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Concert Ticket Prices - Not a Rant - Just an Observation

I’m not a major concert-goer. I do look for new bands playing small venues and I enjoy those. Some of these are as low as $15. Some as high as $50. I recently saw Marcus King at a tiny venue. Tickets were $90.

I haven’t seen a band in a large venue in ages. 

I recently ’discovered’ a band that I was blown away by. Came across them on YouTube. They’re called The Red Clay Strays. They are relatively new from a recognition standpoint. I figured I’d look up their tour dates and maybe find a concert in a small-ish venue.

Well, my first surprise is that this band has already hit the big time. I ’discovered’ them a year too late. They are already playing civic arena sized venues almost exclusively.

I figured that since they’re coming to a couple of cities near me I’d go to a show. That’s when I got my second surprise. They’re ticket prices are in the $350-500 range. Yes, there are some for around $175 but most of those are single seats in the nose bleed sections of civic arenas.

I’ve heard that Taylor Swift and Springsteen tickets are $1000+.

I looked up Rush tickets and they’re in the $350-600 range.

I got to thinking about ticket prices. I went to see a lot of concerts in high school and college. Early to mid 80s. I remember seeing the big bands like Foreigner and Journey, often with 2 opening acts for $12.50. That never seemed like too much even for a high school kid with no allowance and an after school job for cash. An AI search indicates that that was indeed the typical price for big artists even bands like The Who, Fleetwood Mac and Rush.

A Google search indicates that $12.50 in 1982 was about like $80 is now. But tickets for the big acts are not $80. They are 4-8 times more than that now. That’s quite a phenomenon that vastly out paces inflation.

That brings me back to seeing the Red Clay Strays. They’re coming to my area in October. They usually sell out. Tickets for these shows were moving fast almost 4 months before the show. 

My wife and I decided to go. We have some old friends, two couples, who also love this band and who have been extremely generous to us over the years. We decided to get six tickets and treat them to the show. We could not find six seats in a row at any price. Even as we browsed seats were disappearing. We finally found 4 seats in a row with two right behind them.

We bought the six tickets. Good seats too. Our friends are thrilled and we are thrilled to repay some of their kindness to us. It will be great to see them and get together for this.

Yes ticket prices are shocking even for a new act like the Red Clay Strays which, in fairness seem to have hit it big. But their shows are selling out and a tight wad like me bought six of them. 

So it seems like they are charging what the market will bear.

Hope they put on a good show.

 

 

n80
searchingforthesound's avatar
searchingforthesound
46 posts
 

I am a huge live concert goer small and large.  I have passed on Tedeschi Trucks Beacon shows the last few years because I refuse to pay $450 for a good seat for a band I have seen over 20 times already at prices no more than $150.  My first concerts were $6 dollars for Hot Tuna, $ 8 for Jerry Garcia but I do still pay for shows that make sense to me.  I paid I think $1100 a ticket for the last Stones tour . $1800 for Desert Trip.  $550 for the last Allman Brothers show ever. $600 a ticket for Cream in London for the first night at RAH in 2005 etc... but some things do not make sense.  The Guess Who is the show I really am looing forward to in a few weeks but $500 for a good seat isn't happening so waiting till the Platinum and VIP seats go back in at the standard prices.  I should note I like to be in first 10 rows and so I will pay these above prices.  Was Second row for Cream second row for Desert Trip on side. in the pit for the Stones.  Those are probably the most I have paid the least I have paid over my more than 1000 shows attended.

I will still go to the shows and pay but a little more selective on the crazy prices.  Oh yeah forgot Bruces last shows in and around NY.  Not paying $2K or even $800 or even $500 a ticker for Bruce but people did.

Until people stop paying the prices the prices will continue to go up.

On the flip side lots of bands are cancelling shows this summer and my guess is ticket sales because they priced themselves out.

dayglow
2,445 posts
 

IMO the issue is choice over ticket cost. A vast majority of the higher priced seats are "Classic Rock" acts that are well past their prime. I have never embraced the "nostalgia" side of music. From 1987-1993 I probably attended over 100 rock concerts from stadium to club venues but would have very little or any interest recreating or to relive them. My best advice is update and expand your musical palate where many newer talented acts can be seen for <$100 per ticket.

jonwolfpell
530 posts
 

Of course paying many hundreds of dollars to see a big name show sucks but other than some small appliances, just about everything has gone way up especially since our Covid fiasco. 
 

My real complaint about concerts today is the most of them sound terrible! The DSP’d line arrays are almost always very hard sounding & lose much of the artistic nuance of great musicians especially when there’s 3 or more instruments & vocals playing simultaneously. With a solo or duet, they’re ok & clear but still hard but when a full band starts to go at, all clarity & subtlety is lost & it becomes a loud mishmash of annoying sound & I love good, loud rock! This is always for myself, a great test of any hi fi system as well.  I’ll take the big Marshall stacks, Fenders , Altec VOTT’s w/ big Mac amps any day over what I’ve heard in the past 15-20 years. 

drbarney1's avatar
drbarney1
203 posts
 

Pop music has a priority of maximum profit. A ticket to an opera or a symphony typically costs about $50. Here, how to make millionaires out of producers does not take place. Tickets do not cost a thousand or more.

jnovak's avatar
jnovak
500 posts
 

I live in Bethlehem Pa. I'm lucky I guess. We have lots of entertainment for not a lot of money. I'm looking at the Zoellner Arts Center schedule for the upcoming season. Ladysmith Black Mambazo is playing next March. Seats are $35.00 to $45.00. We have Musicfest in August with major acts as well as a lot of minor bands. All on the cheap. A local coffeehouse, Godfrey Daniels has hosted more GREAT bands then I can recall. Look us up if the drive isn't impossible. Joe

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