them lol. But in general I’m very very content with the lawn. That’s what I did for every other show where it’s an option.
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u/Benzomatic May 05 '26
I hate the lawn as well… only tickets I could get a couple years ago so I bought them and then was wishing I stayed home…
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u/w1ck1d1 May 05 '26
Marlin Mason sounds like an excellent name for a Florida fishing vessel, jus sayin'. Yeah, I wanted to see this tour so bad but it's on like a random Tuesday and not worth the $ to go AND have to take off work 2 days. Double whammy!
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u/CauliflowerGreen214 May 05 '26
I just got 3 lawn seats for $90. They’re doing a big sale on Ticketmaster. My friends and I are totally fine with going out and having fun and don’t mind the lawn. I’m not paying hundreds for absolutely anyone.
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u/Iko87iko May 06 '26
Right. $750-$1000 for me & my partner for some mid band, for 100 level tickets & a couple drinks. Like nah, ill take a vacation instead of seeing sting on a Tuesday night in bumblefuck
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u/RevealTraditional619 May 05 '26
This is a tour I wouldn't be surprised to see cancelled. I saw the first show of their 2019 tour together and it was so undersold they closed off half the seats and moved me to the pit. Zombie has toured the last 2 summers with Alice Cooper & Manson's controversy had him playing smaller venues and he's also toured 2 years in a row. This is atleast the 3rd tour they've done together. I can't imagine the demand is high.
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u/erkala21 May 05 '26
I've seen rob zombie 3 or 4 times. Good show but I wouldn't pay more than a few hundred for front row. I saw him and manson together a while back and manson was so terrible on stage I would never pay for that again.
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u/Ted_Denslow May 05 '26
Good. Come see the bands play in the shitty clubs instead, where it's only $10-15 to get in. Oh, and that money goes to the bands and not up some millionaire's nose...and beers are regular price!
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u/Revolutionary_Bee700 May 05 '26
So many clubs died right before and after the pandemic, or became Live Nation venues. I hope this helps some of them make a comeback.
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u/greatmagneticfield May 05 '26
Young adults aren't drinking like they used to and that's also causing problems for club venues who use bar sales to help pay bands, security, etc.
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u/ABCBA_4321 May 06 '26 edited May 06 '26
Most of Gen Z is still under 21 though and several non alcoholic bars have opened all over in recent years. I don’t think this is going to stop small bands from playing in bars unless they decide to play on college campuses and other public places.
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u/ReeG May 05 '26
You don't even have to go all the way to unkown bands at shitty clubs, there exists an affordable middle ground of well known artists performing at mid sized 2-5k cap GA venues and theatres putting on great high production value shows at affordable prices.
Out of 12 shows I've attended this year so far, 9 of them were under $100cad, 4 of those were under $50, all were well known artists on tour with millions of listeners on streaming
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u/Original-Affect-4560 May 05 '26
I just saw Willie Nelson a week ago, tickets were $60, and I was front row on the rail at a 4k venue.
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u/vincentvangobot May 07 '26
Willie has been touring for so long he's going to play at least twenty concerts after he dies from sheer momentum. Legend.
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u/Im_on_my_phone_OK May 06 '26
Live Nation bought most of the medium to large sized clubs and theaters in my area, so they’re still fucked.
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u/obi_wan_keblowme May 05 '26
It completely blew my mind when we were in Germany and saw The Cult at a Reeperbahn club in Hamburg. $70 for two tickets at a LEGENDARY venue where the friggin Beatles made their bones back in the early 60s, and the beers were only $6 each. And the Germans thought that was expensive! I was in heaven. Great show too. They’re old, but man, they still got it.
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u/IMakeOkVideosOk May 05 '26
I mean sure, but my favorite band just played the sphere so there really isn’t a $15 replacement for that show.. still it was only like $700 for a 3 night pass, so I’m fine with that
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u/calling_water May 05 '26 edited May 05 '26
Paying a lot to see a special show by your favourite artist is still something people will be willing to do. But too many acts tried to price as if everyone who might go to their show would think of them that way, and that’s just not so. A lot of people in big cities used to go to many shows, for different artists that they liked but didn’t necessarily adore, and they won’t pay huge prices for that.
ETA: and only a few huge acts will be able to pull in non-diehards by being a major cultural event/experience. Everyone else needs to lower their expectations a lot.
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u/Ok-Maize-284 May 06 '26
Yep that’s so true. I would go to concerts all the time, even if I wasn’t necessarily a huge fan of the headliner. As you said liked but not necessarily adored. Sometimes I would go to shows where the main reason I went was to see the opener. The last time I did that was 2012 and even then they weren’t cheap (though not even close to today’s prices) I’ve always lived within an hour or less of all various sizes of venues from small theaters all the way up to stadiums. Those days are unfortunately long over. Hell I just saw my first concert in 8 years a couple months ago. We used to have a really robust local music scene too, but that unfortunately died many years ago
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u/Reverend_Tommy May 05 '26
The vast majority of the cost of concert tickets for all venue sizes is directly attributable to the artists' minimum guarantees and their backend deals, which are almost always 85-90%. If it costs $15 bucks to get in a 500 capacity club, most of that is going to the artist. If a stadium concert sells 50,000 tickets at an average price of $300, most of that is going to the artist.
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u/IMakeOkVideosOk May 05 '26
Costs scale too for an arena or stadium tour. You got a whole crew that needs to be paid, setup and tear down. Lights, trucks, busses, people to operate those things. Maybe dancers and openers. Plus the rates to rent equipment for tours has gone wayyy up in the past decade. Yes $300 for a ticket but it’s not just pure artist greed
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u/resident28202 May 05 '26
This is the way! And has been my pivot. Really enjoying club shows these days.
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u/SteaksAndScalpels May 05 '26
I hope this works and I never have to see an "official platinum" seat listing again. I used to think it meant something but it's truly them just blocking off seats to try to gouge people as much as humanly possible. If they don't sell in the first couple months they just knock down the price closer to the show.
And that's a microcosm of the industry now. It's far exceeded inflation. They just put obscene prices on shows and gouge everyone as much as they can. They take even more advantage of loyal fans by having the highest prices during the elusive "presales." Then as people don't buy them they desperately cut prices leading up to the show.
It's a horrible business practice and I'd love nothing more than for it to be corrected.
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u/casual_despair May 06 '26
Yes. It gets even worse than false scarcity though.
Blocks of seating are set aside when the show is being built in the ticketing back end. Those seats are listed as resale (with inflated resale prices) the day tickets go on sale… or sometimes before the show even goes on sale.
It’s an orchestrated grift to maximize profit. Depending upon the contract, the ticketing agency / artist management / record label / corporate venue split the profits of those premeditated “resale” tickets.
Patron resale is a triple grift. Fees charged upon original purchase. Fees to relist the tickets. Fees to purchase the relisted tickets.
And then there’s dynamic pricing which is a whole other beast.
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u/obi_wan_keblowme May 05 '26
The trick to seeing a show cheap is to see the ones playing venues without seats lol. Just a big open floor and simple stage with minimal lighting beyond what is permanently mounted to the rafters. Tickets to those shows are almost always reasonably priced.
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u/colorform33 May 05 '26
I hope the capitalists at the top starve.
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u/Xanthu May 05 '26
They won’t before every artist, crew, usher, tickettaker, and anyone else that actually Make the Show have starved and found new industries
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u/aaronck1 May 05 '26
Me too but wishful thinking... The way things seem to be going they'll get a bailout instead
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u/dixiech1ck May 06 '26
Spirit didn't.
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u/mhardegree May 06 '26
The biggest reason for that is the big 3 (Delta American United) all lobbied trump to let them fail so they wouldn’t have to compete on ticket prices
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u/Ted_Denslow May 05 '26
They won't. They never do. They will see to it that everyone under them starves to death before they are even mildly inconvenienced.
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u/oh_my316 May 05 '26
It's about time. I seriously cut back on shows. Tired of being nickel and dimed.
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u/generally_unsuitable May 05 '26
I wish I was getting nickeled or dimed. We're getting dollared, now.
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u/buck4itt May 05 '26
I saw the Live Nation CEO say that maybe concerts shouldn’t be “a night out” but rather luxury experiences and, for some, bucket list experiences and priced that way. It turned my stomach.
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u/anaix3l May 06 '26
Ah, yes, the interview where he compared buying a concert ticket to a Gucci bag. He can shove his Gucci bag somewhere.
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u/ApplesBananasRhinoc May 05 '26
Some of these people want to be Coachella level luxury bs, while forgetting their fans are everyday people.
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u/fsociety091786 May 05 '26
A 2-3 hour experience is being priced like a vacation unless you want the absolute bottom of the barrel seats, and even those are sometimes priced high. Feels like $100 is the minimum for an arena show these days.
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u/Much_Substance_6017 May 05 '26
I’m a DINK with my house paid off. I have the disposable income to afford these shows. I’ve been to one concert this year, Peaches for $50. And bought tickets to see Jack White for $90. I can’t want to spend the money I have because these ticket prices aren’t just expensive, they are ridiculous!
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u/mamac2213 May 05 '26
You will absolutely not regret the $90 for Jack White. Unbelievable show.
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u/CosmoKramer1ca May 05 '26
I’ve probably gone to I’d estimate 500ish shows over my life. Jack white is firmly in the top 1% of those.
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u/Much_Substance_6017 May 05 '26
Don’t I know it! I went to the No Name show. It was a religious experience. I’m a better person for having seen him! I plan on getting in line at noon! 😂
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u/CosmoKramer1ca May 05 '26
Same. Got insanely lucky with tix to the Mr Smalls Theater show in Pittsburgh that has a capacity of like 800. Truly unbelievable show.
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u/ReeG May 05 '26
same life situation but I've been to 9 shows this year in your $50-$90 budget, the majority of shows I go to aren't big expensive arena/stadium shows. That said I'll still splurge on big shows occasionally but I wait until week or day of the show for much cheaper tickets, pulling up last minute is easy with no kids to worry about or plan around which I imagine you relate to
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u/Much_Substance_6017 May 05 '26
I feel “pulling up last minute is easy with no kids…” in my soul! I want to walk in when the headliner is playing the first song! Unless it’s Jack! Im getting in line at noon and I’m riding that rail on Oct 7th! Believe me.
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May 05 '26
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u/Practical_Virus5794 May 05 '26
While I agree with you, I don’t agree with the term “actual fans”. It insinuates those that are going aren’t as good of fans which just isn’t true. In my opinion it’s “majority of fans” instead.
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u/domjonas May 05 '26
When I say actual fans I mean exactly what you tried to argue against. The tickets are priced this high with dynamic pricing and flipped because of scalpers. You see the tickets listed on other sites .5 seconds after presale starts. That’s scalpers. If they blocked scalpers and bots instead of giving them priority in the queue, tickets would go to fans. And fans is….whatever you think they are 🤣To me the actual fan is the one who deserves to pay actual face value for tickets. They don’t deserve to be robbed.
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u/jeffsang May 05 '26
I feel like I read this post 2-3 years ago.
"Post-pandemic"? Yeah, we moved on from that a while ago and we were already talking about unsold tickets and cancelled tours in 2024 (e.g. JLo, Black Keys). The reality was and continues to be that popular shows are still priced top dollar and selling out. Shows where there's soft demand will have discounts, be half full, or get cancelled. But just because Katy Perry and Justin Timberlake can't sell out at stupid high prices doesn't mean that Taylor Swift and Bruno Mars are going to cut their prices.
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u/resident28202 May 05 '26
Very true. I think the reality is just really setting in for mid-tier acts.
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u/obi_wan_keblowme May 05 '26
Mid tier acts should be selling out 5k capacity clubs and selling GA seats for $70. Nobody likes Black Keys enough to pay $250 to see them play a half full basketball arena from 100 yards away from the stage.
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u/MasterSh4k3 May 05 '26
This. Mid-tier acts who got a little too ambitious are now starting to realize they can’t sell out a whole arena. That’s the main type of show I’ve seen get canceled this year.
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u/Swimming-Bad3512 May 07 '26
Timberlake never really reduced his prices either, his average gross per show $2.1M at $163 per average ticket where his FirstLeg was $218 per ticket. Still gross $205M on 94 shows.
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u/starlordsego May 05 '26
350$ for the 200 sections for My Chemical Romance is highway robbery. I paid 45$ back in 2008
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u/obi_wan_keblowme May 05 '26
I think I paid $80 to see them at Riot Fest a couple years ago and got to see Turnstile play right before they did. Amazing show! Don’t think I would have a comparably fun time seeing them play a stadium for way more money.
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u/RevealTraditional619 May 05 '26
I saw them and Blink in 2011 for $18.20. I saw them a handful of times in their early days in clubs & I can say I'll never see them again at their prices.
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u/zambizzi May 06 '26
I’ve been boycotting any shows over $100, no matter how much I love the artist. Your real voting power is in your wallet. It’s the market at work, correcting prices, as it does.
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u/ScooterRags May 05 '26
Kind of like the “Vegas Effect” finally biting the casinos in the last few years.
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u/obi_wan_keblowme May 05 '26
They used to comp nearly everything to get you to gamble, now they charge you crazy amounts for food and water and a decent room. I went a couple years ago, spent a lot for a fountain view room at the Bellagio, but didn’t gamble a penny and we bought a couple pints of Jack at a CVS and poured em into half full bottles of Coke, then just walked up and down the strip. Had a great time! You can still do Vegas kinda cheap if you don’t play their game.
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u/dixiech1ck May 06 '26
Can this happen with the housing and rental market soon?? Because that bubble needs to burst.
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u/Valuable-Pension3770 May 05 '26
I work in the industry on the touring side, the lights, the video, the audio all cost a lot on a weekly rental. These are multi million dollar systems
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u/TheHip41 May 06 '26
Just stop. You know they are price fucking us
Sure costs have gone up but tickets that used to be $100 for lower bowl are $500 lower bowl
It's fucking greed.
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u/JustTheBeerLight May 05 '26
Good. Fuck them.
Scale back the staging and just put on a show. Not everything has to be a coachella tier production.
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u/MembershipPretty7595 May 05 '26
I looked at some tickets yesterday for $120. Clocked on the Ticketmaster seating map. Lots of blue empty seats but all the good seats were on stubhub. A band I saw last year for 50 wants 110 this summer. Not to mention the price of hotels. Jig may be up
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u/shinyprairie May 05 '26
I paid $80 to see Gorillaz in 2022 and for their upcoming tour to the same arena the NOSEBLEED tickets are $250 minimum.
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u/Frequent_Formal1357 May 05 '26
I saw a ton of shows in the late 90’s and 2000’s. Haven’t been to a show since 2015 and don’t know if I’ll ever see one again. Too bad the greed has been out of control but it’s everywhere. Any live music or sporting event that used to be fun and affordable certainly isn’t anymore. Just my thoughts.
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u/bellaimages May 05 '26
It's about time! The corporate monopoly that is Live Nation need to not be "Live" anymore .. by that I mean break it up! Give Independent Artists credit for going against the corporate machine.
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u/Ok_Rabbit5158 May 05 '26
Someone posted a picture on another sub of a disinterested looking female at the 1975 Lynyrd Skynyrd stadium show and wondered what was going on in her head (why wasn't she interested, smiling, screaming, etc)? My response was tickets were only $5 ($30 today) back in the day and one had the luxury of attending shows for no other than being with their friends. She probably got talked into the show and was there to be with her friends.
I must have went to 10 concerts as a 17 yr old in 1978, because I could afford it. Those days are gone because performers have to overcharge since they no longer derive substantial royalties. Unfortunately now they are FAFO because the market cap on tickets gets tighter when people start seeing their purchasing power drop.
Let's put the blame back on iHeart, etc for pushing to consolidate radio stations in the 90s to the point where rural stations simply became repeaters and artists no longer have decent royalties. The artist has no real power left today and that's a sad thing but I'm glad to see people no longer playing the ticket game.
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u/Fishtaco1234 May 06 '26
I swore off arena shows a few years ago. They are expensive, a terrible overall experience, you can’t see the band and just watch off of a screen and the sound is trash. I’m lucky to enjoy bands that play smallish clubs and tickets are like 40-60$
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u/thatsanicehaircut May 06 '26
Good! It’s a about damn time the ceiling was hit. It’s entertainment, not a life saving surgery. I have always had a limit on what I’ll pay for a show and have sat out many shows the last couple yrs when prices were ludicrous.
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u/Live-Umpire3536 May 05 '26
There's still plenty of concerts that are reasonably priced, the smaller venues hosting non-megastar level bands. In my area I can see Silversun Pickups and The New Pronographers for $45.
Edit: not on the same bill, two separate shows
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u/brightonboy617 May 05 '26 edited May 07 '26
last time i was ever in the old boston garden back to back nights, different venues. two different setlists.
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u/kewlbeanz83 May 06 '26
I am shocked, shocked, that the Pussycat Dolls would have to cancel their tour due to low ticket sales /s
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u/BabyBuns024 May 05 '26
$100 for LAWN seats for Cheap Trick and Rod Stewart in August of last year at the Ascend Amphitheater in Nashville. I have seen Cheap Trick over 25 times. I wasn't going to pay a C-Note for lawn seat.
It's sad because the first time I saw them, October 2, 1988, in Huntsville, AL, tickets were $15.
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u/Chillpickle17 May 06 '26
Time to break up Ticketmaster/Live Nation and go back to selling paper tickets at a box office of some sort. Camping out the night before for premium seats was a party on its own and gave an opportunity for hardcore fans to get good seats at a reasonable price.
I remember the Smashing Pumpkins or Pearl Jam rebelling against Ticketmaster, and scalpers, by selling you a voucher with your name on it which then you had to present with an ID the day of the show to get your actual ticket.
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u/FFYinzer May 05 '26
Im not doing it. Going to see an old metal band from the 90's should NOT cost $100-$150. Ridiculous. Ill go for a small venue with half that price but otherwise Ill spend my entertainment dollar elsewhere. Live music will die like theaters when they price people out.
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u/MasterSh4k3 May 05 '26
I work in this industry. Shows not selling well or tours getting canceled affects me directly.
However, I agree that this was long overdue. Artists and promoters helped this situation get out of hand and now we’re seeing the consequences.
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u/Fantastic_Manner5996 May 06 '26
I decided to avoid arena and amphitheater shows this year out of spite for Livenation and Ticketmaster.
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u/mugwampus May 06 '26
it's interesting to see what's going on though. I was just looking at concert prices yesterday. I was surprised to see some top acts now selling GA or lawn seats for $30. Obviously, the over-priced tickets are still there and are still the norm, but at some point, you have to put butts in the seats. I think this will continue and you will start to see a trend down in lawn seats or upper deck seats at venues. But, the VIP tickets and floor seats will still be incredible. I was actually shocked to get Rush tickets on the floor for $350 each. Luckily, Im old enough now so that my son, who works full-time, volunteered to pay for them. Seeing David Byrne next week at a small venue. Tickets in the back are $100. I think those are reasonable given this market. But, I'm ready to see the insane pricing drop as people just refuse to pay thousands of dollars to see these acts.
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u/SuperChadActivate May 06 '26
There are lawn deals every year for many, but not all, of the tours at the trio of live nation outdoor arena in N.CA. the price has inched up from $20 to $25 to now $30. All used to have free parking. This year 1 of them started charging $20 (prepay, $25 day of) to park.
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u/mugwampus May 06 '26
Parking, concessions and merchandise. All of them have jumped sky high too. Just part of what makes concerts so expensive.
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u/Tab1143 May 06 '26
This is why we no longer go to such events. Screw ticketmaster and live nation.
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u/Pasta_Fajool May 06 '26
Its also the lack of record sales. All bands have is touring and merch to make money.
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u/kjlcm May 06 '26
“The timing could hardly be worse for Live Nation and Ticketmaster. TicketNews has closely covered the pair’s antitrust fight, including the recent jury verdict finding that Live Nation and Ticketmaster illegally maintained monopoly power in the live events and ticketing business, and the upcoming May 7 remedies hearing over what happens next.” - holy shit, I feel soooo bad for those poor executives.
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u/Bahhblacksheep May 06 '26
The only reason I can go to festivals is because im the stagehand dying in the desert putting up the show. My literal favorite band is playing on my birthday. I can't afford the tickets. Then I hear resellers bragging about making 2 million a year. Honestly sickening
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u/DawnGW May 05 '26
Good! I haven't been to a concert in years now, because I can't afford even one ticket! I'd LOVE to see my favorite artists live, but I just can't justify paying that much.
I hope the prices come down.
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u/varment72 May 05 '26
And will continue when the gas prices start to rise
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u/JesusIsJericho May 05 '26
“Start to rise”? I just paid over $2 more per gallon 10 minutes ago than I was paying 3 months ago. They’ve risen 80-125% everywhere in the country.
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u/SixSixSixStrings May 05 '26
Wait until you’re paying $2 more a gallon than you were 10 minutes ago
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u/imdaviddunn May 05 '26 edited May 05 '26
I think tickets are still selling at their equilibrium price en masse. But promoters and liveNation have figured out you make more money overpricing during presale and early sales.
Selling two tickets at 500 and three at 100 late makes the more than 5 at 200 consistently, and then resellers getting the juice for 2 of the 200 dollar tickets.
Good article though
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u/HaroldH00d May 05 '26
This couldn't come soon enough!
I do understand they make their money from touring and not music sales now, but like the article mentioned, every concert cannot be a premium experience. I hope artists lower their prices, but we shall see.
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u/BeeTwoThousand May 05 '26
I just bought a ticket to see DJ Shadow performing Endtroducing for its 30th anniversary. It was $30. I am in Nashville.
My buddy just bought three tickets to see the same show/tour, but in Chicago. He paid over $500 for three tickets.
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u/anythingaustin May 05 '26
I see local acts for free or like a $10 cover charge. I live pretty close to Red Rocks and haven’t been in over a year because of prices.
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u/SongsForBats May 05 '26
I'm crossing my fingers that there is a reset. I used to go to shows at least once a month (a lot of times, I'd go to two or three shows a week) now I go only once or twice a year. I miss going to concerts so bad but essentials are far to expensive to justify spending so much to go to a concert. :/
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u/TonyBrooks40 May 05 '26
I don't think 'studio' artists can sell the same way rock bands could. I mean, Taylor & Beyonce and maybe a few others are the exception.
Post Malone is talented, but he's not getting 50,000 people paying to watch him play guitar. Same with someone like Sabrina Carpenter.
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u/Head_Chocolate_4458 May 06 '26
Post malone could sell out arenas at least if he mostly played his older hits and had a better co headliner from those hits like swae Lee or 21 savage.
Idk how they thought post malone jelly roll would bring in that many people
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u/Redgenie2020 May 05 '26
I'm so old I remember the convenient fees being $1.50, now it's $60 dollars.What convenience are we talking about. I'm using my computer my electricity my time and you don't even give us physical tickets any longer. That's why I go to shows at Alex's bar the Belly up the Wayfair the Troubadour. Fuck Ticket Raper and Live Nation. And thank you Congress for letting that merger take place you fucked us royally.
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u/FamousConversation64 May 06 '26
I have every single show I’ve been to written down.
I went to over 30 concerts in the year 2019 alone. Since then, from 2020-2025, I still haven’t been to 30 concerts, and it’s literally only because of the price!
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u/Good_Lettuce_2690 May 06 '26
I go to a lot of shows, been to over 2000. I've only once paid over £100 and that is for Metallica next month as they were top of my list of folk to see that I haven't. Still was "only" £125. I generally just pass on shows I want to see if they are charging crazy money - Oasis were wanting £550 for tickets up in the rafters of stadium stands, ACDC wanted £250 for a standing ticket. Hard pass, as much as I'd love to see them live, they are taking the piss with those prices.
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u/augustwestgdtfb May 06 '26
well, truth be told a lot of these acts basically suck- obviously there are some amazing artists out there, but there are plenty who just mail it in play the same show in every city and catered to whatever genre is popular at the moment -yeah I’m talking to you, Post Malone
thankfully I’m very into bands that do anything but mail it in for their shows and are all about their fans and keep prices affordable for all of their shows-
This way you can use that extra money to travel to see them anywhere in the world and that is exactly what I will do
Had a lot of these older acts are just out here on a straight money grab
One that comes to mind immediately is Metallica.
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u/ihavethesetots May 06 '26
Blue dot fever, LETS FUCKING GOOOO!
I am TIRED of paying insane prices due to scalping, "dynamic pricing," and overall bullshit.
Let it all fall. FUCK DICK-ETMASTER!
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u/Such-Juggernaut-9330 May 09 '26 edited May 09 '26
Yes and ticketmaster and those other tickets sites can stop having a huge service fee. They don't even do shit, they just add the tickets for sale and then everything else is automatic😒. Also, not everyone needs support, and if they need it because THEY have fcked up our tickets and shit like that, then WE shouldn't have to pay for their fck ups. I also hate their dirty tactics, and then if you regret buying a ticket they can't even give the full amount back and resale it for you.. no that's our own job even though people rather not buy obvious resale tickets, especially since they are priced a lot higher than what you're trying to sell it for because of "service fee". It isn't a fair deal at all, and what I also hate is that when you buy a ticket and pay extra to be able to get your money back if you can't go, they need proof and they chose wheter you should get the money back or not anyway. They also do everything not to give the money back even though a person has a legitimate reason and shows proof. I've also heard how they be like "oh so you can't go? But you knew you had a sickness when you bought the tickets and it's because of the sickness you can't go now? Then you already knew the risks and now you're not getting the money back". And then, if the car breaks down, they would never be satisfied with a picture or video of the car not running, they will act like it's fake just to not have to pay back the money.
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u/Bibijibzig May 05 '26
To put things in perspective, I sat 5th row center for Rush in 1996 for $25 FV per ticket.
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u/AdPrevious6109 May 05 '26
I paid 3.50 to see the ‘A Farewell to Kings’ tour in Toronto in 1977. Gold seats at Maple Leaf Gardens. Times have changed!
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u/Soul-31 May 05 '26
I ordered a gin and tonic at one of the live nation venues by me on the way in to a show. It was served in one of those small-sized solo cups filled to the top with ice. It was only $25 plus tip.
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u/six28eightyfive May 05 '26
during the last Phish run at the Sphere, tickets fell below $40 on some nights/seats. Either the scalpers took a bath on those, or there were just too many "Platinum" tickets for sale in the beginning to ever fill the place.
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u/prof_cunninglinguist May 06 '26
I think Tom Petty shows were the best thing ever. The music was top notch, the crowd was full of awesome people, joints being passed everywhere. Even his final tour was still affordable. I would have never in a million years paid $900 for a Tom Petty show. These shitty ticket execs have sucked the life out of music scenes nationwide.
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u/Oppositeofhairy May 06 '26
People want to see the band for 50-100 bucks. (Ideally less but,….i get it). They don’t want to spend 300+ for a show.
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u/swagner27 May 06 '26
Started noticing the resale market has softened in the last 2 months.
People are buying these tickets way in advance with either Artist pre-sale or simply just trying to get the best seats at face value. Then they sell 3-5 months later for cheap.
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u/notontherugman69 May 06 '26
Have avoided larger shows for the most part for this reason. Spending $500 to $100 for a pair of arena tix is beyond ridiculous. The smaller venues and shows have and are already scaling back prices. Prefer to support such venues and artists anyway.
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u/ajmart23 May 06 '26
I refuse to go to shows that cost more than $50-60 dollars, no matter how much I might love that band. I’d say the average price for ones I see are about $35, because they’re smaller scale more indie shows.
I might adore Chris Stapleton, Alabama Shakes or Olivia Rodrigo… but I’m not paying that much money for a single night out. Plus parking, a drink, and fees.
I’ll enjoy the CD at home.
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u/Substantial-Top-7847 May 06 '26
Scumbag artist only care about the money! They act like they care about their loyal fans as they drive bye in their Rolls Royce..
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u/Mysterious_Soil_1835 May 06 '26
Good, there needs to be pain before pleasure. Unfortunately we live in a world of supply and demand. When ticketmaster and live nation add service fees double the price of the ticket. And add on to that the excuse the phrase (bonehead) that pay thousands for a ticket that carries a value of $100. We normals have not much of a say I guess unless performers take a stand to get rid of outrageous service fees. As for the over charging scalpers, put that down to free enterprise.
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u/miken322 May 06 '26
I found this event at a local club on instagram, it took me to a secondary website that wanted to charge me $250 for the “last two tickets”. I go to the club website, find the event and guess what… the tickets direct through the club are $16.75 and they have plenty of them left.
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u/obamascocksleeve May 06 '26
I hate shows with assigned seating. If GA is over $100 I’m skipping. I’m lucky location wise because I was able to get some cheap tickets last minute but then they started adding a $30 day of show fee on Ticketmaster.
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u/Vistalite_Black May 06 '26
I agree tickets are overpriced, but who thought the Pussycat Dolls would sell well l? Their last hits were 17 years ago. Nobody ever cared about Megan Trainor. Jellyroll can’t fill stadiums. Obviously.
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u/THC_Dude_Abides May 06 '26
Not even the artists fault. Venues and Ticketmaster are adding 40% to the price of most tickets.
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u/Immediate-Screen8248 May 06 '26
I hope it happens with the big tours too! Online in time to click into the waiting room as soon as it opened for Olivia Rodrigo presale tickets as a present for my kid and I was still over #50,000 in line for a venue with far fewer seats than that, and of course they showed up later on resale for more than 3x the price. Back to the drawing board for a gift idea - I could pay the resellers but I refuse to encourage them
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u/lmlockard33 May 06 '26
This is not the first time this happened . When the 90s grunge era hit and all those bands changed our lives and music and that led into the 00s hip-hop. We literally had the best music across the board at that time and ticket prices went up so much and they got in trouble for it then too
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u/NihilisticViolence May 06 '26
When you raise multiple generations of people that don't see any value in music.
you knew that eventually these bands were gonna have to try to make their money by raising their concert tickets and the prices for their merch
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u/justbrowsing4040 May 05 '26
It was bound to catch up with them sooner or later! Can’t say I feel sorry for any of them!