The truth is the price of concert tickets has skyrocketed, and if you are a hardcore fan that shows your love beyond just listening to music at home, this can impair your ability to see your favorite artists perform live. Fans of music artists have had to settle for seats they do not even consider decent at the venue or have to break the bank to see their music idols. But why do gig tickets cost so much? Let’s dive in further to understand why gig ticket prices always seem to hit the roof.
Touring: An artist’s highest source of revenue.
Gone are the days of album sales. Artist revenue streams no longer rest on the number of physical albums sold. If you check the breakdown of an artiste’s revenue, you will find that a larger percentage of their wealth comes from touring. Make no mistake, artists often seek to maximize the benefits touring offers to balance the cost of making cheap or free music available on streaming platforms.
The truth is; free or cheap music on streaming platforms translates to fans paying for the imbalance at the live shows. From a study conducted by Betway online slots, a Drake superfan would have spent approximately £12,600 to attend each of his 31 shows in the last 5 years.,goods, not to mention the cost of standard merchandise, signed goods, etc.
Dynamic pricing
If you have ever bought a ticket and an hour later, your colleague bought the same for £300 more, that’s likely the work of dynamic pricing. Ticketmaster received a lot of backlash in this regard, as they were accused by fans of artists for over-charging them. The dynamic pricing system adjusts ticket costs in real-time based on market forces. Again, fans have to suffer for this pricing system.
Expense and inflation
What’s more, profits are shared among artists, and promoters, while some cover cost of the venue, production, and tax. Coupled with the effect of the rising cost of goods and living, artists and promoters seek more ways to make revenue, so the fans sometimes have to feel some of the heat through ticket sales.
Artists try to help their fans.
Some artists have tried to curb skyrocketing ticket prices to help fans, e.g., Ed Sheeran. In 2019, Ed beat U2, breaking their record as the highest-grossing tour. Ed did it by charging less than $100 per ticket. But this feat did not come without a price. Ed had to remain on tour for two and half years, making a total of 225 performances across 6 continents to achieve the record-breaking feat. U2’s record broken by Ed Sheeran was mad with 110 performances. You can only imagine the pressure he had to subject his body and vocal cords to just to give the fans a break. If only all artists could do the same as Ed. This way, they will help fans access cheaper tickets and still make more money without burning out.