Ticketmaster and Live Nation have destroyed the concert experience. But it didn’t use to be this way. Today, Oasis and Taylor Swift tickets might go for thousands of dollars, but back in 1955, you could see Elvis Presley in concert for less than the modern-day equivalent of $20.
I saw Metaliica for around $24 in 2004. From then on, I was on every gig of theirs in my country, until this year. This year I couldn’t afford to see them. It was fucking ~$320 (without the road to the venue, hotels, food and stuff)! It’s depressing.
They weren’t exactly new at the time, but I still paid less than $20 to see both P. Funk and They Might Be Giants in the 90s.
I saw King Missile for free because they said anyone who brought a vegetarian potluck dish could come to the show for free.
I remember buying tickets for all day event concerts in the 90’s that were absolutely amazing for between $20 and $50. Went to every Ozzfest from 94-99 and the most I spent on a ticket was $35.
Now those lineups would cost $500+, and for what? Some added light shows? There is less equipment needed now than ever before. Audio modeling is incredible. What once required a massive pedal board and post processing done in a huge computer can be accomplished by a Helix stomp and a competent audio engineer with a laptop and a few other systems. FRFR speakers are cheaper than ever and sound better as well. The “this has gotten more expensive” line is a crock of shit.
Tickets should have scaled with inflation. This is just the next iteration of record company greed. We knew it was happening with physical music sales but now with Spotify and Apple Music they can’t gouge at that level. Line must go up, so it’s happening with concerts.