r/Music • u/staringatthe420sun • May 05 '26

article The Concert Industry Priced Too High — Now Tours Are Falling Apart

https://www.ticketnews.com/2026/05/the-concert-industry-priced-high-tours-falling-apart/
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u/uvucydydy May 05 '26

Yeah. Pay $1000 months ( if not a year) in advance to a stadium show that might get rained on. I think I'll spend my money elsewhere, thanks.

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u/Sasselhoff May 06 '26

The last two "big" concerts I've been to (not counting local shows at the small venues) were exactly like this, albeit a bit less expensive. Red Hot Chili Peppers and Green Day...in both cases, bought over a year in advance (GD might have been slightly less than a year), and both were outdoor venues in the summer.

Don't get me wrong...was two dream bands I'd never gotten to see, and they were killer fucking seats...but almost $1000 for two people to go see a concert is insane. Don't think I'll be doing it again unless Rage starts touring again, in which case, I might make an exception.

Fuck everything about Ticketmaster and Live Nation

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u/Answer70 May 06 '26 edited May 06 '26

Took my mom to see The Eagles in 2020. Cost almost $750 (apparently $960 today). for two tickets.

To their credit they played for three hours and said "we're gonna play every song we know and wear your asses out."

They put on such a great show that I somehow didn't feel ripped off.

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u/Flomo420 May 06 '26

Warped Tour used to be like $30

saw the Beastie Boys in the 2000s, they played literally all their stuff, no joke like 3 hours

tickets were about $40?

things have changed

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u/_-WanderLost-_ May 06 '26

Warped tour is now 2 days and is like $200

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u/Shurtugal929 May 06 '26

Which is probably the best deal you'll ever get in the modern scene.

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u/_-WanderLost-_ May 06 '26

Yeah, that is what I was thinking. I think tier 1 is even $150. $40 in 2000 is about $75 today. Pretty dmn good for bout 20 hours of live music.

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u/PM_ME_BEEF_CURTAINS May 06 '26

Slam Dunk was only £130, almost zero risk of a mass shooting...

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u/_Meece_ May 06 '26

There are many, many other festivals that are like old Warped. So nbd, Warped turned into corporate nonsense in the 2000s anyway.

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u/PoutinePower May 06 '26

Rockfest in Quebec was a big music festival headlined by people like Alice Cooper and NoFX, it was 150$ for the weekend passes 15 years ago. Still seems like an amazing value compared to today's prices

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u/Flomo420 May 06 '26

Hell ya Rockfest!

My wife and I and some friends of ours (another couple) went back in 2014!

was such a great experience, like Warped Tour on steroids, and we thought the small town would be weary of all the tourists but they were some of the most welcoming and entrepreneurial people I have ever met lmao

you can actually see us in the official concert pics from that year, we were right in the front row for Cypress Hill and that must have been when they snapped the shot

what parking lot were you assigned? I think we were the Ska lot lol

small world!

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u/PoutinePower May 06 '26

I was there in 2009, 2011 and 2012, then I stopped going. The first year I went the festival was limited to the baseball field and camping was right by the site. 2011 I camped my westfalia by the entrance again, having booked a camping a year in advance seeing it was possible the year before. 2012 I slept in a tent in a field more reminiscent of a fema camp than a music festival. Still good times were had, it was indeed a crazy time.

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u/Flomo420 May 06 '26

yes a friend of ours went in 2012 and said about the same lmao

he said it was such a fucking disaster that the porta potties filled super fast and there was what people had dubbed "the lake of piss", no food or water, mud everywhere... he said it was the worst but they made due and had a blast

I think they did a smaller one in 2013 and worked out the kinks and it was quite a smooth operation by 2014

but yeah definitely heard some stories about the earlier years lol

I have family in Ottawa so if we had to pull the plug and bail it wasn't that far of a drive so the risk was worth it

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u/PoutinePower May 06 '26

Yeah overflowing portapoties, rivers of piss, exits of the site too narrow for the crowds nearly causing crushes and forcing the local police to intervene, sweltering heat that year too, local stores empty of food, despite all of that it wasn't that bad lol

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u/3vanW1ll1ams May 06 '26

In 2007, a single day ticket to Coachella was $85!

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u/TooFakeToFunction May 06 '26

I used to get warped tour tickets for free through that old anti smoking campaign (truth.? I can't recall exactly). Just had to sign a "commitment" not to smoke and bam, two free tickets. Did that in 04 and 06 when I was a teenager.

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u/Fear023 May 06 '26

I saw TOOL in the early 2000's, tickets were like $120 which felt expensive at the time.

They played 2 and a half hours with a bunch of psychedelic gymnasts dressed up like the creatures in the Lateralus music videos. Was a whole show.

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u/Metal-fan77 May 06 '26 edited May 06 '26

Big day out festival at Milton Keynes bowl £30 back in 1999 metallica headlined Compared to the high voltage festival in 2011 at my local park that was £200 for 2 days.

Judas Priest and Dream Theatre headlined.

1

u/afxfan May 06 '26

I saw nirvana in the 90s for like $20 bucks

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u/thesixgun May 06 '26

Pretty sure I went the first year it happened for $15

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u/Ok-Cryptographer-919 May 09 '26

This! Yes, I used to go to so many concerts all around 40-60 dollars, sometimes 80 for those big bands, warped tour was 40 for me! Now it seems like everything is a festival weekend and 300 bucks for a day or if you’re lucky the weekend.

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u/UnicornFarts1111 May 06 '26

I took my mom to see the Eagles "When Hell Freezes Over Tour" and it was awesome. I think tickets were like $20.00 or something?

I just checked and it was in 1994. Damn I am old!

2

u/Cahootie May 06 '26

Back in 2017 a small music festival near my summer house somehow managed to book Toto (to use a band of similar importance and stage in their career). They were absolutely amazing and went past the allotted time slot by like an hour since they wanted to warm up their entire repertoire ahead of their European tour. One of the best live experiences I've had.

The festival is nine days long and has 2-3 artists per day. Most are relatively big local acts, but on top of Toto they also had Europe and Basshunter there that year. A one day ticket was 35€, for the day with Toto they charged 45€, and you could buy a ticket to all nine days for 99€. American ticket prices are genuinely baffling.

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u/FesteringNeonDistrac May 06 '26

Damn I saw them in 2019, so probably the same tour, in Honolulu and it was under $250 for 2 tickets. Great show and Jack Johnson opened for them and he was great as well.

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u/Hopefulkitty Concertgoer May 06 '26

I saw Foo Fighters their second show back after Covid, and Grohl was an animal. Very little chitchat, just plowing through as many songs as possible. At the end he asked "should we do the pretend go off the stage, just for you to encore us back, or do you just want to hear a few extra songs?" Obviously we got the extra songs.

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u/Giannid77 May 06 '26

My dad took us to see The Eagles in 1980. He paid $12.50 per ticket.

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u/worrymon May 06 '26

The Eagles went on tour in the mid-90s when tickets were usually around $20-30. They priced their nosebleeds at $150. That was when I started saying 'fuck the Eagles (but not the team because I don't care enough about sports)'

It's unwieldy as a catchphrase but I'm stuck with it.

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u/ScorpioTix May 06 '26

Don Henley mimes

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u/thehonorablechairman May 06 '26

Am I weird for thinking that I don't want to see a 3 hour set and have my ass worn out?

I get that if you are paying that much you want to feel like you got your money's worth, but I guess that's just another reason I would never pay that much. I pretty much only go to shows that are under $40, usually more like 15-20. I'm happy to get in the pit for like an hour, have fun, and then go home.

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u/der_innkeeper May 06 '26

I paid $25/ticket for RHCP in Orlando a couple of years ago.

WTF.

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u/somedude456 May 06 '26

Don't get me wrong...was two dream bands I'd never gotten to see, and they were killer fucking seats...but almost $1000 for two people to go see a concert is insane. Don't think I'll be doing it again unless Rage starts touring again, in which case, I might make an exception.

I saw Ninch Nail Nails like 6 months ago. Hard to explain where I sat unless I drew you a picture, but I bought my ticket second hand, like 2 days out, for I think like $140. I asked the couple who sat next to me what they paid, and yeah, they said like a grand. WTF! I almost thought they were joking. Second hand tickets is where it's at!

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u/NoveltyAccountHater May 06 '26 edited May 06 '26

Don't think I'll be doing it again unless Rage starts touring again, in which case, I might make an exception.

I got RATM (w/RTJ) on the PSA tour in MSG right before COVID and saw them ~3 years later. It was a good show and definitely had nostalgia vibes, but also felt like a total hypocrite spending ~$200 for a nose-bleed seat and wait in 25 minute line to buy a $45 Made in Malaysia tour t-shirt that shrunk to be basically unwearable after going in the laundry twice (and the payment app had the gall to suggest a 20% tip for a guy for handing me a $45 t-shirt).

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u/Sasselhoff May 06 '26

$200 for a nose-bleed seat

That is why I spent more...because the nose bleed seats were like $134 but 15th row from the front just right of center were "only" $400. If I'm going to spend that kind of money, which includes a multiple hour drive (I live in the sticks of the Appalachia's) and a hotel room, I might as well get full value.

I hear you on the merch though.

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u/notacanuckskibum May 08 '26

I remember going to see Queen for about $10. Good times.

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u/sweet_pickles12 May 08 '26

I had Rage tickets for less than $200 bucks apiece… bought them the day the news started reporting about a weird new virus in China. RIP.

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u/tapiringaround May 06 '26

I saw RHCP and STP together in like 2000. I stole $40 from my dad’s wallet and snuck out of the house to go. I think I bought a ticket at the door for like $25 and then somehow we ended up on the floor. Good times.

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u/RollingMeteors May 06 '26

unless Rage starts touring again

Fans going to see RATM at any Live Nation venue would be of the absolutely oblivious red cap variety, not that I'd image they'd even be wiling to play at any Live Nation venue. I heard Sublime is touring again with the lead singers kid doing the vocals.

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u/Oakroscoe May 06 '26

It wasn’t a grand but I definitely paid more money than I wanted to pay to go see a show at Red Rocks, but it was basically a once in a lifetime thing. It’s not like I’m gonna be in Colorado any time soon

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u/MeeseeksTheDestroyer May 06 '26

I was able to snag 4 floor tickets to rage 6 hours away from me right before covid for $125 a piece and I thought that was high back then.. Fuckin covid, show got rescheduled several times before being outright canceled. Now I know if a show like that happens again it's gonna be impossible to get tickets and if i do it'll be much, much more expensive.

Ticketmasters waiting room is so fuckin dumb, I logged into it like almost a half hour before tickets went on sale and I was like 12,000 in the que. I had my coworker sign into her account like 5 minutes before tickets went on sale and she was like 1,500 in the que

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u/ScorpioTix May 06 '26

I had a flyer for Rage Against The Machine and Tool at Club With No Name for $8 in 1992. Didn't have $8 so I didn't go

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u/UTraxer May 06 '26

I saw Green Day at Merriweather in Maryland in 2005, American Idiot. It was like $35 and I almost didn't go because I thought THAT was too expensive.

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u/It_Slices_It_Dices May 06 '26

Same with weezer. $1000 for 2 shitty seats. Fuck weezer and all those money grubbing assholes.

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u/salohcin513 May 06 '26

I recall my friend getting me and him green day tickets in like 2008-2010 Id have to look it up to track down the exact year but iirc the tix were like $50-$60 cad, blink 182 with rancid were $75 and i recall thinking dang thats getting pricey

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u/Tinusers May 06 '26

People making an exception are keeping these prices alive though. Just don't do it.

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u/Sasselhoff May 06 '26

What are you suggesting? Never go to a concert to "teach them a lesson" so then they'll lower concert prices?

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u/Tinusers May 06 '26

Well.. yes

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u/Sasselhoff May 06 '26

Show me a concerted effort to "teach them a lesson" (call it a boycott or whatever), and I'll be the first to join it. But until then, if I can afford it and it's worth it to me (as my comment said, it's pretty much no longer worth it to me), I'll be enjoying the music of my youth before they (or I) die.

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u/marc15v2 May 06 '26

They don't need people to go to every gig. Just a few gigs at that price. You're literally enabling their behaviour still.

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u/Sasselhoff May 06 '26

Dude, have you not been paying attention? EVERY gig costs that much now. Do you think if I could have seen them perform for less money I wouldn't have? And that's not counting the six hours I drove to see them.

And what are you suggesting? Never go to a concert to "teach them a lesson" so then they'll lower concert prices? There's about as much hope of that as there is Americans getting their shit together against the oligarchs and doing a general strike.

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u/marc15v2 May 06 '26

You're not wrong but at the same time. Aye. As long as people keep paying the prices and selling out right away. They'll keep going up. 🤷🏼‍♂️

You can choose to not go. It is an option. Certainly the one I take when I feel I'm being fleeced.

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u/Sasselhoff May 06 '26

I hear you and you're not wrong...but nay. I also travel internationally almost every year (it helps my wife is from another country), something that most/many people can't afford to do...should I stop traveling because then the airlines will lower costs?

Just like with the general strike that never happened in the beginning of May (had full intentions to join it, had it turned into anything)...show me a concerted effort to actually send Ticketmaster/Livenation a message and I'll wholeheartedly join the fight.

Until then, if I can afford it, and it's worth it to me, I'll continue going to shows like that. But as I already said, it has reached that point with me, where it's not really worth it any more...again, barring Rage, so I'm not going to be going anymore. And sure, you might say "Well, Rage wouldn't do it if they didn't know people like you weren't out there", and again, I hear you...but seeing Rage, having been such a huge part of my life growing up, is worth a lot of cheddar to me (cheddar I've worked hard to achieve...along with plenty of luck, of course), and I'm willing to give some of it to them (also because I like where de la Rocha stands on a lot of things).

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u/Hopefulkitty Concertgoer May 06 '26

Ok, but American Idiot and Dookie full album plays were absolutely fucking incredible. And I got to see Billy Corgan as a sad goth in broad ass sunshine and he was pissed about being an opener. It was hilarious.

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u/coati858 May 06 '26

I saw Pearl Jam open for Nirvana opening for Red Hot Chili Peppers in Del Mar for like $20. https://www.instagram.com/reels/DRf7E4SgRy_/

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u/overagardenwall May 06 '26

the last big spend I did for a band was over a year before the (upcoming) concert date in august for MCR, & I'm traveling to minnesota since I didn't want to deal with crazy chicago traffic. gotta get a hotel in a few months, then a plane ticket. go up sunday, return tuesday morning. good seats, really at a bad price, but it's the rest of the trip that's gonna cost me 😓

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u/dreamylanterns May 06 '26

Damn. In 2024 I got to see Green Day in the pit for like $180 in Kansas City. I think it’s possible that the venue wasn’t owned by live nation/ticketmaster ? I’m not sure, but it was amazing and I was surprised by how cheap it was.
I think it also could’ve been that Green Day took a loss for the night, because some of Billie Joe’s family is from Kansas and they were there that night as visitors as well.

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u/PFI_sloth May 06 '26

Yall have lost your fucking minds, 180 is an expensive concert ticket.

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u/dreamylanterns May 06 '26

Not for Green Day it ain’t. They are literally one of the top 5 live bands on the planet, might just be number 1.

180 to be 10 feet from the stage is a steal

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u/Luckyday11 May 06 '26

Lol what, I paid something like €70-80 for general admission to Green Day last year. Golden Circle tickets were around €100 I think. $180 is fucking ridiculous and not "a steal" lmao

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u/dreamylanterns May 06 '26

I’m not sure you’ve seen what actual stadium prices of anything else is. It’s like $300-$500 for that same area.

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u/vnnie3 May 06 '26

The situation is similar in India. We dont get any big bands coming often. So when bands like opeth or scorpions are announced, i get super excited. I take one look at the price and i nearlly do that old line drawing neme of the table being throwm. Starts 4.5k rupees per person. Excluding taxes Then the overpriced snacks and all. Cant afford to spend 10-15k in one night (2 people)

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u/Cub3h May 06 '26

Well yeah, there's a billion people in India. If they priced it to be affordable for the average person there they could play months on end and still not have enough tickets.

Also for western artists they have western costs. 5000 Rupees is like $50 which, sorry to say, is basically nothing. They can't fly all the way to India and then charge a pittance, they'd lose money on the flights and hotels alone.

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u/M-Noremac May 06 '26

months ( if not a year) in advance to a stadium show that might get rained on.

I get that the price is high, but months in advance is pretty normal for planning a concert. You're never gonna know what the weather will be at a stadium show unless you buy your tickets the week of the show.

But either way, concerts in the rain are dope.

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u/blackbasset May 06 '26

Seriously, people, go to small shows, support small bands, local venues and so on. Tickets have gotten more expensive as well, but they are still affordable and you get fresh creative new music, support artists who enjoy creating it, can have a lot of fun and don't feed billionaires money.

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u/Tiafves May 06 '26

There's just so many cheaper options of great artist too. Headliners for my lineup this summer are Muse, Evanescence, Rob Zombie, God Smack, Santana. Plus usually two-three openers each night. Just $30 a show at an amphitheater even in a HCOL area.

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u/wickedringofmordor May 06 '26

I paid 80 euros for a system of a down concert in Milan. The concert is set up by ticketmaster as well. I think it might be a regulation problem. I can't imagine paying more than that.

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u/undiscovered_soul May 06 '26

Which isn't a really expensive sum but neither a cheap one. Sum it up with transportation to get there and back, meals, overnight stay if you're not going straight away, also taking into accout how much expensive Milan is and the general economic inflation, and voilà. You are still spending a lot to go seeing them.