OPINION
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By AC Hall
Since the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, the popularity of concerts has increased dramatically. With this increase, ticket prices have also increased. Along with the prices and popularity rising, popular concert tickets have become limited and very hard to obtain. This makes trying to buy tickets a challenge; however, Heidi Albrecht (‘24) says that “it is so worth it when you finally get to see them in concert.” Yes, there is nothing better than seeing your favorite artist perform live, but are the tedious processes and many fees worth it? Let’s see.
Ticketmaster logo. Image credit: Ticketmaster.
Since COVID-19 put live music on hold back, industries such as Ticketmaster have taken advantage of consumers and increased sale prices by adding or increasing convenience, servicing, and processing fees to gain revenue and recover from the rough two years they missed. As a result, consumers have to spend extreme amounts of money on concert tickets that used to be much cheaper. Because of this, Ticketmaster has strengthened as a monopoly, which has been a problem for years.
Spotify logo. Image Credit: Emir Dalgıç via Wikimedia Commons.
Over the years, concert ticket prices have also elevated as they have become musical artists’ primary source of income. Due to the switch in the last decade or so from selling CDs and records to streaming services, such as Spotify and Apple Music, artists have lost a large cut of their income. USA Today’s Clare Mulroy shares that Spotify “does not pay per stream, instead [they] us[e] a system that pays artists based on ‘streamshare.’ This payment could vary depending on how music is streamed or agreements with licensors, Spotify says.” The revenue for streaming services is not high: “A Business Insider report from 2020 found artists earn as little as $0.0033 per stream.” As a result, an artist can not make a living off streaming services. Streaming services are more of a way for artists to gain popularity and release new music.
My friend and I enjoying live music at a Dead and Company show in 2022. Photo credit: Sam Hall.
When interviewing my father, Sam Hall, an avid music fan, he brought up his favorite band of all time, The Grateful Dead. The Grateful Dead, active from 1965-1995, were so passionate about their music that they never wanted someone to miss a show because they could not afford it. My dad mentioned that at multiple concerts he attended put on by The Grateful Dead, “After everyone who purchased tickets was let in, the band would occasionally allow those who could not obtain a ticket in, if there was room left.”
Similarly, today artists like country star Zach Bryan are upset about the preposterous prices people have to spend to attend one of their shows. Bryan recently released an album called All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster in retaliation and frustration towards Ticketmaster. When releasing this new album, Bryan posted his thoughts on Instagram about the prices. Bryan writes, “I have met kids at my shows who have paid upwards of four-hundred bucks to be there and I’m done with it… I’ve done all I can do to make prices as cheap as possible and to prove to people tickets don’t have to cost $450 to see a good and honest show.” Similar to The Grateful Dead, Bryan wants to share his gift with as many people as possible, and he also stated that his target audience is the working class. Bryan does not want people to spend all their money on tickets for his show. Instead, he wants them to be accessible.
Recently, on January 19, Zach Bryan released his upcoming tour schedule. He shared that his tickets will be 40-130 dollars, maximum.
What is worse than the original ticket prices are the resale prices. People and companies are purchasing tickets in bulk and are selling them on websites like StubHub for prices far more expensive than they are worth. For example, my father purchased tickets to the Dead and Company concert in Bristow, Virginia, for their 2023 final tour, on presale, on Oct. 12, 2022. The tickets were $95 per person. Now, the same tickets are on resale going for prices as high as $206. The concert is five months away, and the ticket prices have already doubled. It will be intriguing to see how much people will sell their tickets for closer to the time of the show, especially because the group has stated that this is their last tour ever.
Enjoying affordable music. The Stews performing at The National in downtown Richmond. Photo credit: AC Hall.
If live music is your favorite pastime, but the expenses are steering you away from attending concerts, do not let that stop you. Many local venues in the Richmond area host live music and cover bands that you can attend for FREE. These venues, such as the ones listed below, are a great way to enjoy live music without breaking the bank. With concerts come many additional expenses. Food, drinks, merchandise, and travel are just a few factors that play into the copious amount of money people spend on live concerts.
Free live music in Richmond, Virginia:
General admission ticket prices of 2023:
- Zach Bryan- starting at $40 (via AXS)
- Harry Styles- starting at $170 (via seatgeek)
- Taylor Swift- Ticketmaster states that tickets range from $49- $499. However, CNBC states that her ticket price average is $2424 (a major post-COVID increase)
- Pre-COVID: (2018) general admission tickets ranged from $27- $34 for Taylor’s Reputation Tour -Ticketmaster
- Sza- starting at $95 (via seatgeek)
- Coldplay- starting at $135 (via ticketmaster)
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