To ask if you've refused to pay ridiculous prices for concerts?

[Netcurtainnelly]

Just a joke. The latest prices for Harry Styles after Oasis.
They are laughing all the way to the bank while most people are struggling with their everyday bills.
Always managed to go and see the latest acts back in the day without being fleeced.

How much money do these pop acts need to live on?

I go to a lot of gigs and agree pricing has got out of hand.
I was going to treat my daughter to one of the six Harry Styles Wembley gigs until I saw the pricing - £280 for pitch standing. (According to Time Out, and I’m not sure if that’s inclusive of fees)
It’s madness, and I hope people do vote with their feet - but given HS has already booked out six nights I doubt that will be the case.
I also don’t buy the argument that it’s not the artist setting the pricing. They must have a say in it, Paul Heaton (Ex The Housemartins/Beautiful South) always sets his pricing to reflect what fans can afford (£35 at Coop Live in 2024 with The Zutons and Lightening Seeds as support for example) and it sounds like The Cure do too. Too much greed is the problem from artists, promoters and venues. I appreciate streaming has meant a reduction in revenue for artists but that’s more of an issue for the up and coming acts, megastars are not short of a bob or two, fleecing fans is never a good look.

This is the thing. Some bands manage it. I admit some of my favourite bands are not super-famous, but they are bloody brilliant. If Belly and Alabama Three can afford to play medium-sized London venues and charge well under £50, a lot of the other artists who were famous decades ago could do the same. I even saw Robert Plant for less than £25. Brilliant gig.

Just go to tribute bands. They are excellent, reasonably priced and so much fun

Live music is my therapy, so I pay the prices.

I spend thousands of dollars a year on raves and festivals. Got 5 festivals booked so far for this year.

Worth every penny to me. 😊

@Ioweyounothingnothingatall same here! But I did absolutely kick myself for not paying it once the gigs rolled round and I was seeing videos from people I knew who went!

@Oopsylazy I’ve used Viagogo loads of times and never had an issue. Enjoy The Cure 🤘

Aw thank you - that gives me hope!

My ABBA ticket in the 1970s would have been £40 in today's money.

Edit: In those days people would make a loss touring as the increased record sales made up for it.

Agree with PP, they’re priced like this because it’s what the market allows. There are enough people who can afford £300+ per ticket that organisers don’t need to worry about those priced out. The events sell out (at record speed) and the likes of Swift and Styles aren’t performing to empty stadiums.

Same with the World Cup. Eye-watering ticket prices, add to that flights and hotels (which are obscenely priced throughout the tournament), and it’s a small fortune. Yet hundreds of millions of people applied for the 7 million tickets available….

For me, I’d like to go and see some artists but not enough to pay silly money and spend hours waiting in online queues so I usually just don’t go or buy resale tickets late from people I know if I see them offered.

Stop trying to get tickets for the big stadium artist gigs. I got to brilliant gigs recently for artists like pulp for about £50. Plenty of great live music out there to enjoy

The money doesn't all go to the artist. These huge concerts are expensive - loads of people working on them on and off stage, tech crew, sound, lighting, drivers, all the admin and management, marketing, musicians, catering, and so on.

But yes, I do have a limit. I was in the Oasis queue as were all my siblings and we all tapped out when they went over a certain amount. Had friends who went but they spent hundreds. I don't have that much money to spare.

Yeah, I sometimes see a gig coming up for someone I like, eg Pulp last summer, and think , 'I like them, but not enough to spend that much'

Agree! I've not been to see a big name band for years now. I suppose I'm living in the past, when I paid £4.50 for a ticket in 1981 to see my favourite band,who were really big at the time. Even taking into account inflation,£4.50 is about equivalent to £20 nowadays!

I don't pay for anything that's too expensive for the benefit it brings me.

I see bands quite frequently and seen some big names at festivals, but none of the big concerts.

Its.like West End shows. If I can get last minute tickets for £20/30 that's a good value night out. At £100+ I'd rather do something else with the money, even if it means I never see that show. The M&S Beef Wllington? There may be reasons it cost what it does, but I don't want it enough when I can eat something else that's also perfectly good.

Cymande were about £40 recently. They were brilliant & it was a really relaxed gig, maybe without frills but with loads of personality & gorgeous old venue. Also a big range of ages attending and I'm sure that's helped by budget-friendly prices.

Was looking at tickets earlier for Martha Argerich in April and all the cheap seats have gone so I'm not paying £80 and won't go (I know that must sound laughable compared to other sums on the thread) but there were some around half that price originally...

Sadly the really expensive tickets reduce people's budget for more live music!

Artists used to make lots of money from selling their music. With the rise of streaming platforms and the pennies they make, touring if often their only means to make money. I see loads of live music in small local venues for not a lot, and now and then will pay a lot if it’s a band I really want to see. And half the time they don’t even make that much money by touring now after all the huge costs involved.

I go to see local bands in small venues but I don’t go to stadium gigs any more. Because of the price of tickets. I refuse to pay it.

The other aspect is I’m not a huge fan of stadium or arena gigs, particularly the former. Some bands can fill the space - I dare say Oasis is one of them. I saw Muse at a football stadium and they were loud enough and grand enough to do it. I’m not sure an individual singer, with the odd exception, could do so. I prefer smaller venues.

I think you need to understand that touring is actually the bulk of most artists' income these days. It used to be that they made most of their money from record sales but streaming means that's no longer the case. Also, the costs of putting on a tour have risen too, and that has to be recouped.

I can't say if I've refused to pay 'ridiculous' prices because I don't know what you'd consider ridiculous, and obviously it depends on the particular artist too. Would I pay £150 to see Oasis or Harry Styles? No, but that's because I can't stand them. I wouldn't pay £5 to see them either. I suppose I might pay mad money if it was an artist I really adored but I don't think any of my faves are really popular enough to get away with those sorts of ticket prices anyway.

Not to mention that Oasis are pretty shit! As is Harry Styles.

Complete rip off. Much better to go to cheaper gigs and find a new talent. We went to see a tribute at the local theatre last year and it was excellent. Not cheesy, just lovely music in a smaller and more intimate setting.

YANBU, when I was young we went to see all the greats, these days it’s unachievable for the vast majority of families.

Totally agree. Very few big names come down our way. A very big name is playing in the summer. Tickets for the two of us would be £240. I doubt many locals can afford to go, but at least the second home owners will enjoy themselves.

But let’s not pretend they aren’t making ridiculous money. Whether that’s the artist themselves or the producers and managers. The COULD charge less, they choose not to.

Yes, it's been a long time since I've seen a stadium gig at a price I am willing to pay.

Last summer I saw one of my favourite acts for about the 5th time. He kept tickets the same price, but was a slightly larger venue, and much, much smaller band.

Resellers are a serious issue though and that needs to be stopped.

We just don’t go to big stadium shows much now , less from a financial pov but because I’ve seen everybody that I really want to see and also because as a person with chronic diseases I just cannot stand for the entirety of a concert and it is just not an enjoyable experience to be surrounded by people’s backs / bottoms for the whole show .