Ticket prices for contemporary music concerts have been rising steadily.
In Australia ticket prices rose by 53.2% from $56.81 in 2021 to $87.01 in 2022. In the US, on average, it outpaced inflation with the price was $152.97 in 2023, up from $91.86 in 2019 and $122.84 in 2022.
Tipping Point
This year they were up 40%, and Billboard asked, “Have we reached the tipping point?”
Read up on all the latest features and columns here.
The answer, for the most part, was a resounding No! Despite cost of living issues, demand remains relatively high.
Aussie Report
In Bolster & Tixel’s Front Row Centre – Ticketing State of Play 2024 Australia report, released in September, 56% of the recipients said they thought live music events were a priority.
Two out of three went to the equal amount, or more, events than they did in 2023.
Those in the 18—24 age group went to at least one stadium show. One third attended 3 or 5 arena or stadium shows.
Positive
Despite the doom and gloom about the live sector, 68% of audiences are positive about it.
In fact in a recent spotlight on Australian live music by Pollstar magazine, most major promoters shrugged that the collapse of Splendour and Groovin’ The Moo was part of a ten year cycle, when Big Day Out and Soundwave went past their use-by date.
“I think there’s a real desire, when you’re going to see live music, that you’re around a community of people and peers that are into that artist,” explained Seth Clancy, co-founder of Australian ticketing platform Oztix.
One-Genre
In a timely message to festival promoters, 63% prefer going to one-genre ones rather than across-the-board, and 45% seem to think festivals have faded in relevance.”
Nevertheless, as Front Row Centre revealed, some age groups are doing it tough.
50% of the 18—24 age group rising cost of living has had an impact on their daily expenses, and 57% of those aged 18 to 30 have to choose between live events and basic living expenses.
Cheaper
A high (55%) amount thought that a ticket price that was $5 or $10 cheaper “can often determine whether they buy a ticket or not.”
This price was a deal maker for almost two-thirds of the 18—24 group.
Prepared To Pay
$161 was what most Aussies are prepared to pay for a stadium show by an international act.
In the UK this year, Bruce Springsteen fans still paid from £120 (AU$ 234.53) for standing tickets at the rear while standing tickets for Billie Eilish’s sold out 2025 dates went for £145 ($283.40).
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
Springsteen caused a furore with one of the first instances of “dynamic pricing”, where ticket prices go up according to demand, similar to the airline and Uber industries.
For his 2023 American tour, some ticket prices went up to $5,000.
This lead to social media hysteria where followers accused the working class hero of abandoning them.
Bite Back
After a few days of such postings, Springsteen’s manager Jon Landau bit back.
“In pricing tickets for this tour, we looked carefully at what our peers have been doing,” he clarified.
“We chose prices that are lower than some and on par with others.
Modest
“Regardless of the commentary about a modest number of ticket prices costing $1,000 or more, our true average ticket price has been in the mid-$200 range.”
He added: “I believe that in today’s environment, that is a fair price to see someone universally regarded as among the very greatest artists of his generation.”
DYNAMIC PRICING
Earlier this year, the US boss of Live Nation, Michael Rapino announced he would be introducing dynamic pricing to Australia, South America and Europe down the track.
He said: “Promoters are anxious for it.”
“Artists are anxious for it, because they see, when they sell an arena in Baltimore versus Milan right now, they look at the grosses and say, ‘Wow, we’re leaving too much on the table for the scalpers. Let’s price this better.’
“So that’s our best sales pitch. So you’re going to see that [accelerate].”
OASIS
This came to a head on Saturday August 31 when 10 million fans from 158 countries queued up online on to buy tickets to Oasis’ 2025 UK and Ireland stadium tour.
On that first day, 1.4 million tickets were snapped up.
Oasis crowed it was “the biggest concert launch ever seen in the UK and Ireland”. Ticketing platforms went into meltdown, leaving fans angry and frustrated.
Unprecedented
With “unprecedented demand”, Oasis added two more shows at London’s 90,000-capacity Wembley Stadium, introducing a ballot-style system and including those who missed out in the first round.
They now play a total of seven at Wembley Stadium. They’d need to play 11 to match demand.
Distanced
The band also distanced themselves from “dynamic pricing”.
In this case, fans in the queue saw in real-time ticket prices rise from the original £150 ($293.20) to £355 ($693.55), and bought them.
Estimated
Trade magazine Music Business Weekly estimated that 10-15% of the 1.4 million tickets were ‘dynamically’ priced on Ticketmaster.
Such was the outcry that the UK government ordered a probe into the practice, while lawyers maintained that disgruntled fans could sue for possible breach of consumer law.
Grumble
One fan grumbled after having to pay £355, Oasis “built their career on the connection they’ve got with ordinary folk.
“But when you’ve queued all day and the price of the ticket has more than doubled, I just think they’ve broken their contract with the working class.
“They’re pretty dead to me now.”
Similar Scene
Oasis’ Australian tour is far from being announced. But we could still see similar scenes here.
That is because the West Australian government has made it clear it wants to angle for an “exclusive” with the British band.
Hop Over
Last year the WA government paid Coldplay $8 million to hop over to Perth from Singapore where they were playing as part of an Asian run.
They did two dates (originally one) at Opus Stadium to 134,000.
Of these 40,000 came from interstate. About 8,000 flew in from abroad, including Sri Lanka, Mexico, Brazil, Singapore and New Zealand.
These visitors injected $43 million into the WA economy.
WA wants to do the same with Oasis.
SUPER FREAKS
The global music industry has been leaning towards monetising Superfans.
They are the ones whose obsession with an act sees them wait impatiently for their next releases, be among the first to buy or stream these, and consume every interview or social media post.
Appreciated
They want to feel appreciated and special, and want the kind of experiences where they’re not just another face in the crowd.
According to research company Luminate, US superfans make up 19% of American music consumers, and are 80% more likely to be involved in music activity than the average consumer.
Discover
They’re 54% more likely to discover new music, twice as much to buy vinyl and CDs, 59% more likely to connect with an artist on a personal level, and 43% more likely to join a fan club.
Their activities are currently worth $4.5 billion to the music industry, up from $4.2 billion in 2023.
Ten A Year
Australian superfans attend a minimum of 10 concerts a year, make up 28% of an audience, will pay 50% more for a VIP experience at concerts and festivals, and buy many copies of the same merchandise item.
This is according to a report from self-service ticketing platform Eventbrite, which went on to say only 8% have an issue with ticket prices.
Booming
Mark Dodds, head of Handsome Tours notes: “As an expression of super-fandom, live music is booming.
“Fan communities around artists are more loyal and more fervent than ever.
Premium
“From premium ticket tiers to VIP and merchandise, consumers are willing to invest big to create memorable moments with the acts that they love.”
Handsome Tours’ biggest shows this year was Fred again… who sold over 200,000 tickets.
Lessons
Dodds goes on to explain: “If there’s any lessons from Fred’s tour, it’s what opportunity awaits here for international artists willing to create new, unique and authentic experiences for their Australian and New Zealand fanbases. If you build it, we will come.
“He recognised is how engaged and dedicated Australian fans are, how starved they are to be prioritised and how that combination created the perfect environment to pilot an ambitious and unprecedented touring concept that would make news around the world.”
Swifties
VIP tickets went up to $1,250 for Taylor Swift’s Australian tour this year – where 4 million tried to get the available 620,000 seats.
Sydney Swifties alone spent $66 million on Sydney Eras Tour merchandise.
VIP Tickets
Superfans get a VIP ticket mostly for access to a VIP viewing area, according to 44% of them.
That is followed by faster private check-in (36%), the chance to hang with artists (33%), with 31% wanting exclusive bathrooms and free drinks.
UK FANS
Superfans in the UK make up 28% of the festival market, attending an average of 4 music festivals per year and spends an average of £581 a year on festival tickets.
They are average age 32, and 59% are male.
Two Hours
37% will travel over two hours for an event, 47% go to festivals because “they’re more fun than it used to be” and 57% because the lineups are “more appealing”.
Only 8% even care about how much a festival costs to get in, and they’ll spend more.
At least 61% have upgraded to VIP experience at least once.
WILL TICKET PRICES DROP?
Promoters are worried about how cost of living and changed consumer behaviour can affect sales.
But ticket prices are not about to come down
A number of promoters tell Mixdown that the cost of putting on a show is up 30%, and they need to keep the show financially viable.
Unprecedented Difficult
Before her last tour, Lorde told her following: “For artists, promoters and crews, things are at an almost unprecedented level of difficulty.”
She cited “truly mind-boggling freight costs” which were three times that of pre-COVID, not to mention rising costs of flights, hotels and crews.
Massive Appetite
But there was still a “massive appetite” for large-scale shows and a willingness to pay for them,” suggests Live Nation Australia & New Zealand chief Michael Coppel.
Frontier Touring’s Dion Brandt tells Mixdown:
“Audiences remain a strength, with a great passion for live music.
Discovered
“They want to see artists they’ve been listening to or discovered and have that live-in-the-room connection with them.
“Australia has always been like that, audiences have always been there and acts still want to come.
“The challenge of that is the cost of living and sometimes they have to make harder choices.”
Dictates
For Andrew White of Untitled Group: “The market quite clearly dictates what it will pay for.
“The demand is slightly more elastic than we often assume.
Challenge
“The challenge lies in continuously catering to what patrons are looking for and what they perceive to be good value for their hard-earned money.”
As part of the global music industry’s strategy to tap superfans, venues are introducing VIP clubs, Rock Boxes, viewing decks and new bars designs.
Mindblowing
With this comes new technology which turns concerts from “exciting” to “mindblowing”.
Jules Coke, founder and CEO of UK immersive experience company Squint Opera explains that artificial intelligence, for instance, can adjust the sound quality in a venue so muffled drums or distorted vocals are a thing of the past.
It also means that the sound is A1 in every part of the venue. No more “bad seats”.
Taking data from the audience’s from cameras, sensors, mobile apps, or even wristbands, AI also changes the energy level and visuals, making each concert a different experience even if the basic set-up is the same each show.
