To think pop/rock concert tickets are way too pricey nowadays...

[jobhunter7]

To think pop/rock concert tickets are way too pricey nowadays...

It really is the only way way musicians can make any money
Yabu
I’d rather pay than musicians didn’t play

Depends who you’re seeing. Stadium gigs have always been expensive, they’re expensive to put on. Smaller venues still seem reasonable to me.

Agree they are pricy-seem to always get close to £100 each nowadays. As a PPE said no one makes their fortune from streaming or physical sales any more. And they really push the merch.
Let's hope Ticketmaster et al don't switch to dynamic pricing though where the more demand there is, the higher the ticket price.

Concert cancelled 2019 and 2020. Selling tickets now 10 quid more than those prices! Same band. Same venue.

Gigs and merch are the main income streams these days. Expensive to go an see an A list name. Luckily the bands I like to go and see are more the 'affordable gig in a sweaty venue' type level.

I’m seeing the Libertines and Supergrass at Hatfield house in June and that was £52, I think that’s reasonable! Likes of Coldplay charge mega prices for Wembley arena (not my cup of tea so wouldn’t bother) but I pay upwards of £70 to see Foo Fighters and Muse and that is a lot. I could get cheaper seats but I don’t go to gigs to sit.

I remember going to Reading festival for the first time in 2002 and it was £90 for the whole weekend with camping!!

In 1998 it cost £23.50 to see the Spice Girls at Wembley Stadium (about £39 in 2018’s money). Meanwhile, Taylor Swift playing the same venue in June 2018, will cost fans between £55 and £120. Different artists admittedly, but surely it shouldn't really cost much over £40 for a stadium gig. And less at the Brixton Academy or similar. I suspect this is partly due to artists trying to make money out of touring as streaming pays so little, piratebay downloading etc...

Shame though as I'd like to go to concerts BUT not at that price they are now...

Bands used to make a lot of revenue from cd sales, those days are gone. Playing live like another pp says is how most make their money.
I agree some can be expensive but they must be hugely expensive to put on too. Given live music was put on hold through covid I'm just happy it's back, I might not see as many bands as before but I'll still be going

Perhaps they could quit spotify like Neil Young, India Arie...

Isn't it mainly from people buying tickets then reselling for more though? Start off at £40, end up at £150 for the same seat.

@FredaFox

"Bands used to make a lot of revenue from cd sales, those days are gone."

Well people thought vinyl was dead... so that may change...

It’s all about supply and demand and how artists make money these days. You will pay £100 plus for lots of artists and still need binoculars! I think the prices are high are we are far less keen then when we could go for £40-£50. I miss the venues in towns like large pub rooms, colleges and town halls. Our local theatre never has music! I feel it’s stadium/big venue or nothing. We seem to be nothing at the moment!

[quote jobhunter7]@FredaFox

"Bands used to make a lot of revenue from cd sales, those days are gone."

Well people thought vinyl was dead... so that may change...[/quote]
I fully support the resurgence of vinyl , I'm not sure cassettes or cds will have the same appeal in the future but you never know!

Depends who and where. Locally they are typically £30-40, we don't have an indoor arena so they aren't massive concerts. But if you want to see live music there's free gigs every Friday and Saturday at the pub

The prices that you have quoted are a lot cheaper than ones I’ve looked at but I still don’t think the prices are unreasonable.
They are artists.

I took my Dd to the expensive Taylor Swift concert at Wembley in 2018, anyone who went will know why it was so expensive. The staging was amazing, she flew across the stadium in a gold bauble! It was a proper show. I’m not a fan of her music but I would say the show she put on was worth the money

It cost me £22.50 to see Oasis at Knebworth in 1996. Costing £73 to see Liam Gallagher at Knebworth in 2022.

Cost £16.50 to see Take That in an arena in 1993, and last time we saw them (also an arena) it cost £95.

I think festivals have actually increased less and offer more value than single headliner gigs. Cost £50 for a V Festival weekend ticket in 1997, versus £180 for a Camp Bestival ticket this year. There’s 3 days of music at Camp Bestival v 2 at V as well.

Long gone are the days of gigs for a tenner sadly.

My favourite artist charges flat rate £35 be it stadium or theatre which is pretty awesome. On the other hand I was looking for tickets for the Red Hot Chilli Peppers for my brother and they were absolutely eye watering.

I still pay ridiculous amounts as gigs are my hobby, but there are not many bands keeping it affordable nowadays.

"It cost me £22.50 to see Oasis at Knebworth in 1996."

£45 in today's money

Yeah I agree, they are way out of my price range now.
Also because I'm in Cornwall and not many of the bands I want to see come down here, I have to factor in driving 100+ miles to the venue so petrol, time and possibility of an overnight stay too.
I appreciate some people might want a "show" but I don't! I'd rather pay less and just see the artist play and sing than pay more to see them fly in on a golden bauble but that's probably my age!

I understand it’s where the money is these days, but there are some bands out there (COLDPLAY) that really don’t need to cream huge revenue from shows where they charge £98 for a standing ticket.

I'd not be unhappy if the music was pulled from spotify, youtube, piratebay etc - and artists commensurately reduced their ticket prices...

If I want to hear clips of music other than from radio. there's always amazon for 30sec snippets...

Everything is pricey though. Look at football matches or big sporting events.

The only thing that's stayed relatively steady is cinema tickets and that's with the aid of big screen TVs and Hollywood running out of ideas a long time ago.

@user135644

Cinema tickets are about £15 at my local multiplex... which I suspect is above inflation...

Well hopefully no one wasted their money on Adele! Why a “show” is needed I don’t know. Just sing!