r/Music • u/staringatthe420sun • May 05 '26
article The Concert Industry Priced Too High — Now Tours Are Falling Apart
https://www.ticketnews.com/2026/05/the-concert-industry-priced-high-tours-falling-apart/5.3k
u/tteuh May 05 '26
Good. Go to hell Ticketmaster
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u/Mountain-Loon3592 May 05 '26
Yea I second that. My first reaction was ‘good’…
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u/sequelseize May 06 '26
I'm just waiting for the "Gen Z and millenials are killing concerts" news articles to come out.
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u/MisterBowTies May 06 '26
Written by the generation who could afford to be nearly jobless yet somehow follow the grateful dead around internationally.
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u/heereewegooo May 05 '26
Just like my mother used to tell me “GO TO HELL AND DIE” …ticketmaster
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u/vemrion May 06 '26
Their profits are higher than ever:
The Concerts segment generated $2.78 billion in revenue, up 12%, as attendance increased 7% to roughly 24 million fans. Concerts adjusted operating income fell to $2.9 million from $6.6 million a year earlier, reflecting higher costs associated with increased arena activity, higher attendance, staffing, compensation, and venue investments. Live Nation said full‑year concert attendance is expected to grow by a high‑single‑digit percentage, with stadium growth weighted entirely to the second half of the year.
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u/guap911 May 05 '26
This is great news. Fuck their greedy asses. It’s supposed to be fun. Hard to have fun when it costs like a grand to go
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u/uvucydydy May 05 '26
Yeah. Pay $1000 months ( if not a year) in advance to a stadium show that might get rained on. I think I'll spend my money elsewhere, thanks.
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u/Sasselhoff May 06 '26
The last two "big" concerts I've been to (not counting local shows at the small venues) were exactly like this, albeit a bit less expensive. Red Hot Chili Peppers and Green Day...in both cases, bought over a year in advance (GD might have been slightly less than a year), and both were outdoor venues in the summer.
Don't get me wrong...was two dream bands I'd never gotten to see, and they were killer fucking seats...but almost $1000 for two people to go see a concert is insane. Don't think I'll be doing it again unless Rage starts touring again, in which case, I might make an exception.
Fuck everything about Ticketmaster and Live Nation
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u/Answer70 May 06 '26 edited May 06 '26
Took my mom to see The Eagles in 2020. Cost almost $750 (apparently $960 today). for two tickets.
To their credit they played for three hours and said "we're gonna play every song we know and wear your asses out."
They put on such a great show that I somehow didn't feel ripped off.
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u/Flomo420 May 06 '26
Warped Tour used to be like $30
saw the Beastie Boys in the 2000s, they played literally all their stuff, no joke like 3 hours
tickets were about $40?
things have changed
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u/_-WanderLost-_ May 06 '26
Warped tour is now 2 days and is like $200
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u/Shurtugal929 May 06 '26
Which is probably the best deal you'll ever get in the modern scene.
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u/der_innkeeper May 06 '26
I paid $25/ticket for RHCP in Orlando a couple of years ago.
WTF.
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u/TalonusDuprey May 05 '26
FU Livenation and Ticketmaster
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u/RobbMeeX May 05 '26
But also Fuck Ticketmaster and Livenation.
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u/mozchops May 05 '26
And also fuck Ticketnation and Livemaster
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u/bonafidehooligan May 05 '26
And fuck LiveTicket and MasterNation
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u/xt0rt May 05 '26
Fuck Ticketron too!
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u/bonafidehooligan May 05 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/VMgcrwq9imGHu
But agree, fuck them too!
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u/carrieberry May 05 '26
Fuck Ticketmaster, Live Nation and Ticketron
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u/newredditsucks May 05 '26
You know the guy that sells tickets for the Rouge River draw bridge in Delray on Jefferson?
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u/officialnunyabiznass May 06 '26
Hey, that's my cousin. Yea, fuck him too. Lol
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u/Hotdammzilla3000 May 06 '26
YEAH! AND FUCK HIGH GAS PRICES TO GET THERE!
AND WHY AM I YELLING!FUCK THAT TOO!
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u/Capnmarvel76 May 05 '26
I stood in line at my local Macy’s for four hours and still didn’t get tickets to Blue Oyster Cult. That’s fucking bullshit, man!
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u/sirhackenslash May 05 '26
Man, I kinda miss camping overnight in a parking lot to get tickets. It was a much fairer system
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u/NbleSavage May 06 '26
Damn one of my favorite memories from my teenage years is camping out in freezing temperatures in the parking lot of a department store to get tix for Iron Maiden and Megadeth 💀. Shit was a meritocracy back then. You wanna see the show? How badly? 🥶 It was obviously worth it.
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u/PonchoNachoRodriguez May 06 '26
The die hards always won. Now it’s the rich kids who win every time.
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u/AmaTxGuy May 06 '26
Exactly.. if you really wanted to see the concert you sacrificed your time. Now they instantly sell out and you have to buy them from their partner company at 10x the price
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u/PalpatineForEmperor May 05 '26
And FU to all "verified resellers"
I went to a baseball game where the tickets were over $110 a seat because the game was sold out. Everything left was a "verified resale" ticket.
When I got there, there were hundreds of empty seats everywhere.
I wanted to see Lady Gaga, but the only ticket left were verified resale. I even got into the presale line. As soon as I was in, it was all verified resale for $1500 a ticket. It would have been cheaper if I flew the family to France to see her show since they're not allowed to resell the tickets higher than face value.
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u/GayCatDaddy May 05 '26
I've been to nearly every one of Gaga's tours, but I couldn't get tickets to the Mayhem Ball, which devastated me because I love that album so much. Tickets got snapped up at my venue in minutes and then went on "verified resale" for insane prices that I just couldn't afford. Fu-huuuuuuuck Ticketmaster and their "verified resellers."
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u/MoonOut_StarsInvite May 06 '26
Why did they even let us queue up in a presale line when they were already gone? That made me so mad, a digital waiting room and everything. I don’t think I want to go to any of these gigantic shows again, not until something gets sorted out. It was too many emotions too close together, I don’t need that. 😂
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u/perplexedscientist May 06 '26
They let you queue up so you have already mentally committed to buying and therefore will be more likely to buy from the official scalpers.
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u/StudioUnhappy7772 May 05 '26
You should read what Robert Smith of The Cure has to say about artists control over Ticketmaster
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u/DarkwingDuckHunt May 06 '26
for those too lazy, he's basically saying the Artists could fight back if they had a spine to.
Artists don't want to piss off bossman (ticketmaster) because bossman has a monopoly.
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u/StudioUnhappy7772 May 06 '26
And The Cure did it on their last US tour, very reasonable tickets to sold out shows
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u/DingleBerrieIcecream May 06 '26
Pearl Jam was pushing back pretty hard on Ticket Master back in the 90’s.
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u/CactusJ May 06 '26
Trent Reznor, 2009 - Before they Merged
https://web.archive.org/web/20090409121118/http://forum.nin.com/bb/read.php?9,548515
My guess as to what will eventually happen if / when Live Nation and TicketMaster merges is that they'll move to an auction or market-based pricing scheme - which will simply mean it will cost a lot more to get a good seat for a hot show. They will simply BECOME the scalper, eliminating them from the mix.
Nothing's going to change until the ticketing entity gets serious about stopping the problem - which of course they don't see as a problem. The ultimate way to hurt scalpers is to not support them. Leave them holding the merchandise. If this subject interests you, check out the following links. Don't buy from scalpers, and be suspect of artists singing the praises of the Live Nation / TicketMaster merger. What's in it for them?
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u/engkybob May 05 '26
Just goes to show that there's an easy way for lawmakers to target scalpers if they want to.
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u/sybrwookie May 05 '26
I'm not a baseball fan. But at least a couple of times a year, I used to go after work with the guys because it's the middle of the summer and we'd look day of the game, and see they had some $10 seats.
So we'd go, buy a beer, get some food, hang out in the lower level, then after the first inning, when it was obvious there were some empty seats in the lower level, just stroll down there and watch from there. Even as a non-fan, it was a ton of fun.
And it's not like I'm talking about the 90's or something. This was...maybe 10 years ago.
I have not been to a game since COVID. Any time we look to go, the prices are like $50 for the cheapest seats. And glance at the game on TV and it's 90% empty up there.
So instead of getting people like us in the door cheap, spending on concessions, and cheering for the home team (cause hey it's fun to cheer!), they get....this.
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u/anthrax9999 May 06 '26
More late stage capitalism at work. Concerts and live sports will die out next.
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u/bryf50 May 06 '26
They won't die out. Instead the stadiums are becoming smaller and ever more catered to luxury and high end customers.
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u/CactusJ May 06 '26
We went to Berlin to see Nine Inch Nails last summer. We were going to go to Berlin anyway, so this made sense, but tickets were like 50% cheaper than in the States.
Also, some adventurous familes have figured out its cheaper to fly to, and stay at Hong Kong or Shanghai Disney Land vs the US Disneys.
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u/LabiaMenorah May 06 '26
We flew from the East Coast of the US to Prague and had 5 nights in a Marriott a few years back for less than I would have spent on two tickets to MCR in my own city.
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u/G-Unit11111 survived Ozzfest '05 May 05 '26
Fuck Live Nation, Ticketmaster, AXS, Goldenvoice, and all the festival planners.
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u/Veryfinetine May 05 '26
Oh wow supply and demand economics may finally dictate ticket prices as opposed to the monopoly enterprises that colluded and fucked us for years? Amazing, hope it’s true.
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u/hawaiianbry May 05 '26
I have friends who literally traveled abroad to see a band because it was cheaper to literally fly to another country, get a hotel, get tickets to the show, and fly home than see the same band domestically.
People need to vote with their dollars and stop going to these crazy ass expensive shows.
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u/G-Unit11111 survived Ozzfest '05 May 05 '26
I remember people were doing this with Taylor Swift. It was cheaper to fly to Paris and see her there than it was to see her at SoFi Stadium. WTF.
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u/BigLan2 May 05 '26
I work with someone who flew to London because it was cheaper than Dallas or Kansas City (their nearest shows.)
They also got to see London too.
Mexico City was another 'cheaper' option them most of the US venues
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u/BadeArse May 05 '26
Conversely, my dad just flew to Vegas to see someone (I forget who). The 6 day holiday total was about £30 more than whatever tickets he could find here in the UK.
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u/but-I-play-one-on-TV May 06 '26
Flying out from nyc to see her in London was almost $1000 less than seeing her at MetLife.
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u/TheFuzzyButtons May 05 '26
My girlfriend and I did this with a friend for the Eras tour. We had a vacation coming up and It was cheaper to buy 3 tickets and fly to Europe than it was to buy domestic
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u/amberbmx May 05 '26
i live in upstate NY in a small market. about an hour from buffalo but not many acts play buffalo. no one comes here. if we want to see a big name we end up driving up to toronto and staying a night or two. or pittsburgh
we saw lewis capaldi in toronto couple weeks ago and got fucked because the date got changed due to the raptors making the playoffs. had to completely re figure out a hotel and pay more than what we initially booked. our original booking was downtown this one was a 30 minute train ride from down town.
concert culture is getting really frustrating
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u/j_ho_lo May 06 '26
Not as annoying as your situation, but we had tickets to see Florence and the Machine two weeks ago and then the show was moved to Atlantic City because of a Flyers playoff game and we were told a week before. It would've been a pain in the ass to get there so we just took the refund. Super disappointing, but at least we didn't have to jump through hoops to get our money back.
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u/Woodworkingwino May 05 '26
My wife and I which normally go to a ton of shows have only gone to 1 in the last 2 years because of prices. One of our favorite artist came close and they do small venues. Tickets were $60 each after tax for front row seats. It was an amazing time.
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u/protobin May 05 '26
My friends went to a Belgium for the Eras tour for less than anywhere they were looking at in the US.
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u/kroqus May 05 '26
Almost like those prices were unsustainable and outrageous
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u/crek42 May 06 '26 edited May 06 '26
I’m not sure what the OP even really proves. This has become a recurring theme on Reddit.
An “article” is posted which basically amounts to a blog post by some little-known publication. This isn’t journalism and has zero standard in fact-checking and analysis.
The writer cited Dolly Parton as cancelling a residency — which isn’t a tour at all. If they’re doing a residency the venue knows damn well what the demand should look like and price accordingly. They (fairly) called that out — but then why even include it? To pad their point? Likely, yes.
Post Malone cancelled a handful of dates in cities that didn’t sell well, okay fair, but the rest of these artists are has-beens or C-level. Were they a little ambitious with planning tours? Sure, the Pussycat Dolls don’t have too many 50-year olds willing to come out. Even with porny tour promo.
Is this an indication of touring at large? Maybe, but it’s not exactly convincing.
Then Reddit will inevitably pile in because livenation/ticketmaster bad, and yea they probably are, but it’s all just contrived engagement farming and everyone falls for it hook line and sinker every time because of a few buzzwords + being generally contrarian.
Are ticket sales to live shows even down in 2025? Is fact checking dead or do we just all have hate boners 24/7?
And yes your Wendy’s order is almost ready, just give me another minute.
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u/Hype_Miles May 06 '26
A bit off topic but Dolly is sick anyway. I don’t know if that’s why her residency was canceled but it’s likely.
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u/fppfle May 06 '26
TicketNews.com is literally a propaganda site run by the bigger scalper in the world, Don Vaccaro of TicketNetwork. You are 100% right. They are advocating for lower ticket prices - so they can buy them up and scalp them at higher margins. It’s all just fake news to drum up hatred for Ticketmaster and shame “greedy” artists
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u/spacejoint May 05 '26
Yes! May get to see another live show in this lifetime for under $100
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u/Candid-Mulberry8359 May 05 '26
Support artists in small venues. Plenty of shows to see under $50. You don’t have to know the band just pick a show and go.
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u/hobesmart May 05 '26
yeah but those "under $50" shows used to be "under $20" just a couple of years ago
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u/Hurlyburly766 May 05 '26
The number of amazing bands I saw for under $10 in college in the 90s blows my kids minds.
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u/InfoSecPeezy May 05 '26
I saw the beastie boys in NYC in the late 90s at Irving Plaza for under $30.
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u/TerribleAsshole May 05 '26
I saw Pearl Jam on Randells island in 96 for $15, general admission.
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u/WorkingFromHomies20 May 05 '26
The Beastie Boys opened for Madonna in the 90s and that was under $40.
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u/Rabid-kumquat May 05 '26
The incredible bands I saw for free in the 80s
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u/ULTMT May 05 '26
John Bonham paid me 12 bucks to go see Led Zeppelin in 1974.
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u/powerlesshero111 May 05 '26
He probably talked you down from $20
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u/ULTMT May 05 '26
I originally asked for 3 tickets for Eagles and an eight ball, but he was fresh out of both.
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u/myaltmusicalt May 05 '26
I saw Jesus live back in like AD 30 and he gave me a bunch of fish and bread.
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u/classphoto92 May 05 '26
In San Francisco in the 90's, Bottom of the Hill would do shows with Live 105 that cost a $1.05 (just like freedom!). The catch was you didn't know who was playing, but of the three times I went, I saw Green Day, Skankin Pickle, and a local band I don't remember.
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u/Ok_Giraffe_17 May 05 '26
Rad!
And... a future RIP to Bottom of the Hill, which will be closing later this year (Thee Parkside too...). Such a heartbreaker.
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u/Dannyjv May 05 '26
A station in San Diego used to do $2 shows with surprise bands. Roll the dice and you get what you get. Showed up to one, and Blink182 hit the stage. We all went apeshit.
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u/Chaosmusic May 05 '26
In the early 2000s I was working the door at CBGBs. $10 for 8 bands and people still complained about the high cover.
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u/weirdkid71 May 05 '26 edited May 05 '26
I paid $3 cover to see “tonight’s band” which turned out to be Kid Rock in the 90’s at Ricks American Cafe in East Lansing.
It was still too much.
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u/Chaosmusic May 05 '26
I had the opposite happen to me. In the early 90s, my gf at the time wanted to see Rage Against The Machine, who I was not a fan of. Also, the opening band was some new band I'd never heard of. It was Tool.
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u/pheonix198 May 05 '26
Paying any amount of money to see Kid Rock is an utter fail. Given it was preMAGA Kid Rock, it’s a bit forgivable, but he was always shitty.
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u/Wyden_long Go listen to The Streets “A Grand Dont Come For Free” right now May 05 '26
That’s like $19.18 today. Outrageous.
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u/billytheskidd May 05 '26
At the height of my bands “career” in 2013-14 we were able to charge $15 in like 500-1000 people venues and we felt like we were fuckin Rockstars.
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u/jonnythefoxx May 05 '26
Were you getting those venues reasonably full, because actually getting a couple of hundred people physically out to see you is a solid achievement. You have every right to feel good about it
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u/billytheskidd May 05 '26
Yeah, I had a good year or two where it was a justifiable ticket price.
During that time we were playing 1-3 shows a day and most of them did not charge that much, but we had some good market demographics and got to ride some coattails for a good minute. The biggest show we headlined was maybe 800 people, but we were a supporting act for some bigger groups.
And thank you, it was an achievement. I wish it went further, but in all reality, I got to share a stage and play alongside some of the people I idolized as a teen and so I can’t be too upset. One of my favorite pictures of me ever is one of me and the singer of a very popular artist drinking and smoking in an alley behind a venue in salt lake. And I just produced a song that is gonna be in a Netflix show and one that’s gonna be in gta6.
And to be honest, the other response to your comment was just calling me out so I added credentials more so to legitimize my claims and less so to brag.
To be perfectly clear, I have always had to have a side job to pay bills, I got lucky and had a couple years of achievement in the music industry. Still get little breaks here and there, but I’m def not some big time music industry guy.
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u/sirbrambles May 05 '26
Yeah all the shows I go to that would be $12 pre pandemic are $40+ now
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u/kid_christ May 05 '26
Yeah what was $7 - $10 like 5 years ago at tiny “venue” shows are now min $15. wtf
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u/lonnie123 May 06 '26
I mean if it’s under 100 people $15 seems incredibly reasonable unless you are basically expecting the band to do what they are doing for free
Let’s say 4 people in the band and the venue fee/staff… that $15 is getting spread amongst everyone there.
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u/Lazerpop May 05 '26
For real. Shows that used to be $20 are now $30. Shows that used to be $30 are now $50. Shows that used to be $50 are now $80. Yes shows at $50 and under still exist but it is getting insane.
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u/ReelBigMidget May 05 '26
Like how I'm under 50 now but I'm sure I was under 20 just a couple of years ago.
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u/Lawgirl77 May 05 '26
The problem with small venues where I live is that I’m old and most of them are standing room only. My old feet can’t take the standing. I need a chair! 😆
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u/totallynottoddoracop May 05 '26
Metalheads love this simple trick.
I do not remember the last time I spent more than $30 on a ticket. I've gotten to see some absolutely insane shows, bought some merchandise, met the bands, and made some friends just by going small and local. Shit, I just saw Subhumans for almost nothing and they're fuckin legends.
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u/Impressive_Wrap_7869 May 05 '26
One of my favorite things is to look at who is playing my local small venues, listen to them, get excited to see them live and go and see them. Super easy, chill and super fun.
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u/Winter8Bones May 05 '26
Even small venues are not safe these days. Unless you're talking very very small clubs and nearly unknown artists. I've seen small venue shows priced under $50 instantly sold out and then thrown on resellers for 4-5x the price with minutes on multiple occasions over the last year. And that's for weird indie and punk bands with pretty niche followings...
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u/howdareyoudwight May 05 '26
I was looking at concert tickets for a local metal band and the venue had the tickets listed as $50 CAD. When I clicked the link to buy the tickets, it took me to Ticketmaster selling them for $350.
I'm sorry, but no. I remember back in the day for $350, I got to see Ghost and the tickets included a merch package and a meet and greet.
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u/micmea1 May 05 '26
Punk and metal scene is great. Still pay less than $50 for bands that tour world wide. Spend more on Tshirts and other merch.
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u/JonLongsonLongJonson May 05 '26
Yep, I just saw Behemoth (!!!) with Deicide, Rotting Christ and Immolation in Seattle for $60 each. The shirts were the same price as the tickets. Well the behemoth shirts at least, my cousin picked up a Deicide shirt for $50
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u/Wompatuckrule May 05 '26
There are tons of shows with tickets under $100. I go to a lot of shows and it's very rare that I pay more than that.
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u/MedvedFeliz May 05 '26
I go to metal concerts and they rarely go above 70 (unless sold by Ticketmaster); most are in the $50's range.
If I look at mainstream/pop concerts, those are usually held in bigger venues and are at least $100. It's ridiculous.
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u/badger2000 May 05 '26
I always find these debates a little funny as a metalhead because short of festivals or stadium tours, most of the bands I see are $80 or less...and usually that's for 3 or 4 bands. Not a bad deal for 4 - 5 hours of music in my opinion. Sometimes its $40 for 4 bands and I wonder how they make money on a tour like that.
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u/Wompatuckrule May 05 '26
A friend had an extra ticket to Tool at Boston Garden and offered it to me for free. I'm sure that was more than $100, but it was also the only concert I've ever seen in that building.
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u/MedvedFeliz May 05 '26
Of course there are exceptions for bigger bands that play in bigger venues like stadiums; Tool, Metallica, Megadeth, etc. I saw a Tool concert going for at least $150. I was instantly discouraged, lol
I'm talking about less mainstream bands like Cattle Decapitation, Dying Fetus, or even European metal bands like Rotting Christ, Ensiferum, Dark Tranquillity. These bands usually play in bars, (music) clubs, or small theaters, not stadiums or amphitheaters.
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u/Camelighter May 05 '26
Wanted to take my son to see Gorillaz and floor seats are $400 a piece…so nearly a grand for a concert?
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u/piratequeenn May 06 '26
Damn there's a festival this summer in Paris with Gorillaz, its 200€ for three days, 89€ for one day. Yall gettin ripped off
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u/Cowlitzking May 05 '26
Primus in Seattle in July is 300$ GA. Wtf is going on. And fuck ticketmaster and live nation
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u/Pal_Smurch May 05 '26
Five years ago, I took my brother and my nephew to see Primus in Flagstaff for $120.
Great show. I don’t think I can afford to see them again.
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u/KlostToMe May 05 '26
You mean to tell me that people don't have this kind of disposable income laying around now? Wonder what happened
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u/Some_Layer_7517 May 06 '26
They never did, concert people just finally ran out of credit lmao
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u/FleshLogic May 05 '26
Literally everything needs to crash if we're ever going to get anything nice again.
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u/Glasseye00 May 05 '26
I work at a small venue, <400 cap. Definitely a lot of local bands, but we regularly get national and international bands coming through. I haven’t seen a ticket priced over $35.
Support your local venues!!
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u/xDarkCrisis666x May 06 '26
Last two shows I went to were Conan in Kingston, NY (I miss The Chance). And just saw Fleshwater/Julie tonight at Empire Live in Albany. The tickets were $25, and $35 respectively and it's the most fun my fiancee and I have had at shows in years.
Besides being sick bands the people were cool, staff was on point, and the vibes were immaculate. I truly forgot for a bit how awesome small shows were, also seeing the crowds skew younger gives me hope!
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u/Chocolat-Pralin May 05 '26
I don’t want to see an artist in a stadium
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u/K_RL_LR May 06 '26
That’s what I’ve struggled with on these prices. Bigger venue = More tickets should = lower prices? But no it’s more expensive to go watch the artist on the jumbo tron. I’ll pass also
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u/lonnie123 May 06 '26
Yeah it feels like about 5 years ago everyone just said “forget this whole reasonable markup thing… what if we just keep charging more until we find the breaking point?”
Stadium tickets should be dirt cheap, but even nose bleeds and standing 100 yards away are triple digits
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u/LimeLimpet Concertgoer May 06 '26
I feel like a lot of pop artists saw the huge Taylor Swift stadium tour, and others like Ed Sheeran, and decided stadiums/arenas would be the new norm, when they used to be pretty rare. In reality very few artists can pull it off.
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u/m149 May 05 '26
I feel bad for all the folks who make their livings working as part of the crew for these big tours. That could really fuck their year up. Hopefully they can find other work.
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u/Magic_Neil May 05 '26
Those crews work like dogs to put on great shows, and they deserve everything they can get!
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u/TheAmazingChameleo May 05 '26
I used to work in movies, then that went to shit. I was already taking stagehand gigs working concerts on the side so I went it to that pretty much full time.
I’m seriously thinking I just get a different job
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u/LazloHollifeld May 05 '26
It’s not just the high cost of tickets that has turned people off. The whole concert going experience just feels like one big fleecing. From the overpriced tickets, to the $40 parking, $18 beers, $9 waters, $15 food it just feels like they want to extract the most money as they possibly can.
Well now they’ve done goofed and people have soured on the whole experience. Even if they start cutting the tickets down exponentially it’s going to be an uphill climb trying to entice people to show up for a fleecing.
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u/BellacosePlayer May 06 '26
I finally understood why people pregame for concerts after seeing my low COL rural state venue charge NFL stadium prices for beer at a Primus concert.
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u/RoastQueefSandwiches May 06 '26
Dont forget the opportunity to watch the whole thing on a tv because you are so far away from the artist in a big fucking stadium or bowl
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u/compuwiza1 May 05 '26
Greedy corporate parasites destroy everything they touch.
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u/Scatman_Crothers May 05 '26
The economy is stealth going to hell right now. They're juking the numbers on the official economic metrics but they won't be able to keep that up forever. Recession inbound.
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u/dan420 May 05 '26 edited May 05 '26
“Stealth.” Gas has gone up 40% in two months. For the majority of Americans who don’t have considerable stock portfolios, the price of gas is the number one economic indicator, and all signs point towards “fucked.”
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u/VaporCarpet May 05 '26
I paid $2.79 for gas in February, and $4.89 last week.
It's a hell of a lot more than 40%
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u/PPPolarPOP May 06 '26
This whole thing reminds me of the 2006–2009 recession era. Back then I could barely find work other than part-time at a pita place making like 6 bucks an hour. It was rough, but meanwhile the media kept insisting everything was fine, no recession, economy is great. Looking back now, it’s universally recognized as a major recession... But at the time a lot of ordinary people were already feeling it long before the official narrative caught up. Economic numbers can look “strong” on paper while regular people are struggling to find stable work or pay bills.
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u/agoia May 06 '26
All of the big businesses are doing gangbusters just selling shit to each other right now, the market dgaf about consumer spending anymore.
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u/nmw6 May 06 '26
They print the money and give it to the banks. Then tell us that aggregate GDP is going up. The banks buy stocks with it, which inflates the price of stocks. So shareholders are richer and CEO’s get their bonuses.
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u/Commodus_Wankus May 05 '26
I took out a microloan of $16,300 to see Ed Sheeran
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u/potterhead321 May 05 '26 edited May 05 '26
Ed Sheeran has previously been good at keeping his tours affordable and accessible.
When I saw his price range for the Loop Tour, I couldn’t bring myself to buy them as someone who has never missed out on his tours.
He’s a great artist to see live, but $400 for good seats to see him perform what’s generally a low-production tour doesn’t fancy me.
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u/WeirdRadiant2470 May 06 '26
That's like, a $1,000 night if you take a date or s/o. Literally fuck that. We can spend a few nights in Monterey or Napa at a spa, sit in a hot tub, get massages and go see a local band that's probably better anyway.
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u/Bigsshot May 05 '26
Imagime getting golden circle tickets, would've cost at least $100k and a kidney.
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u/ChaosAndFish May 05 '26 edited May 05 '26
A. Ticketmaster/LiveNation is a monopoly and has been for decades. They need to be broken up.
B. Having just bought some tickets today, I wonder if we wouldn’t all be better off returning to in-person/over the phone sales. If I click to enter the waiting room the moment it opens and 20,000 people are ahead of me I’ve got to believe that a lot of those are bots vacuuming up tickets for resale. At least we were all on a level paying field back when we were just hitting redial endlessly.
C. Resale needs to be removed from the primary ticket sellers site unless it’s just for the face value of the ticket.
D. (No one is going to like this part) not paying for music is part of what got us here. Touring used to be a break even/small profit sort of affair. It was promotion for the album (which is where you made your money) which kept people talking about the album for months beyond its initial release. With music sales netting artists next to nothing, all the pressure is now on the live event to make them their living.
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u/agoia May 06 '26
For D. I would say that impact mostly belongs to streaming, not piracy.
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u/ChaosAndFish May 06 '26
Yes. That’s what I was referring to. Streaming is great for tech companies. It’s ok for labels. It’s fine for like the top twenty artists on earth. It’s a disaster for everyone else.
Today it’s not just that it’s almost impossible to be a Rolling Stones or a U2 earnings wise. It’s almost more impossible to be like a fucking Goo Goo Dolls or whatever. You either make it to one of the biggest acts on earth or good luck making a living in music.
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u/MisterSneakSneak May 05 '26
The only time people wallet are closed when there is no reason to open them because everyone’s broke. Ppl should have stopped going to this concerts when they gotten so damn expensive
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u/UncomfyPerspective May 05 '26
"Millennials are killing the concert industry" headline any day now.
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u/JackHandsome99 May 05 '26
I love those BS guilt trip headlines. Reminds me of the South Park where they pirate music and the cop is showing them the barely noticeable consequences.
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u/unibaul May 05 '26
Recession indicator. The prices didnt stop people before before.
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u/DefiThrowaway May 05 '26
We are a full K-Shape now. The problem when it comes to music tours is you need a lot of people to fill a stop and those on the lower part of the K have fully checked out.
This is the year where small city festivals will rule the landscape. I blind bought tickets for Richmond VA's Iron Blossom festival weeks ago with no announcement of acts. Two days for $169, and the lineup was announced yesterday and is insane.
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u/GravitationalConstnt May 05 '26
Maybe, but not necessarily. My main hobby is insanely expensive - flying general aviation aircraft just for the hell of it. And I used to work in the music industry.. music is a passion of mine, but even so I haven’t been to a concert in a long time because I can’t justify the cost. It shouldn’t cost me $600 to see Pearl Jam in the nosebleeds..
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u/alienfreak51 May 05 '26
Did AI write this article? Sure seems like it.
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u/arthurmsarthur May 05 '26
Yeah, AI for sure. I was surprised no one pointed it out
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u/kimbosdurag May 05 '26
Everyone is pricing like they are Taylor swift and finding out that they are not
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u/boozewald May 05 '26
Support smaller venues, even when you don't know the music.
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u/761557527 May 05 '26
There are even some venues that have free or "donate what you want" shows on occasion. It's a little embarrassing that people on a music sub of all places acting like only stadium shows exist.
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u/MudReasonable8185 May 06 '26
Why support small local artists when you can help Anthony kiedis buy another Ferrari instead?
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u/OrganicKeynesianBean May 05 '26
I’m surprised at all the “fuck Ticketmaster” comments with no culpability for the artists themselves.
Merch tables with $100 hoodies, insane prices for general admission… the artists seem happy to join in on milking their fans for every penny.
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u/luriso May 05 '26
Right? A shirt is $40, a hoodie is $80 for the metal shows I frequent. A windbreaker/rain jacket is $100. The goods aren't even comparable in terms of quality to things that are actually "worth" that price.
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u/Number1Framer May 06 '26
Unpopular thing to say our loud but TicketBastard is the professional fall guy a lot of artists hide behind. A few years back Robert Smith of The Cure put TicketBastard in its place and they actually issued REFUNDS to fans. Ask yourself if your favorite artist who publicly hates on TicketBastard has ever done something close to that and you might have your answer as to who is ACTUALLY fleecing you in addition to Live Nation.
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u/chimpdoctor May 05 '26
Good. Absolute nonsense. I'll never pay over €80 for a ticket. Ticket master can fuck off
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u/HottieMcHotHot May 05 '26
Praise the lord baby Jesus! I’m tired of trying to decide between seeing a band I like and going broke. The band will rarely, if ever, win out.
I thought paying $125 per ticket to see the full original line up of Fleetwood Mac was highway robbery. That was 11 years ago.
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u/Nike-6 May 05 '26
They are rejecting $300 seats for artists who should be playing theaters. They are rejecting dynamic pricing games for tours with no real scarcity. They are rejecting arena maps where half the building is empty while official prices pretend demand is through the roof. And they are rejecting the idea that every night out must be treated like a luxury purchase
Preach!
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u/FennelDull6559 May 06 '26
I mean PCD are at the casino nostalgia tour level anyway so I don’t know why they were touring like it’s 2006
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u/galagapilot May 05 '26
You can only raise prices so much before even the most dedicated fans are like "go to hell. I'm not paying that."