How Much Would You Pay for a Concert Ticket?
Yeah, it's good old American capitalism and supply-and-demand economics, but where do you draw the line on how much you're willing to spend for a concert ticket? A case in point is Van Morrison's March 13 concert in Nashville at the Ryman Auditorium. With a seating capacity of less than 2,400, the Ryman really is one of the best places in the world to experience a concert. And you expect to pay a premium price for the opportunity to see an artist perform in such an intimate setting, as opposed to the Enormo Dome. However, with peers such as Bob Dylan somehow managing to keep their tickets below the $100 threshold at the Ryman, I thought it was outrageous in 2006 when Morrison charged up to $125 for tickets to a show promoting his country album, Pay the Devil. This time around for Van, it's $130 for the "cheap seats" -- with prices topping out at $200.
Granted, the $200 price tag is in line with what some veteran rock acts are charging for tickets to arena shows, but then you get into the gray area of ticket brokers and scalpers. (Some would argue the two are the same.) For Morrison's 2006 show, scalpers outside the Ryman were asking as much as $1,000 per ticket, although I never heard if there were any takers at that price.
Maybe Van Morrison actually has the right idea. Kenny Chesney and Garth Brooks are two country artists who, to their absolute credit, have always tried to keep their ticket prices within reach of working class Americans. To the best of my knowledge, Chesney has never surpassed the $100 mark for primo seats to his all-day, all-star stadium shows. However, one ticket brokering firm recently confirmed that their clients paid an average of $161 for tickets to Chesney’s concerts in 2007. And that's just an average. And the extra money goes to the ticket brokers -- not the artists. So maybe Morrison figures he should take his fair share of what the ticket market will bear.
The scary part, though, is the thought that attending a concert will eventually become an elitist activity open only to those who have a limitless amount of money or available credit on their charge cards.
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Big Al says:
I paid $600 for one ticket to see Keith Urban and Tim McGraw together. And as ashamed as I am, I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Ticket brokers are a fact of life. Until someone outlaws that capcha software, prices will just go up.
Ms. Feathers says:
Brokers and Scalpers ARE the same, when you consider that the artist isn’t making any extra from the sale of the ticket. The law needs to catch up to technology so conglomerates like Ticketmaster can’t scoop up those primo seats in seconds.
I’ve recently purchased tickets for two upcoming Keith Urban shows, and neither venue was with Ticketmaster. These shows are “will call” only. I was able to secure decent seats for both. Other fans I know who bought tickets are TM venues were locked out of good seats within moments, and those good seats were all over E-Bay. “Will Call” is the way to go. And this was during the Fan Club Presales!!! Even the Scalpers have fan club memberships!
As for pricing… I’m not happy that Keith’s ticket prices went up 75% for the new segment of his tour, but I suppose I have to pay Simon Cowell to be in the same room with his latest moneymaker when all I want to do is see Keith.
Jeni says:
For the current status I’m in, as a student at university, without a job at the current moment, and fiercely resigned to never paying more than I have to, I’ve got limits to what I can do.
I payed about $220 for 3 Keith Urban tickets (from his fan club presale, which had it’s fair share of problems with scaplers and ticketing problems) for at concert in December from TicketMaster. That in itself was enough for me. And those were at normal price (I believe around $60 a ticket, plus all the fees TM adds on). I’m one of those people who don’t believe in giving those brokers more money than I would have paid for them originally, I never will, unless I’m made of money. I just can’t justify paying more than $100 per ticket now matter how amazing they are. There are better things for me to spend my money on.
I think “Will Call” is a brilliant idea from what I’ve heard people say about it, and wish all artists and their fan clubs would push themselves towards.
Ellen says:
My friend and I paid $1200 each for a George Strait ticket in Las Vegas last year. It was center 2nd row and the people in front of us never stood up. For one benefit, we paid $14,200 for 2 seats and we even got to meet him. George knows I have been a fan of his for over 20 years. My friends from all over the country do the same thing. Once you sit in first or second row for a George Strait concert, you do not want anything other than those rows. To this day, we all still pay big bucks. We call ourselves spoil little girls.
Just Joe says:
And it’s people like Ellen who keep scalpers in business.