{"id":713,"date":"2013-04-24T05:51:47","date_gmt":"2013-04-24T12:51:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/?p=713"},"modified":"2013-04-24T05:51:47","modified_gmt":"2013-04-24T12:51:47","slug":"why-are-tickets-for-rock-concerts-so-expensive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2013\/04\/why-are-tickets-for-rock-concerts-so-expensive\/","title":{"rendered":"Why are tickets for rock concerts so expensive?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"play<\/a>Artsjournal links to a CBC story on the prices of concert tickets<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Whether it’s Justin Bieber or the Rolling Stones that fans want to see in concert, they’ll likely be paying dearly.<\/p>\n

“At first, we only spent $350. Then, the next time, we spent $450,” 16-year-old Bieber fan<\/a> Cara Corbett and her best friend Tyra Bright told CBC News.<\/p>\n

“This year, it was like $650 and I was like ‘I’m done … I’m not spending any more.'”<\/p>\n

Back in the 1970s, a ticket to a Rolling Stones concert in Toronto<\/a> cost around $8. Tickets for the band’s upcoming Toronto stops on its 50th annversary tour<\/a> start at $166.50, with the priciest spots listed for upwards of $600 a seat.<\/p>\n

One explanation is that established acts like the Stones or Fleetwood Mac<\/a> simply weren’t as popular or considered iconic in decades past \u2014 and couldn’t command as high a premium. There are acts that now rely on touring as their main source of revenue.<\/p>\n

Another problem is that many groups \u2014 from sponsors to resellers and brokers<\/a> \u2014 get access to tickets before the general public.<\/p>\n

However, according to ticket sales giant Ticketmaster, a major factor is the massive and elaborate shows that make up today’s typical concert experience.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I don’t buy the Ticketmaster explanation. Ticket prices are high because people are willing to pay that much for a big show, and if they were not we would not get such elaborate shows in the first place. Neither do I buy the explanation that the Stones or Fleetwood Mac were not as popular back in the day. I’m old enough to remember the 1970s and trying to get tickets to these shows – yes, they were cheap (I think I paid $8 to see Elton John in 1974), but they would sell out very quickly.<\/p>\n

I see something in the reasoning given by Alan Krueger and Marie Connolly (download the paper for free here<\/a>): in the 1970s, bands toured in order to generate buzz for their records, since that’s where the money was, and so they would keep ticket prices down as a cross-subsidy to market their LP’s. Now there’s not much to be made in recordings, and so the situation has flipped – give away recordings at very low prices (compare what you pay for a CD now with what you paid for an LP in the 1970s, adjusted for inflation, to see what I mean), and make the concert the main event.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Artsjournal links to a CBC story on the prices of concert tickets: Whether it’s Justin Bieber or the Rolling Stones that fans want to see in concert, they’ll likely be paying dearly. “At first, we only spent $350. Then, the next time, we spent $450,” 16-year-old Bieber fan Cara Corbett and her best friend Tyra […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-713","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-issues","7":"entry","8":"has-post-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3dIW5-bv","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":796,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2013\/05\/scalpers\/","url_meta":{"origin":713,"position":0},"title":"Scalpers","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"May 19, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The Observer reports that scalpers (or touts) are making a killing on tickets for the Proms: One unofficial online site is offering seats for the Doctor Who-themed Prom on 14 July for \u00a3500, compared with the official flat-rate price of \u00a312. A ticket for the first night on 12 July\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"I got mine for just twelve pounds!","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/promsDM0403_468x320-300x205.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":854,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2013\/06\/the-enduring-mystery-of-scalpers\/","url_meta":{"origin":713,"position":1},"title":"The enduring mystery of scalpers","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"June 5, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I posted re scalpers a few weeks ago. The forthcoming New York Times magazine has a story on ticket resale. It is, well, unsatisfying. The problem at hand is this: if so much money is to be made through ticket resale, why have the artists or concert promoters not done\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"face in the crowd","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/tom-petty-300x298.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2088,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2016\/08\/bots-and-ticket-prices-and-supply-and-demand\/","url_meta":{"origin":713,"position":2},"title":"Bots and ticket prices and supply and demand: updated 22-10-16","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"August 16, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The Verge reports on new efforts from Lin-Manuel Miranda and New York Senator Chuck Schumer to crack down on those who use \"bots\" to quickly, and in bulk, purchase scarce tickets on primary sites to then resell on secondary markets at a mark-up. The story quotes Mr. Miranda saying, \"My\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"'two tickets, great seats'","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/robot.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2034,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2016\/05\/things-i-do-not-understand-about-the-ticket-resale-debate\/","url_meta":{"origin":713,"position":3},"title":"Things I do not understand about the ticket-resale debate","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"May 21, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The Guardian reports that next week Professor Michael Waterson will release a UK government commissioned report on the regulation of ticket resale. I'm glad to hear it, because it might shed some light on an issue which the press seems to find simple - touts are ripping off consumers and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"maximum mark-up 57 cents","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/shea-300x72.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":943,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2013\/07\/giving-it-away\/","url_meta":{"origin":713,"position":4},"title":"Giving it away","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"July 21, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"At Slate, Matt Yglesias reports on attendance at a WNBA game in DC, wondering why the stands are not full: Now it's easy to tell a story where the demand just isn't that price-responsive and so the revenue-maximizing price doesn't generate sellouts. But this is what price discrimination is for?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"no, thanks","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/free-stuff-sign-300x176.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":995,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2013\/08\/more-whatever\/","url_meta":{"origin":713,"position":5},"title":"More whatever","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"August 28, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Thanks for the comments on my recent post, Whatever, on pay-what-you-will pricing. Joanna writes: There was the instance in 2007 when the band Radiohead sold their album, In Rainbows, on a pay-what-you-can basis. My understanding is that even this extremely popular band that doesn\u2019t have to do much to get\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"we get letters","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/postbox-224x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=713"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/713\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}