The price of concert tickets - Jesus wept!

[VassalageorChaos]

I've not been to a concert/gig for decades. No childcare, live in the middle of nowhere, lack of money blah blah ...

Anyway, DH and I decided to splash out and go to see Fleetwood Mac at Wembly Stadium. I've just looked at tickets - the cheapest (crap) ones are £250 and they go up to over £1000

And it's not even the full Fleetwood Mac - they've sacked Lindsay Buckingham!

Would you pay this much to see anyone? What do you normally pay for gigs?

Ive paid £77 today for a Spice Girls, £95 last week for Bon Jovi, and £70 last month for Take That! I've paid £70 every time TakeThat have toured (since they came back). Also paid £75 for Steps\Vengaboys last year! There is no way around the prices but it's been worth every penny so far!

@shoofly he is amazing in concert - you won't regret it. Seen him 3 times.

MrsTommyBanks the cure were amazing and great value. I saw them at Hammersmith Apollo and Wembley in the past few years. Loads of songs. Massive tick on my bucket list

I really wanted to get Bon Jovi tickets for next year.. cheapest on ticketmaster was £94 each. Not a chance in heaven!

I have mixed feelings about resale sites. I had tickets for the Eagles at Wembley next year but the Billy Joel and Bon Jovi announced tours and I couldn't face going 3 nights running so decided to sell them. I wanted to use Twickets but couldn't as I don't actually have the tickets in hand so I used Stubhub. I sold them at face value plus fees and a small amount to cover Stubhub fees so I'll be getting back what I paid. I don't think they need to do away with resale sites, just clamp down on what people are charging.

I would pay an absurd price to see Bob Marley. That wont be happening so I'll be hanging on to my cash.

I can’t think of much more cringeworthy than paying hundreds of dollars to listen to some old farts play their greatest hits for the ten millionth time to pay for their latest private jet remodel. But then again I don’t listen to the same music I liked 20 years ago on repeat, I actually seek out and enjoy new music, and I see great gigs for £10 or £20 a pop.

Amazingly, most people do both. Listen to the artists they have loved for years while still discovering new bands / artists as well.

I honestly don't care if Barry Gibb 'remodelled his private jet' with the money I paid for my ticket. That concert was simply amazing and I had a great time.

Saw Elton John at the Royal Albert Hall with George Michael as a special guest. Don't regret a penny of it.

Can someone please explain to me why re-selling tickets is a really terrible thing? I'm not being faux naive, I've never wanted to see someone so desperately that I'd pay a ridiculous amount of money, so have no experience of it. But why is it so bad? People sell things for profit all the time, what's the difference with tickets?

Can someone please explain to me why re-selling tickets is a really terrible thing?

Because some professional touts use bots to grab as many tickets as possible by popular artists denying real fans the chance to buy tickets at face value through genuine channels. They then immediately go onto ticket sites like Get Me In and charge a high price for those tickets.

I would have sold my dcs to see Bowie tour again. I had an emergency fund for such an occasion....would have travelled anywhere in the world.
I go to lots of gigs....both new and old....and tickets are anything from £20 to £200.

I saw bon jovi when they played at the O2 a few years ago and left halfway through the set. It was all seated (which really does not make a rock concert have a good atmosphere) and they were rubbish. (Kid rock was the support act and he was fantastic)

I saw Fleetwood Mac at Leeds Arena in 2015 and they were amazing. I really wanted to go to the Wembley date but at £200 per ticket, plus travel/ hotel it’s just too steep.
I’m seeing Take That and the Eagles next year, both less than £100 per ticket.

Fleerwood Mac always charge loads for their tickets though. But they know people will pay it.

You’ve got to have some respect for Ed Sheehan. He could charge a LOT more, but he doesn’t. His shows don’t have a big cost though as it’s basically just him his guitar (and a mixing desk). He doesn’t have to pay for lots of musicians or to trapse lots of props from venue to venue.

I can never get tickets when they go on sale so have ended up buying on stub hub and other places a few times. Only for people I really really want to see but have paid hundreds.

Fuck a duck! That's high. The more famous an artist or band is worldwide, and the longer they have been famous, the more expensive the tickets are. Madonna, Kylie, and so on. Silly prices!

However, when me and my kids went to see bands like Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Paramore, Green Day, and Avril Lavigne (around 2008-2013,) and the tickets were £18-£22 each. Other bands (like Take that and I think maybe Coldplay) were charging triple that... even quadruple. A few artists even more - like 3 figures!

I am so glad that my kids are grown now. I couldn't be arsed paying those prices if mine wanted to see really well-known and worldwide popular artists who were charging £80 a ticket or more!

Can't imagine why they are so expensive. Not when lesser known 'indie' bands charge £20! Bloody rip off.

£100 a ticket for Fleetwood Mac? WTAF?

Not a gig, but the most expensive tickets we've bought were £150 pp for the UFC - but that lasts 8 hours, and one of our favourite fighters was headlining (and won).

Gig wise... I think £60 pp for Candi Staton on New Year's Eve. Which was fabulous. Most fun I've ever had at a gig was Grandmaster Flash, think that was about £40.

I've paid £140 for Shawn Mendes next year but I'm desperate to go and that's the price.
Harry Styles was worse at £270 on a resale site but I got an extra one free and sold it outside for £100, and even if not it was worth every penny to me.
That said, I'm seeing Deacon Blue next month and the tickets were £60, normal price these days.

Thanks Olivia I wasn't aware of that, I assume they have huge mark ups over already expensive tickets then. I was going to say that surely sales are restricted to 4 or whatever per person but if they're bots then that wouldn't help. Ok, got it. Must be very annoying.

I paid over £200 for Bon Jovi tickets for my mum for Christmas. Her favourite band for as long as they've been around, couldn't not get her tickets. Only I'm having to fork out on travel and accommodation too as they're not playing Scotland. Bastards. But I'd have sold my soul for tickets for her, she deserves them.
Luckily bands I'm in to don't tend to play anything bigger than arenas, so I'm usually £40-60 at most for a ticket.

I'm getting priced out of going to concerts now. I've always gone to see Green Day, either with my son or husband, but their ticket prices for arena shows doubled in between arena tours. In 2009 I paid around £30 to see them at the NEC and although they missed out the Midlands at the start of 2017 (their next arena tour), the cost at other arenas (not London) was £70+. I know it's eight years in between tours but still.

Just to add, Get Me In is owned by Ticketmaster which makes you wonder just how many tickets they immediately cream off and add onto Get Me In at inflated prices.

I would pay an absurd price to see Bob Marley. That wont be happening so I'll be hanging on to my cash.

I saw Bob Marley play at Crystal Palace Park in (I think)1980. The tickets were about £12, and there were loads of other bands on, including the wonderful Joe Jackson.

I wonder how much that would be, adjusted for inflation?

My SIL, who I'm beginning to think doesn't know me at all, text me to ask if I wanted to go and see Peter Andre at our local theatre. As I was replying to say I'd rather scoop out my eyeballs with a spoon than watch that orange twat, another message pinged through to say "only £50"

FIFTY FUCKING QUID TO SEE PETER ANDRE!!!

Lucky you Lakie. I should have made the effort but who would believe he'd be gone so soon. Good memories.

I paid £80 to see Fleetwood Mac in 2013 at the O2, it was a great night.

Saw Bastille in 2014 which was only about £20 I think.

Saw Rick Astley in summer 2017, that was £35 I think at Westonbirt Arboretum. He was bloody brilliant and I would have paid double that!

Haven’t been to many gigs and wouldn’t/couldn’t pay hundreds of pounds.

The best concerts I've ever been to were Michael Ball and Jason Donovan (different concerts 🤣) - about £40 a ticket for each, everyone laughed at me for going but I tell you what I bet they blow Ed Sheehan out the water