Summer is coming to a close, and so is the prime time for music festivals and concerts. Even for fans of live music, it’s hard not to notice the increase in ticket and merchandise prices. This makes it increasingly difficult for fans to get tickets to see their favorite artists live, especially because most artists sell their tickets on websites with hidden fees.
According to USA Today data, in 2024, the average ticket price for a concert was $135.92. Online ticket resellers will often increase the price of a seat to over $1,000, depending on the artist.
Los Angeles is home to a large number of famous and big venues, making it pricier than other places. Mia Cuevas ‘27 reminisces on her trip to Mexico, where she had bought pit tickets to see indie-rock band Wallows.
“We did the math and it was cheaper to fly to Mexico for a weekend, buy the pit tickets, and see them,” said Cuevas, “My Kia Forum tickets… I didn’t even ask my parents how much that cost.”
Ticket reselling, also known as ticket scalping, has also made its rise. Although some people resell tickets for their own personal reasons, computer bots and ticketing companies will buy tickets off the official site to resell them for a higher price. Many artists and fans express their disdain for this, commenting that it is disrespectful to the artist and anyone who wants to see them for a reasonable price.
“They genuinely make me mad, because if you’re not going to see the band, let an actual fan [buy tickets], not resellers who are just going to up the price.” voiced Zubi Sanchez ‘28.
Cuevas believes similarly to Sanchez.
“Music is supposed to be accessible to everybody, and they’re taking advantage of [the artists] by not giving that cut to the musicians, but also just slowly turning someone else’s creative ideas into their own profit,” said Cuevas.
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour grossed $2.078 billion in its ticket sales, making it the highest-grossing concert of all time. Data from Business Insider states that tickets initially sold for between $49-$449, but the average ticket resale price was $3,801.
Why have ticket prices risen? According to Cuevas, the prices are a result of “places like Ticketmaster collaborating with other large businesses. Because of them collaborating, then ticket prices are skyrocketing, because you can’t get tickets anywhere else.”
Some artists make it their mission to keep their ticket prices cheap. Robert Smith, the lead singer of The Cure, has made his stance against expensive concert tickets, making some of the tickets priced as low as $25. Despite this, fans were still hit with fees from Ticketmaster, some of which cost more than the tickets themselves.
“[Music] should be accessible to everybody,” commented Victoria Wren ‘29. “At the end of the day, if it’s about how much money these artists are making, they shouldn’t be musicians.”
Some people love the experience of seeing a big concert in a large-scale venue to see a more popular artist, despite the price to pay. On the other hand, some people love the experience of a more intimate, small concert with lesser-known artists. Either way, anyone who is a fan of any kind of music should be presented with the opportunity to experience it live. At the end of the day, music is meant for everyone.
“For some people music is their entire life, and that’s the only thing they have, and some people just can’t afford that,” Wren added. “ It shouldn’t be about how much money people are making, it should be about the music.”