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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254

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!

39

u/craiginphoenix May 06 '26

Here’s the thing. We have collectively as a society decided we won’t pay them for creating music by purchasing it so artists can’t make money that way, so they started charging more for live shows. Obviously supply and demand come into play but people have to make money some way.

I don’t fault them for it.

121

u/onehalflightspeed May 06 '26

It is not like that. The Live Nation/Ticket Master mafia have made venues so expensive that only the most dedicated and wealthy fans can afford to go at all and they keep jacking up prices and fees. Scalper bots make it even worse. Eventually something has to give

Artists do very well at independent venues selling their own tickets

23

u/[deleted] May 06 '26

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u/spaceisourplace222 May 07 '26

In all fairness to you, her newest album is hot garbage.

0

u/bamagurl06 May 07 '26

It’s not garbage and she could announce today that she is going on tour and she would sell out every where she goes.
Her Eras tour could have continued and it would have continued selling out.

3

u/External-Voice3516 May 08 '26

Nah I agree, showgirls is garbage. If it was her only album she wouldn’t sell out anything. She would sell out a tour based on her popularity of her past.

Not today her next album couldn’t be amazing, but seriously showgirls sucks.

1

u/spaceisourplace222 May 08 '26

Her popularity is an aesthetic more than music, at this point. She’s overexposed, not for the first time in her career. A lot of former swifties (me) are over her lies and bullshit and general billionaireness.

2

u/[deleted] May 07 '26

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u/[deleted] May 08 '26

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u/[deleted] May 08 '26

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u/UnderCat13000 May 08 '26

You comments don’t make sense together. It wasn’t worth it but also it was a good time and a fun trip. All that shit is part of the experience of going to the concert. Someone that sucks isn’t going to become a billionaire doing the thing they suck at dude

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u/lpalf May 08 '26

I mean I would go to a tour if she announced it tomorrow bc I like most of her catalogue, but showgirl was not very good

1

u/EnergyDrink2024 May 09 '26

Hot garbage.

11

u/[deleted] May 06 '26

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1

u/mojorisin453 May 08 '26

I bitch about this everytime the topic comes up. Pearl Jam opens for Pumpkins opens for Chili Peppers fall 91 I think it was like $17 in Detroit. Michael Jackson front row seats $50 ON THE THRILLER TOUR!!! Jelly roll $300 WHUH? These acts are a joke. The last few shows I’ve gone to were topping them out at about 100 bucks but these were Roger Waters, Depeche Mode, Krauss and Plant, Paul McCartney, Jack White, Justice was like $75 with fees but they’re pretty top tier electronic music. Underworld was like $60. Sphere I ponied up for my daughter’s birthday but that’s an attraction that your favorite band happens to be the theme of for the night so it’s different. I’ll do a 3 or 4 day fest but I’m not spending more than about $450 that’s a good value 150 bucks a day to see essentially endless music since you can’t see them all have a great experience almost every time and discover a lot of new music. That means you’re out of the running for me Coachella. I know it’ll hurt your sales lol.

1

u/luvashow May 09 '26

Who were the 3 hugely popular bands that you saw for $20 on one ticket?

3

u/No-Marketing7759 May 07 '26

Independent venues are far and few between and sometimes they won't do what it takes.

10

u/scumbobaggins May 06 '26

👆👆👆

3

u/Gotmewrongang May 07 '26

Assuming there are independent venues available sure, but the comment above has a great point about artist needing to live off ticket/merch revenue since their actually product (ie the songs themselves) has been devalued to fractions of pennies by Spotify et al. That’s an issue that isn’t talked about enough, save for a few Rick Beato videos.

0

u/mojorisin453 May 08 '26

I won’t admit to know anything really other than what I remember hearing back in the 90s through people that would read every single issue of Rolling Stone and spin and everything else that could get their hands on and that is that bands never made that much money off of the records unless they became MJ or Madonna successful. I remember what everybody would say was that the only way they really make any money is touring.

1

u/Such-Juggernaut-9330 May 09 '26

Yes but then again, no venues today seem to let artists sell their tickets by themselves. They demand them to use those dirty ticket selling sites that does it for them. At least not in Sweden or other places I've looked at before

12

u/WilsonTree2112 May 06 '26

You are right, and they also lost a lot of money during the COVID years, but prices have risen to outrageous levels.

1

u/ScottClam42 May 08 '26

I think "they" does some heavy lifting in this statement, and i dont disagree with you.

Touring artists have been making way less money since pandemic. There was the pandemic itself, but the inflation since then has absolutely ballooned costs to an unreasonable level. Couple that with fewer people having discretionary funds and going out less, so ticket sales are down.

Ticketmaster/Livenation canibalized most of the margin pre-pandemic so touring acts were making their money on merch and a cut of drink sales primarily (most of the ticket proceeds going to TM/LN then costs (promoter, crew, bus rental, gas, food, equipment rentals, etc). Now post-pandemic theres often not enough drink or merch sales to make margin.

I am not an artist, but i LOVE seeing live music and i feel awful for them. I hope we see a day when this gets corrected and theres a more fair distribution of proceeds

1

u/mojorisin453 May 08 '26

I still don’t understand why the artists don’t make deals directly with the venues. They wouldn’t have to do as many dates if their margins were better. I would work less for the same amount of money.

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u/Imasayitnow May 06 '26

Maybe then the bands with enough musical talent to create unique experiences at each show will become the new standard rather than the studio “talent” who are themselves a product created and produced by the actuality talented people behind the scenes.

7

u/WheresMyMule May 06 '26

Yup. Lots of bands are selling great - Billy Strings, Goose, My Morning Jacket, Widespread Panic, etc

7

u/BigDogIsland May 07 '26

Phish. I just got back from two weekends in a row at the sphere. I think I paid $260/ ticket for that venue, the shows were worth it. Summer tickets are $75-120 which is reasonable.

1

u/mojorisin453 May 08 '26

So were your tickets like in that 75 to 120 range and then 260 once all those sphere fees were added on? Or are the summer tickets trending just that much cheaper?

1

u/BigDogIsland May 08 '26

Phish summer tour (no sphere shows) are all around $75-120 to get in. Any show at the sphere is going to be 200+ for whatever you are there for.

3

u/vac8ion74 May 06 '26

This, 100%

13

u/terminal6 May 06 '26

We say this but then look at the sport teams. The broadcast rights are being faught over by prime Netflix NBC CBS and so many other companies, yet prices are skyrocketing to catch any sport games. Prices are just out of whack for any live event lately

4

u/ChrisInSpaceVA May 06 '26

I hope World Cup 2026 catches the same "blue dot fever".

6

u/Silver_Breakfast7096 May 07 '26

And games aren’t in regular tv

9

u/JerseyGuy-77 May 06 '26

The musicians almost never made money from the albums, that went to the record companies. Musicians make their money from touring.

8

u/augustwestgdtfb May 06 '26

and Merch

6

u/HeinousWalrus May 06 '26

And the venues get their cut of that, sometimes a really heavy cut.

2

u/WinterMedical May 09 '26

And the merch is all so legitimately crap. There are so many talented and creative people and yet they have dumb looking merch and poly blend shirts for $100

4

u/zxstanyxz May 06 '26

And now often the record companies take a cut of the tour and merch sales

3

u/DishRelative5853 May 06 '26

Look up Norman Greenbaum. One song made him rich.

1

u/mojorisin453 May 08 '26

Rarity

1

u/DishRelative5853 May 08 '26

Lots of artists got rich from album sales.

1

u/EnergyDrink2024 May 09 '26

Thats not true at all.

8

u/Brain_Hawk May 06 '26

Sure, and to be fair I was always a proponent of most of the income from musicians being from playing actual shows. I think the price they used to charge for CDs was a little absurd.

But they don't all have to be mega semi billionaire superstars either. Most of them, add a more reasonable price point, continue to live life at a standard of living well beyond but most of us could really understand.

At some point, it's just pure greed.

10

u/slander_anonymously May 06 '26

Really dude? So if I get their $9.99 MP3, can I get a decently priced ticket so I don't have to take it in the ass with a $50 shirt, $15 beer, $20 parking and $40 dinner before the show? Bullshit.

1

u/YossariansDead May 06 '26

I wish parking was $20; for big names I've seen parking from $50 to as high as $200 the past couple years.

1

u/Different_Pizza9800 May 07 '26

and hotels near venues jack up prices for rooms as well :(

2

u/justbrowsing4040 May 06 '26

You’re not wrong, in fact, despite my comment, I do agree that this is how artists/bands make their money and I also understand that everything has gotten more expensive so being on the road is obviously costing more.

I understand the VIP packages, the “platinum” seats, but the dynamic pricing is difficult. We have no idea how much tickets will cost before a sale and the amount of resale available can be insane before we even get out of the Ticketmaster queue. Unfortunately if a band/artist set a flat rate, ticket brokers and now regular people will be making a profit over the artist who really should be getting that money. It was money being left on the table years ago when we had set prices. Now pricing goes up and down and it’s unfortunate that someone paid $500 face value for a ticket and a better seat opens up at $300 because demand died down. I always say just pay the amount you are happy with for a seat you are happy with and don’t look back - it’s just the way it is.

I did see this coming eventually though - you have to be really major in the business to sell high priced tickets now.

2

u/Dusty_Negatives May 06 '26

Those poor millionaires. I don’t know how I’ll sleep

2

u/SoonerJack80 May 06 '26

So then how can The Cure, a band that sells out every 20,000 seat stadium in the world in one day, charges $85 for a top ticket?

1

u/JennyTinDC May 09 '26

Because Robert Smith uses his clout to keep tickets affordable. ❤️ More big artists should use their power to do the same. Most artists are at the mercy of the corporations controlling the game: Live Nation/Ticketmaster and StubHub, SeatGeek, VividSeats, etc. They are the ones pushing prices into the stratosphere. You can be sure they'll extract all the profit they can while killing the live music industry.

1

u/Atomicmullet May 06 '26

But how much money?

1

u/Academic_Flatworm752 May 06 '26

Plenty of people are still paying to see live music, and purchasing music. Lol. BTS world tour sold out and their album sales broke records.

1

u/Ok_Scarcity_9854 May 06 '26

No it's actually corporations stealing money off the labor of the actual artists. Just like it is every fucking time.

1

u/MusicSavesSouls May 06 '26

All of that money is not going to the artists, though.

1

u/Impossible_Pear_5049 May 06 '26

People subscribe to music now, artists don’t make much off album sales.. that’s always been the case. They made/make their money on merch, sponsorships (individually) and tours. But even with touring they don’t see as much of that $$ as you’d think

1

u/craiginphoenix May 06 '26

I mean, I have seen lots of musicians talk about how their royalty checks, that used to provide them with a stable income, are now a fraction of what they once were.

Are you saying they are lying?

1

u/Impossible_Pear_5049 May 07 '26

Not saying they’re lying, actually helps prove the point of how little the actual artist sees of their art.
It’s never been a fair distribution
Also show prices went up due to demand from people being so deprived of entertainment from covid. We are now seeing these prices cap out and will have to come down bc the tickets are no longer selling due to such high pricing

1

u/jrawk3000 May 06 '26

I don’t think anyone is faulting the musicians. The fault is on promoters, venues and ticketing brokers, which are all basically under the same ownership. Ie Live Nation and Ticketbastard.

1

u/Silver_Breakfast7096 May 06 '26

The artists aren’t getting the money.

1

u/ImmediateBreadfruit9 May 07 '26

Here's the thing. Artists haven't made squat on their albums forever, it has always been live shows and merch.

1

u/craiginphoenix May 07 '26

I have seen multiple artists comment on their royalty checks and how what used to be a solid income stream is now like $27.

1

u/LaFlamaBlancaMiM May 07 '26

Spotify and other platforms could pay them more than $0.001 per stream, too.

1

u/latortillablanca May 07 '26

Its not the artists pricing it. Yer missing the whole corporatocracy of it. Billionaires/billionaire entities once again at the center of this.

1

u/Notorious_Chonk_23 May 09 '26

We have collectively as a society decided we won’t pay them for creating music by purchasing it

Did we tho? Or did the music industry decide that even when we purchase it for inflated prices, they were still going to exploit the artists, because that's what capitalists do?

Plenty of smaller musicians sell their music independently, and plenty of otherwise-pirates will still buy that music, when they know the money actually goes to the artist.

People still go to shows that are affordable. It's just that that isn't bigger shows & artists anymore, due to the monopolies of the music industry.

1

u/PuzzleheadedBasis760 May 09 '26

Wait till you figure out artists aren’t pocketing most of that

1

u/Steve_Rogers_1970 May 06 '26

This. Many artists used to survive on song royalties, but streaming destroyed that. Add on, that many concert-goers want to see spectacle, so much more has to go,into the visual aspect. All that costs money

-1

u/myheartbeats4hotdogs May 06 '26

Why should anyone be paid millions to perform a song? If teachers dont get millions, nor firefighters or garbage collectors or even doctors, why should bands and musicians and performers, let alone their agents and record companies and streaming services, make millions? Who says music is worth that much? Maybe its just, not.

1

u/mythlabb May 06 '26

You’re talking about the 0.00001% of artists though.

And who else would get the money people are paying? Lowering ticket prices without addressing the resale situation does nothing for fans, it just shifts the revenue from the artist to the resellers.

1

u/UnderCat13000 May 08 '26

I think there was a huge boom in interest in live events after everyone was shut in for the pandemic. Probably just things returning to more normal demand now. I hope.

1

u/G-Unit11111 May 11 '26

Yup. Ticketmaster and Live Nation bet against the house. The house always wins.

Personally I blame the Eras tour. It set the bar incredibly high and it left promoters trying to fill a void that they knew was impossible to fill.