Remember when going to see Britney or Beyoncé cost roughly the same as dinner with wine? Now it’ll cost you a weekend vacation: from 2015 to 2019, average ticket prices for the top 100 tours in North America rose from $73.86 to $94.83, with top acts spiking, according to Pollstar. Lady Gaga averaged $288 this year in her Las Vegas residencies, and the Rolling Stones averaged $226. Keep in mind that these averages include the prices for not-so-great seats.
The industry is, according to the Wall Street Journal, taking its cues from the airline industry—whose ticket strategy, we’d like to point out, everyone hates (see: baggage fees, no perks, difficult refunds, headache booking). Ticketmaster and others now offer dynamic pricing, so that ticket prices rise in real time along with demand. Concertgoers are now also weathering the creation of “premium” aisle seats, which set you back as much as $30 extra.
“We believe the ticket is completely still underpriced,” Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino said in an October earnings call. “We’ll make progress with the artists to keep pricing it better.”
Translation: look for $300 tickets for not-so-great seats coming your way.