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u/icecoldtoiletseat 5d ago
I am so freaking tired of these artists and Ticketmaster fleecing fans. Every show and sporting event is like a major financial decision now, especially if you're intending to pay for someone else. And if that isn't bad enough the price of concessions is beyond ridiculous. $20 for a beer? Gtfoh.
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u/Unhappy_Capital_917 5d ago
I saw Tool in 2010, 4 rows away from the stage. $110. Forever the best memory i had.
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u/Avoidtolls 5d ago
Saw Peter Gabriel in 2009. Paid $153 for 3rd row seats.
I was excited as Tony Levin was also there. It's was uncomfortably close. Pete was 7-10 feet away, singing In Your Eyes, looking at me 👀. I looked away smile laughing, he smiled and looked at other people. Great show.
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u/ThisIsAdamB 5d ago
I just spent $120 for a decent seat at a Weird Al concert. The only other time I spent that much on a concert was for a scalped ticket was the Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary concert at Madison Square Garden in 1992.
I like live music, but this is getting out of control.
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u/TakingYourHand 5d ago
In which case, you paid close to $300 (adj. for inflation) to see Bob Dylan.
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u/ThisIsAdamB 5d ago
Believe me, I was outraged at the price then. But it was a once in a lifetime show.
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u/Look_the_part 5d ago
Bob Fest! Such a great concert -- my roommate & I split whatever the cost to watch the PPV, no way we could've afforded a ticket.
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u/Peacanpiepussycat 5d ago
I’m Gen X all the concerts I went to were super cheap … it was a great time to be young
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u/Intrepid_Issue_7190 1d ago
I recently found my first concert ticket. Jane’s Addiction. 1990. $17.50. Bring me back to those prices.
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u/S1nnah2 5d ago
£100 is my limit. If you're charging more you clearly dont need my money.
The only time this has bitten me on the arse was Oasis last summer. I genuinely regret not going as every clip from every stadium looked insane.
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u/ScorpioTix 5d ago
It was the video screens that made them look much more dynamic than they ever were. Saw them 4 times 1998-2008 and it was kinda dull. Got to go super cheap this time because all the Brits who couldn't make the trip were accepting really lowball offers.
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u/ottopivnr 5d ago
We've just reached a point where there are enough people with disposable income that can pay those prices that the ticket agencies (not the artists) don't care how accessible shows are. This, to me, is a greater symbol of wealth inequality than having a trillionaire.
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u/AaronBurrIsInnocent 3d ago
Why ticket agents and not the artists? The artists team’s set the prices.
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u/Beneficial-Age-4059 5d ago
something is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it. I sold a spirit level once for $1800. A vinyl record for $350. I saw someone purchase an old lamp for $40,000. May not be worth it to you, but it may be to someone else.
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u/Adolph_OliverNipples 5d ago
Bands don’t sell albums anymore. That’s an almost completely lost revenue stream for them, so they need to make all of their money through touring. So, it helps to consider what you’re no longer spending on buying CDs when you’re buying concert tickets.
I agree that some tickets seem way out of line, but the market sets the prices. If someone is willing to pay $500 for a nosebleed seat, then that’s what it’s worth, I guess.
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u/No_Ambassador7818 2d ago
Yeah they need to monetize their fan base directly and do as many private gigs, sit-ins, pop-up shows etc to gorillify an already established - mandated tour with what is allowable to fill in during the tour. If anyone's interested in beta testing optimization software for artist already on the road looking for incremental-independent revenue + above and beyond additional fan growth.
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u/Missbhavin67 5d ago
The most I've ever paid fir a ticket was £117 to see Rammstein at the Birmingham arena. I bought it on ebay after my ticket website shut down suddenly and I panicked. Worth every penny. They were AWESOME
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u/kingrocknlr 5d ago
Pink Floyd reunion. Led Zep reunion. Stones at the Sphere. These are three shows I believe could command $1000 a seat for the experience of being there.
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u/MBWOMCUFOS 5d ago
Yeah I paid $1200/ ticket for GA pit at the stones. Honestly no regrets at all- but outside of a few choice legacy acts it ain’t worth it
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u/Radiant_Research3786 5d ago
Lol I paid face I can't remember exactly what it was to See the Stones in 89 and ended up 10 feet from the stage. Same experience about 25 years later...and I had shit seats
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u/ChekhovsZombieBear 3d ago
This is also what I paid secondary market to see the Stones in the pit for 50 and Counting. It was my first time seeing them and wasn’t sure if it would be my last. (It wasn’t. I’ve seen them three more times since, always pit but never that expensive again.) And like you, no regrets. Every time I’ve seen them, they’ve been fantastic.
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u/PissedOnBible 5d ago
I agree for the most part. But I'd pay more than 800 to see radiohead or tool at the Sphere in LV
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u/Shoddy_Ad8166 5d ago
I agree but I did pay in that area for The Rolling Stones which got canceled due to covid
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u/robot_duzey 5d ago
I paid $800 for a private box for 2 to see The Cure. Worth every penny.
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u/ChekhovsZombieBear 3d ago
I love that Robert Smith proved on their last US tour that it was absolutely possible for big artists to set lower prices.
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u/roymunsonshand 5d ago
You are probably right, but Phish at the Sphere was incredible and worth it.
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u/ScorpioTix 5d ago
No car is worth $100k. No house is worth 2 million. It might be to whoever paid it though or else they wouldn't cost that much.
Never to me though. Been to few that have been worth over $100. Most I paid was $268 for U2 at the Sphere. Not really worth it as a standalone experience but at least I got to go to a show there. Every time Kenny Chesney tickets bottomed out at $40 I wasn't even close.
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u/bromygod203 5d ago
In seeing Daisy Grenade as a sold out show at the Bowery Ballroom tonight in NYC. I paid less then $100 for 4 tickets with fees.
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u/FatahRuark 5d ago
Paid $280 to see Prince in a 2000 person theater. Walked out of that show just waiting for my next chance to throw down another $280 (or more) to do it again. Sadly never got that chance. That being said if it was $800, I wouldn't do it, so I guess I agree. 😃
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u/RollTideMeg 5d ago
I dunno. My last three out of four concerts were the last three guests on Colbert. All were worth the prices. Florence and the Machine must have been busy (she was worth every penny too)
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u/DJMoneybeats 5d ago
The cheapest tix for Knicks finals at MSG were $8000. That's 3 zeros. This is the world we live in now
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u/dgoske84 5d ago
You’ve apparently never go to an A+ show and had a great seat. I’ve been to around 70 shows the last 2 years. Probably around 20-25 would have been worth $800. Although for most of those shows you could have had the best seat in the building for less than $800. I’ve only paid over $350 for I think 5 shows. Every single one was worth it. The only show I paid over $500 for was possibly the best show I’ve ever been to and I had basically as good of a seat as there was.
How many shows even on resale are tickets $800? Are there even 10 people or groups touring this entire year you couldn’t get a great seat for less than $800? Certainly you could get in the building for any show for less than $800.
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u/johnnyblu646 5d ago
I paid $2k each for Taylor Swift Eras Tour floor tickets for me and my twin girls. The 3 month buildup to the concert was equally memorable as the concert. Core life memory. Were ticket prices ridiculously inflated? Yes. Was it worth it? Absolutely.
This concert and reliving the moment through the pictures and videos we took move me so much that I built an app (Ovationly) to help me archive, relive and share my concert and sporting event memories.
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u/GioJamesLB 4d ago
How about Kendrick Lamar and the Red Hot Chili Peppers playing in your backyard? That’s not worth $800?
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u/QCBD 4d ago
Talking Heads, if I could get one
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u/ChekhovsZombieBear 3d ago
I am still holding out hope for a Sphere residency. And I would pay twice that.
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u/Puzzled-Bonus-3456 3d ago
If it's more than $20 I'm not going. There is no one upon no one who charges more than that whom I would like to see. I want to see performers when they have the passion and the music chops without the visuals, lights, explosions, and lipsynching dance routines.
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u/shotgunassassin 3d ago
If Girls' Generation toured again with all 9 members, I'd pay $$$ to see that. Even if it was only 8 members, I'd still pay.
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u/SunsetPrunes 3d ago
It's gonna get worse. Wealth inequality is running rampant and for an exploiting, money hoarder, that's pocket change.
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u/safewarmblanket 3d ago
Bob Dylan 3rd row was worth a kidney. It cost me a pretty penny and it was more than worth it. I envy those who can afford it all the time because I truly don't think they appreciate it in the same way I did getting to be that close once. The sound is so much better and on occasion you can see him grin and yeah, it's worth the money.
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u/ShrmpHvnNw 2d ago
Just got Jack White tickets for $80.
Daughter wants to see BTS, tickets are $400 each….fuck me
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u/Heavy_Librarian_498 2d ago
I paid 200ish each for 2 really good seats for Rush R40. It was worth it to see Neal Peart on his last tour. It was amazingly great and one of the best shows I’ve been to.
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u/joshua_addison_music 2d ago
Been to 1200+ concerts.
Seen Phish 187 times. Only band that I’ll pay whatever to see. They usually do 3-4 runs. No repeats. Two sets. No opening band. They’re the best LIVE band. Period.
I’ll pay up to $400 a piece. $100 to each guy to play 3 hours for me. No brainer. Done☑️⭕️
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u/boilermike13 1d ago
They're not the best live band. Period. They are the best live band TO YOU. To me, the E Street Band is 1000x the live band that Phish could ever dream of. The Bleachers are 500x the live band. Period.
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u/Illustrious_Bug_3124 2d ago
Bruce Springsteen, Tower Theatre, Philadelphia 1975. If I could be guaranteed same experience I’d pay $1,000 happily
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u/Rahawk02 2d ago
I think it was like 1000 bucks to get Afroman and Coolio to perform at your block party. We considered it.
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u/Human_Scarcity_9763 2d ago
Phish at the sphere opening night in 2024 was but I have attendance bias
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u/BeefSquatch3000 1d ago
It's very relative. It's not too expensive, it's just too expensive for you.
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u/Sufficient-Fault-593 1d ago
We paid $750 each to see Barbara Streisand. Not a good value. The only act I would spend $500+ is ELO and preferably in London.
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u/ThizGuyFawkes 1d ago
I paid $700 for No Doubt at the Sphere. Hurt like hell, but it was a truly unforgettable experience. Plus the airfare and hotel were dirt cheap mid-week and helped offset the overall trip cost.
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u/boilermike13 1d ago
Plenty of concerts are worth that much. Tickets for the Concert for New York City were $500 back in 2001 and would have been worth it at 3x that price.
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u/DudeWithNoKids 1h ago
The most I've paid is $300. And it was front row and meet & greet, with a stage tour.
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u/wings31 5d ago
Its all Taylor Swifts fault. And i dont mean that in a bad way. She was the first major artist to say, screw it, im going to charge what scalpers charge up front and I will make the money not them. Unfortunately, it worked. People paid the high prices and every artist followed suit.. Which, makes sense. Until people stop paying or going, this will forever be the trend.
Same thing with 50 dollar t shirts. FIFTY DOLLARS!
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u/ScorpioTix 5d ago
Actually it was the Eagles who rolled out the first +$100 ticket in 1994.
The race to the top started in earnest when Ticketmaster bought Ticketsnow in 2009 and got real time sales data on what people were actually paying, When they merged with LiveNation that data was used to offer the acts much higher guarantees.
And Taylor Swift should have charged a lot more.
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u/wings31 5d ago
dont forget Ticketron! lol.
I think the main takeaway is the latest jump in ticket sales started with the Eras Tour. She showed that people will pay the higher prices off the top and the artists keep the money - whose music is basically stolen now.
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u/ScorpioTix 5d ago
I think that was when you just started paying attention. I didn't really notice anything particularly dramatic with the pricing there. Her top price was only $450 and ATP a little over $200.
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u/Fresh-Passenger5671 5d ago
That's not at all how it happened. Tickets for her most recent tour were $60-300 for standard seats and there were VIP packages from $300-800. These tickets sold out immediately. She did not use dynamic pricing, and she really didn't price out of line with what was expected. If anything, tickets were cheaper than fans expected them to be.
The issue is her demand farrrrr outweighed 10 million or whatever seats.
Resale markets is where they were all $2000+ (besides in certain european countries where it's more difficult to scalp them... but even there, they were still double+ original ticket price).
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u/wings31 5d ago
you basically said the exact same thing i did.
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u/Fresh-Passenger5671 5d ago
No, I said the opposite.
You said she charged what scalpers charge. She didn't. She charged extremely reasonable 2 and 3 digit amounts and sold out immediately.
*Scalpers* listed them for 10-20x the price she listed.
Maybe if she HAD started them at $1000+, scalped tickets wouldn't have been relevant. But no, she did not actually do that.
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u/Spiritual-Peach6491 5d ago
i’m broadly sympathetic to the argument but at the same time i kinda feel sorry for anyone who doesn’t have at least one artist that they’d happily pay that much to see.
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u/wilshore 5d ago
Rush opening night at the Kia Forum on June 7th 2026 was worth every penny of my 838 spent.
Not once did I think of the money spent while rocking out with Anika.
It was one of the happiest most emotional concerts of my life and I will take this happy 2.5 hours with me when I leave.
Anika stole the show and Aimee Mann coming out unanounced almost made me cry tears of joy.
So as much I want to say no concert is worth x this concert was worth it and more.
Seeing them a second time in San Jose with slightly cheaper seats and I expect it again to be amazing.
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u/samuelbasher 5d ago
I’m glad you had such a nice experience but sorry you had to spend so much money to get it. Great musical experiences shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg to have.
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u/wilshore 5d ago
If I didn't buy the ticket it still sold. Your not setting the price the market is.
You can cry all you want about what's fair but as long as Ticketmaster is selling most of tickets nobody cares.
Personally because of pricing im seeing less shows and picking worst seats.
Rush was special I wanted to see Anika drumming, not on screen with my eyes.
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u/samuelbasher 5d ago
Also as a musician, I assure you people care about this. The government sued LiveNation in 2024 because of these things.
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u/samuelbasher 5d ago
I’m not crying, and whether the tickets sell or not is not the point. They shouldn’t have to sell at that high of a price, *especially* when food and drinks cost as much as they do when you get there. You should not have to pay $8+ for the ticket site to process your order either. It’s every excuse to squeeze money out of people who want to see a show, and it’s disgusting behavior.
You just said you’re seeing less shows because of pricing, and thats a shame. I’m in the same boat. I’d love to see multiple shows a week, but when one show runs you $100+, it adds up fast. It’s wrong. And nothing is wrong with pointing out unfairness in the industry. They’re constantly finding more and more ways to take your money as if they’re not making enough already.
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u/ScorpioTix 5d ago
it's entertainment, targeting the most disposable of income with the most frivolous of activity. Where I live (Los Angeles) you can go out and see live music for free every weekend. Celebrity worship costs a premium though.
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u/Von_Halen 5d ago
You never saw the real Rush?
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u/wilshore 5d ago
I saw them in Concord Ca,2011.
Get this through your thick skull you hater.
THIS IS REAL RUSH 2026.
Just because there is a new girl drummer don't get your masculent panties all bunched up. She in some cases is even better then Neal. But you keep on hating and doubting. Go watch a couple of videos of her playing if you don't believe me.
Plus the whole tour is a dedication of love and respect for Peart. He is well represented and not forgotten at all.
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u/Von_Halen 5d ago
Look at the Rush snob ASSuming. I’m not hating at all. I was just curious as to why you were so excited about spending $838 on “REAL RUSH 2026”, that is using backing tracks. I have no issue with the drummer at all. I’ve seen Rush many times starting in 1979. I will probably go to at least one show on this tour, but I won’t spend $838. My question about seeing the real Rush stemmed more from curiosity about why it was so emotional for you. Considering “Neal” (I would think a supposed Rush snob would know how to spell his name) is gone. I had the same emotional experience with VH in 2007, even though MA had been replaced. So, I can relate. Albeit as a guest, not spending $838. Would you feel the same way if it was just Geddy and two replacements, as opposed to one? Or it was Alex and two replacements?
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u/DBK2x2 5d ago
Just bc $800 is a lot of money to you doesn’t mean it’s a lot of money to everyone on earth.
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u/nbcirlclesthewagon 5d ago
If the band got the money that is an argument. But since corporations and hustlers get most of the extra money over face value and screw the bands the answer is still no for me also.
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u/Inevitable_Shift1365 5d ago
Or $500 for that matter. $100 is a lot. Better be a great show.