Concert ticket prices have gone through the roof in the past few years. This isn’t just inflation’s fault, but the ticketing websites, show companies, show venues, and in some cases the artists themselves.
Consumers have shown their annoyance at these outrageous prices, Synaps4 on Reddit quotes, “Ticketing is an absolute disaster. I don’t even look at tickets anymore, I just assume it’s too much and most of it is going to fees.”
Concert tickets aren’t the only ones with atrocious prices, sports tickets, amusement park tickets, and live show tickets are also victims of this issue.
Fees and hidden fees are a big issue in this topic. These fees can range from thirty to sixty dollars plus a five dollar handling charge.
“What are these fees even for?” That’s the question many are wondering. These additional fees cover part of the cost of hosting the live events, such as, staffing, insurance, paying the suppliers, etc.
Ticketmaster, a large ticketing platform, has recently been sued–once again–for this problem. After hearing people’s concerns and facing legal problems, instead of having these fees hidden, they are now added to the total ticket price before you check out. Thanks, Ticketmaster. It’s the thought that counts.
Many shows have actually been canceled or rescheduled due to these ticket prices. Many people can’t afford tickets, more simply unwilling to pay these ridiculous prices, an understandable decision in today’s economy.
One of the reasons for these postponements and cancellations is because of the artist performing. Smaller artists think they can sell out arenas and on top of it charge two hundred dollars for nosebleed seats.
This is where smaller venues and theaters come in handy. At these types of venues artists can sell general admission tickets with additional VIP packages. Then again we circle back to the insane prices that are present even at smaller shows like these.
Another difficulty we face with ticket prices is the market for reselling. On specific ticket websites you are given an option to put your ticket up for sale if something happens and you aren’t able to go to the event anymore. Some people also take advantage of this option in order to make a profit. A lot of individuals abuse this and list their ticket up to three times as much as the original price.
These ticket scalpings have made many upset. Due to these insane resell prices, many genuine fans have to miss out on seeing their favorite music artists.
What is even more upsetting is that most ticketing websites that individuals are able to sell their tickets on, do not have strict limits on how much they can sell their tickets for. People can sell their face value; one hundred dollar ticket, for up to one thousand dollars.
After all that has been said, ticket prices have gotten out of hand, and we as consumers need to do something about this. Boycotting websites such as Ticketmaster, AXS, vivid seats, and Stubhub are some of the many we can start with. Boycotting will help us get our voices out there and hopefully these outrageous prices will stop.