Rocketing £300 ticket costs have ‘ruined live shows’ – the reality behind music inflation

Ticket prices have hiked up massively – and it’s putting punters off going.

The weekend of Glastonbury ticket sales brought much contemplation about the price of live events, given the festival has increased their prices from last year. A full weekend ticket now costs £373.50 plus a £5 booking fee, which is £13.50 more than last year. But Glasto are not the only culprits, earlier this year music fans had to pay over £145 for standing tickets at a Billie Eilish concert.

There are cheaper options, argue the artists. However £50 for so-called ‘nosebleed seats’ (up with the Gods) get snapped up quickly and often aren’t available to most punters.

One of the biggest celebs to have suffered criticism on this topic was Taylor Swift, whose tickets started at £110 and ended up upwards of £300 in some cases. The cost of living is hitting Brits across the country hard, and there are a few reasons why artists are hiking up their prices.

1. High demand

Some experts claim the reason prices are so high is simply because customers are willing to pay them. While Taylor Swift was criticised, her tour sold out.

Matt Hanner, operations director at Runway told Sky News: “There’s a growing number of people that are happy to spend a large chunk of their disposable income on going to a major music event.”

2. Inflation

It appears even the rich and famous are not immune to the Cost of Living Crisis, with inflation driving up the prices of stages, security and equipment.

Show production has grown massively, which means the price tag also has to rise. Gas price rises is said to have increased the price of hiring a venue.

These are all accounted for in the ticketing, and often affects punters directly.

3. The artist’s wants

Several artists have been slammed recently for the price of their shows. Most recently, Oasis came under fire after they added so-called ‘dynamic pricing’ to their ticket sales.

This left several long-term fans paying almost triple what they were initially quoted for the event. Customers were left furious, but some artists claim this is the fault of TicketMaster and other providers, while some claim it is the artist themselves who decide.

However, it is thought that the rising prices are down to the acts. The Guardian spoke to anonymous insiders about this topic in 2017. Its report suggested that between 50-70% of gross earnings were left for promoters and artists. This left the acts far better off.

4. Resellers

One of the biggest issues facing concerts at the moment is the presence of bots and resellers. These are people who use machinery and other methods to help buy several tickets and sell them on at an inflated price.

This was a problem with Oasis, but the Gallagher brothers spoke out and reassured fans they would void any inflated tickets. Thanks to this, several tickets will be refunded and cancelled.

Due to these resellers, plenty of tickets are taken away and people have no choice but to pay the huge sums. Glastonbury have fought against this, as they required ticket holders to provide photo ID, or they would be denied entry to the festival.

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