Comments on: Poll: Are concert ticket prices too high?

Going to concerts, in small clubs and large venues can be an expensive night out. Do you still see live music? Or is it priced out of range?

[amclgbeach]

Due to the high service charges from Ticketmaster & Live Nation I am attending less big name shows.
There are some artists that are a must-see for me (Prince!!! Tina Turner) but I really think twice now.

The entertainment value vs hassle factor (parking/travel) vs price. I've been going to small venue shows, bar shows, local festivals more & more.

[ofmyony]

No way would I go to any concert and pay more than a few dollars. If the musicians and music labels can get 30 to 350 dollars a ticket good for them, they should. I choose not to, so until there are more people like me who stop going, they will just keep gouging customers.

Vote with your dollars if you don't like high prices stop going to their shows. Writing about it does nothing.

[dk jones]

i'm a professional stage hand, the last show i worked was Billy Joel/Elton John @ Conseco Fieldhouse in Indy, the last stop on the tour i believe. for these big Stadium shows there are the costs concert-goers don't consider or are aware of-- 1 or 2 53' semis full of just speakers & amps, 5 for the stage/set, 3-6 for lighting & then there's the instruments the band uses & the spares for EVERYTHING! i've worked shows that had as many as 60 semis! then you add in the costs for labor, most of these venues have union contracts & these big shows have to generally be set-up in 6-8 hours & come down in 4 or less, so there can be anywhere from 60 to 100 or more hands depending on the size of the show, plus the cost to clean up all the spilled beer, popcorn or whatever & just keeping on water, the lights etc..., so it doesn't all go to the band. there's also designers for the stage, lighting, sound; the cost for pyrotechnics & the road crew & catering most times we don't get to leave the venue to eat, some travel w/ a full kitchen & have to feed all these people twice a day. because a stadium show these days is more than just the band & the performance, audiences require a show.

[planetboom]

I understand that you're saying there may be a lot of costs that the average ticket buyer doesn't factor. However, I saw a show featuring Motley Crue, Whitesnake, Poison, and Jetboy in '87 in a football stadium. My ticket stub says I paid $35.00 for that show. In '97, I paid $50 to see Motley Crue and a somewhat unknown opener in an arena. in 2008, I paid $90 to see Motley Crue, Buckcherry, Trapt, Papa Roach, and Sixx: AM. at an ampitheater. So, you're telling me that over 20 years, events have more than tripled in costs and/or value? Of course, before you answer, you must recognize that Motley Crue was a huge draw playing a sold out tour in '87. Obviously, their popularity has been diminished over the last two decades. You must also recognize that the show in '87 dwarfed what they did in '97 and '08. Sorry, but I don't think your explanation holds water. Perhaps you can do some research and compare the top touring bands or '79, '89, '99, and today. Isn't in interesting that I've always paid between $14 and $18 for a cd over the last 20 years, but my average ticket price has more than quadrupled in some cases?

[MadLyb]

I basically quit going to concerts about three years ago, when artists starting charging 3 digit prices for the good seats.

[Magicland]

Ticket prices aren't bad. Over $100 to see ACDC? Darn, won't be seeing them this tour. Just saw 7 bands (Halestorm, Loaded, Saliva, Puddle of Mud, Papa Roach, The Offspring and ZZ Top) for just over $50 (4th row). When people stop paying ridiculous prices for concerts, concerts will stop being ridiculously priced.

The problem are prophylactics like Ticketmaster and LiveNation charging almost 100% of the ticket price in "convenience" fees. It's plain and simple false advertising. The reason they do it is they only have to split the actual ticket price with the performers, it's their way of skimming the take and screwing the artists (and fans). $20 lawn seats used to be a bargain, and you could afford to see just about anybody. However, those $20 lawn seats now cost $38 after you throw in all the "fees", and $40 lawn seats suck. I've gotten to the point where I see less concerts, and those that I do I buy actual seats for (because the markup is less). $20 lawn seat for $38, or $40 actual seat for $58? Instead of double the price for the actual seat, it's only 1/3 more. Even better seats have better savings, but as the budget only goes so far, I see less shows (and, of course, buy less from the concessions, so the venues are actually losing money on me). The local clubs have lots of great, cheap shows.

[ledhead1962]

I have found that the concert experience, in general, has become lacking. While I like to go to 2 or three a summer I have, in the last few years, started to stay away from the big bands and pick and choose which ones I will attend. People will pay the outrageous prices that are being asked so I guess you can't blame the bands. For example - The Eagles, who stick out in my mind as a particularly expensive ticket, sold out in my home town in mere minutes. The thing is though that the result of high prices causes the bands and the industry to appear elitist and that perception is not helping an industry in trouble already. It is far easier to rationalize ripping off music from an artist when the person hears how much these tours make and unfortunately the good guys get painted with same broad brush. Oh well, a problem that is not going away any time soon and there are so many more important things to worry about.

[brazilian_sf]

Even if the concert is priced right, why do I have to pay a 10$ "convenience" fee and a 2.5$ shipping fee for the tickets? I would understand it if there were other options, but there are not. Also, I cannot choose my seat, and cannot walk into a box office to purchase it.
TicketMaster and other similar places are a monopoly and can charge whatever they want. For now, I simply refuse to go to shows if the only way to purchase them is through ticketmaster.

[pentest]

In 1990 or so I saw Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax and Alice in Chains for $20. Hardly anyone can hold a candle to these bands today. I used to go see bands like Dead Kennedys, Butthole Surfers, and Black Flag for $5 and there were usually 3 or 4 bands playing, all of whom are better than the clowns charging $100-$500 today.

I have seen Bad Religion for $10, and Green Day wishes they were 1/10 as good and 1/100 as intelligent. Nine Inch Nails is fairly affordable, as was the sasquatch festival last weekend.

However, most big acts are total garbage, I see significantly better bands in very small clubs every weekend, and it costs $5 or less to get in. Usually free,

[mojobone]

Yes, prices are high, but you always have other options; for instance, you could come see my band, the Double A Daddies, for between $4 and $8, and enjoy a high-quality real country and western music experience in an intimate atmosphere where beer prices are no higher than usual, PLUS you get to tell the kids and grandkids you saw us for cheap, before we became rich n famous. ;-)

[AlaskaHome1959]

It's not even a question. And it isn't just concerts, it's any major event. And monopolies such a ticket master add so many "fees" that the "face value" of a ticket ends up being as little as 50% of the actual cost of the ticket. Its not just "convenience charges" for purchasing through folks like TicketMaster but also transaction fees--a fee for taking your payment--and convenience charges even when **purchasing** tickets at the box office directly from the venue and **not** from TicketMaster outlets (shades of MicroSoft charging for copies of DOS, even when DOS was not included on the computer), "printing fees" for ticket printing, and so on. Frankly, I'm not sure why there have not been any anti-trust suits against TicketMaster since they control the entire ticket sales market in many locals.

[RighteousSoutherner]

Yes, concert tickets in general are a rip-off. I stopped going over 25 years ago because I quickly realized that the good tickets or seats were all reservered for family members, record producers, middle men, promos and the list goes on. The only thing left for the general public are the sh*tty nosebleed seats where I end up watching a Jumbotron the entire show. Thus, concerts are some the biggest scams ever pulled off on the public.

[one_flat_monkey]

When I was around 27, I paid about $10 to see Jimi Hendrix with The Soft Machine and Electric Flag at the Shrine Auditorium on his first tour. My monthly income was $650. I didn't go to many concerts, maybe half a dozen over the span of a year, so my expenditure was probably less than $100, including parking.

Fast forward to 2008, when my wife and I went to see Smokey Robinson at the Cerritos Center for the Performing arts. We spent $125 for two tickets, plus an on-line booking fee, which made the concert cost $130 for the two of us. My monthly income now is such that I spent a lower percentage on the Smokey tickets than the Hendrix tickets.

[yamaha745]

WAY TOOOO HIGH!!!!!FOR INSTANCE $68 A TICKET.FAMILY OF 4 = $272!!!! THATS NOT INCLUDING PARKING$10-$20,SHOW PROGRAMS-$5-$10 APIECE, FOOD AND DRINKS FOR 4-$25-$$30,
FAN TEE SHIRTS OF THE EVENT-$10-$20 A SHIRT,THE COST OF GAS TO DRIVE TO AND FROM THE EVENT-$10-$20,AND YOU LOOKING CLOSELY TO - DO THE MATH- ROUGHLY---$432 JUST TO GO OUT TO 1 CONCERT OR EVENT FOR A FAMILY OF 4. NOW YOU ALSO HAVE TO FIGURE IN THE KIDS ARE GONNA WANT POPCORN,COTTON CANDY,AND THOSE LITTLE LIGHT THINGS THAT THEY WEAR ON THEIR HEADS OR LIGHT NECKLACES.
THATS A WHOLE LOTTA MONEY FOR AN EVENT THAT LAST APPROX 3 HOURS.;IF YOU CAN AFFORD IT. WHEN THE PROMOTERS OF THESE EVENTS REALIZE THAT MOST OF US CANT AFFORD OR WONT PAY THESE HIGH PRICES,THEN MAYBE THEY WILL PRICE THESE EVENTS AT A MORE REASONABLE COST THAT MOST OF US CAN AFFORD.AS LONG AS THE PUBLIC IS WILLING TO PAY THE HIGH PRICE FOR THESE EVENTS;THE PRICE WILL NEVER COME DOWN.
THE PRICES THEY CHARGE FOR SOME OF THESE BIG NAME EVENTS IS ABSOLUTELY ABSURD!!!!
AS LONG AS WE KEEP PAYIN THEY WILL KEEP CHARGIN!!!!!!!

[JB4times4]

Here in Utah, they have the Big Ass Show that you can get tickets to for $10. Those are lawn seats, the pit tickets are $30, and the seated is $30. Plus the $10 tickets are only the first 1,000 tickets after that they are $20. I got to see 10 bands, for $10. Not bad if you ask me...

On the other hand I just bought a ticket to another show. The ticket was $10, and there was $8.50 of service fees. Thats almost as much as the ticket. Thats rediculous!!!

[kennethpdavis]

It's not the price of tickets, it's the fact that no matter what I might be willing to pay, I can't buy the really good seats anyway. They seem to be gone even before the event goes on sale. To keep highly motivated resellers from continuing to ruin the industry, I suggest that instead of tickets, you buy non-transferable "reservations" for yourself and your party (of, say, up to four). If the purchaser doesn't show up to claim your reservation, it is offered to those waiting on line. I still go to the Birchmere in Alexandria, VA because the advance purchase buys you a slot, but seating is first-come-first-serve on the day of the show.

yes.

[Gromit801]

I haven't been to a concert since the late 80's. NO ONE is worth the price being charged anymore.

[Arthur Belle Dent]

I work with musicians so I have no problems with paying to listen to good music (i refuse to be put on the list and pay for myself) but I refuse to pay a day or two of salary to see musicians to support their lifestyles.

I used to listen to tons of big named bands and have just stopped cold turkey for those in big venues. I still see plenty of shows except the musicians I support now arent living in 4 villas across the world.

The problem with high prices is that it removes a lot of your critical thinking. It doesnt matter how bad a show is, most people are just happy being there.

Yes. Too expensive.
No. No concert is worth 100-200$.

Btw, I toured an average of 8-10 countries a year the past 10 years in eruope, south america and africa and there are TONS of great musicians everywhere you go. Who would think that a small country like Mali could have so many great guitar players, but they do.

Music is played everywhere on the planet, its not reserved for the 40-50 biggest grossing acts and your moments of sheer exhilaration can come in Dakhar, Chiapas, Cuba or Italy in venues of all sizes.

As funny as it sounds, Myspace is a true gift for those willing to listen to something new and love music of all genres. Ive listen to anywhere between 4 and 10 new bands every week for the past 2-3 years and have a 4 song rule.
If I like the 3 of the 4 songs on the jukebox I automatically buy the CD (often 2 songs is good enough as well).


And Clearchannel/Live Nation is a herpes that has infected all of europe and it controls venues, advertising and every other aspect of the music industry.
Xgrand: you are just feeding the beast. The poseurs of U2 are Clearchannel's main act, with all their booking, promoting through their subsidiaries like Solo Agency in the UK.

[waldolc]

Concert prices seem to keep going up and the concerts keep getting shorter. I have seen thousands of performances in many cities and venues. As I get older, I am becoming disinclined to catch a show because of these two things.

[fast-red]

Whatever price I decide to pay, I expect a commensurate quality to my concert experience. The musicians usually hold up their end, but I hate it when seats are sold that shouldn't be (high up in an arena where sound bounces off the roof and it sounds horrible), or the sound system sucks. Half the shows I go to are substandard or worse, and I've heard good & bad in similar venues. Half sound good, and some sound great, so I know it can be done!

It would be nice to see a system that puts an end to scalping. Scalpers are scum, like drug pushers. Maybe will call only, and resale only through the box office if you change your mind? I think the bands would have to drive this.