Ruby Cornelius exposes ticket pricing in the music industry
With the recent release of Oasis tickets for shows in the UK after their 15-year split, the price of tickets been raised as massive issue, due to Ticketmaster’s dynamic pricing scheme.
But why is music so expensive?
With the rise of music streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music, artists have raised prices of concert tickets and other physical music items such as CDs to meet the same income as they previously had before streaming was created.
Due to the demand for physical media decreasing, it has become a novelty making the price skyrocket: a Taylor Swift ‘Fearless’ record from HMV would set fans back £50. It can be argued that these items of memorabilia are a luxury, while in the 80s they would have been considered one of the only ways to absorb music.
The majority of musicians only make 5% of their income from streaming which is a huge drop from times when vinyl and CD were the only way to listen to music.
Oasis is a great example of how the cost of music has evolved over time, due to their long-standing popularity over many decades. Back in 2009 before their split, a standing ticket would have cost £44.04, almost four times less than the cost today which was £151 – before dynamic pricing set in. Dynamic pricing (increasing ticket prices as there is certainty that they will sell at any price) left fans paying over £300 for the same tickets!
Ticket prices have increased by 23% in the last year, which is on top of the 19% rise since the pandemic in 2020, making the overall rise of ticket prices in the last 5 years 42%. As easy as it may be to blame artists for this astronomical increase in the cost of tickets, the venue, crew and VAT all have to be considered when breaking down these costs.
Young people and adults alike are appalled by the surge in ticket prices, with many being put off buying tickets.
Another artist who is known for her big success is Taylor Swift, with her Eras Tour which is thought to have made between $10m and $13m on every stop of her tour which has so far had 152 dates, earning her around $1.4 billion overall. Her ticket prices ranged £58.65 to £194.75 for seated tickets in the UK, which some fans may argue to be extremely high, while others may find this reasonable. Either way, Swift used a code system for fans to be able to access Ticketmaster and various other ticket websites, which meant that only fans selected and sent a code via email were able to access tickets – leaving many fans disappointed and unable to ‘Shake It Off’ with Swift in person.
Taylor Swift and Oasis are just two examples of artists who have been publicly called out for their outrageous ticket prices and their schemes to allow fans to buy tickets, but most artists use some form of dynamic pricing or a code system for fans to be able to buy tickets –ticket companies view this as a way of streamlining sales, but is this really the case?
It mustn’t be forgotten that ticket prices are not the only factor in experiencing live music. Along with the costs of tickets, there is the extremely appealing merchandise stand, travel and some fans choose to stay in hotels for the night if they have travelled to see the show. Fans have seen prices for hotel rooms increase immensely, such as in Manchester for the Oasis dates with a room costing £1,398 for the show night when on any other day of the year it costs just £119.
Ultimately, it comes down to the fan. It differs from person to person and how much they are willing to spend to see their favourite artists, with many choosing to overspend their budgets when they get to the point of selecting tickets in fear of missing out.
How much are you willing to pay?
