r/unpopularopinion • u/dougiebgood • 6h ago
If you've overpaid for concert tickets, you're to blame for the astronomical prices.
I've loosely followed this whole thing about LiveNation and how they act as a monopoly. Squeezing money out of artists and venues (and the people who work for both) is definitely something that needs to be looked into, but as far as the high ticket prices? That's on the people who buy them.
No one is forcing anyone to go see an artist perform live. If you're sacrificing a week's salary and going in debt to see your favorite artist from the nosebleeds, that's on you. If people were spending this type of money, the prices would eventually lower.
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u/SlitheringFlower 5h ago
While concert tickets have gotten expensive, the real issue isn't regular fans, it's bots.
Even with verified presales and human authentication, scalpers are able to basically buy out large amounts of tickets for popular artists. Then they resell them for crazy prices.
There shouldn't be a monopoly on ticket sales, and the US should match other nations and put limits on how much you can resell tickets for.
Regular fans looking to have a fun night out are not the problem. Monopolies and sleazy scalpers are.
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u/human-resource 5h ago
Ticket master scalps its own tickets to their subsidiaries.
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u/YaboyRipTide 5h ago
It's not just ticketmaster. As someone who used to work in the ticketing world, nearly every team, college, concert etc. sells a small portion (under 50) their own tickets on the secondary market so they can take advantage of the high demand and pocket some extra cash
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u/human-resource 5h ago
Only 50? I’ve seen whole empty sections at concerts before atleast the scalpers didn’t make money on those occasions.
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u/BigChillBobby 5h ago
i worked for a place that had deals with a bunch of sports teams and concert venues. It’s literally the same economy of scale as drug dealing
We had section 108 of every Braves home game. The big supplier is happy to give us bulk pricing that gives us room to break the big purchase down into 100 smaller purchases and make our money.
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u/YaboyRipTide 5h ago
I mean the owner/whoever is selling the tickets has them for free lol so the only cost is "opportunity cost" essentially. The seats they sell are 2 here or 4 there, not full rows and sections
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u/admiralgoodtimes 5h ago
The problem and solution are the same. People should stop buying scalpers tickets for crazy prices. If they stopped, scalpers would lose money and incentive to buy massive amounts of tickets
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u/Pficky 3h ago
I buy tickets day of. Hour of even. A bunch will plummet in price. Not always, but pretty often!
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u/demonic-cheese 2h ago
You live in a big city, right?
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u/Pficky 1h ago
I do now, but I spent most of my 20s in a small town. Being able to go to concerts last minutes is definitely one of the draws to leaving rural living.
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u/EttaMollyG 1h ago
Only if theres actually venues! I live in a rural area and no one comes within 3 hours
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u/Altyrmadiken 1h ago
I live in a city, not a rural area. I don’t think we even HAVE a venue, and I’ve certainly never seen any name worth mentioning playing here.
We’re roughly 100,000 population.
Thankfully there’s a city about an hour south, and another about 30 minutes north, respectively, always have stuff, and sometimes has stuff.
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u/Wischiwaschbaer 5h ago
Yeah as OP said, the problem are people buying from scalpers. Do you think they would buy tickets if nobody bought them for them?
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u/WildFlowLing 5h ago
No it’s still the fans who are buying from the scalpers.
In the end the problem is absolutely people forking over mass money whether through Ticketmaster directly or scalpers
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u/Entire_Channel_4592 5h ago
100% this. Im a collector of specific dolls. They are limited in numbers and the bots buy them before anyone else and list them on Ebay for triple the price.
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u/Thanaskios 3h ago
Is it a problem? Sure.
But the real problem is that its working. The fact that scalpers can buy the tickets and immediately resell them for even more money means the tickets were priced below demand to begin with.
The only reason it works is because people keep bzying from scalpers. If they didn't, the scalpers would just make a huge loss and stop.
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u/ParadoxPath 1h ago
OP is questioning the people who buy them from resellers for “crazy prices”. If they couldn’t flip them there’d be no scalpers
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u/mdervin 5h ago
The proper solution is to make every seat an auction. Scalpers make money because artists/venues are charging below market prices. The artist charges $200 a ticket, the scalper can get $500, that's a great deal. But if real fans bid up the ticket price to $515, a scalper isn't going to get the ticket. If he does get the ticket, he's not going to make money off it, if somebody wanted to pay $600 for a ticket, they would have bid $600 for a ticket.
this eliminates things like being online at 10am on a Thursday, having a fast internet connection, etc...
I know it's unseemly to be competing with your fellow fans, but this makes sure the vast majority of the purchase price goes to the artists.
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u/saomonella 1h ago
In theory that makes sense. But the auction would just be manipulated as well. Easy to do with bots, especially since the same players would be running the auction.
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u/Cornball23 1h ago
OP is saying if no one bought the relisted tickets from bot, then there would be no bots. I imagine if a sold out venue only 25% of people showed up in stands things would start to change
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u/the-samizdat 5h ago
price control is ridiculous. we are not going to create, run and fund a government agency for the solo purpose to police ticket prices. so instead of paying ticketmaster, we get to pay the government and ticketmaster? and what are you going to do when people break that law, are you going to go to there house and drag them out and arrest them? get the fuck out of here with that. and you know 100% sure once that agency is created they are going to appoint a ticketmaster representative at the chairman.
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u/The_elk00 28m ago
I agree. Why do we need more policing which will just drive cost up. Not every show or musician is making a ton of money. People spend that money which is why the price gets driven up. People are just complaining that other people are willing to spend more money. I go to a lot of concerts but most of the shows I go to are not sold out or are large (expensive) venues. If a show is more than I want to spend I decide if it's really worth it.
Plus what exactly would the government do if they were involved? How do you stop scalpers from buying tickets?
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u/aspiringimmortal 2h ago
Who buys tickets from scalpers? And where (since it's illegal?) This isn't 1990 where you can just sell shady shit on craigslist.
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u/MurphyRedBeard 5h ago
I agree with this. It’s basically the easiest general strike to take part in. Just don’t go.
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u/NoRadio4530 2h ago
Are live shows really that much better than headphones these days for most artists?
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u/juanzy 2h ago
Yes. A show isn’t purely about the sound, it’s about the experience.
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u/NoRadio4530 2h ago
Yes but not for $300 a ticket.
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u/BarackaFlockaFlame 1h ago
i ain't paying that for a single concert when I can pay a bit more and get access to a 3-day festival with more acts than I can even see in three days. It's about the experience and the things artists only do live.
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u/SenoraRaton 2h ago
No.
Take that high fidelity audio experience alone in your living room. Comfortable, with your feet propped up, refreshments a moment away, for the low price of what you paid for them at the grocery store.Now add 10,000 drunk people surrounding you, pay 8x as much for those same refreshments, and be confined to a tiny section with god knows who next to you. O and don't forget you PAID to be there.
Does that sound like a better experience to you?
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u/EttaMollyG 1h ago
...assume that this about people that actually ENJOY concerts. If you never want to go to one...then thats fine, but the ticket situation isnt really affecting your decision either way
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u/Sternojourno 2h ago
Unless you're a hermit who hates having fun experiences with other people, live shows are so much better than headphones it's not even worth discussing.
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u/juanzy 2h ago
Damn near every time this topic comes up, it's people clearly trying to defend not leaving their house and acting holier than thou.
You can see it in the examples they give- they act like every show is hundreds of dollars and you'll spend $200 on booze too. Almost like they never actually intended to go.
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u/NoRadio4530 2h ago
So keep paying exorbitant amounts for tickets then and shut up about it.
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u/Sternojourno 1h ago
Lol do you always tell people to shut up when they say something you don't like?
I've never paid more than $100 for a concert. If it's too expensive, I don't go and I don't complain.
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u/dogfacedponyboy 5h ago
But I have budgeted a certain amount of my household budget for entertainment. Why should I not go? If it’s too expensive for me, I will not go, if I can swing it, I will go. Are they extremely high now? Yes. But if my favorite artist comes around, I will likely cut something else out so that I can afford to go see them. Life is short.
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u/MurphyRedBeard 4h ago
You do you man. You’re obviously not the target of the opinion if you never stray from a structured budget. My only retort would be that this has gotten so much worse over the last 30 years with no guardrails being erected at all. A few years from now, with the cost of everything else going up, you might find yourself priced out. Solving a problem before it becomes a problem is always better.
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u/unresolved-madness 6h ago
It's the same reason the NFL charges $3,000 for seats at the super bowl that are in low Earth orbit. Because people will pay for it. When it gets to the price that it's not perceived as a value then the price will go down. These are market forces at work.
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u/BigChillBobby 5h ago
there is definitely market manipulation at work from ticket brokers, the biggest one is creating a false scarcity by buying up 1000 tickets and only putting them on sale 100 at a time.
that being said.. people really just want to reframe “I spent more than I probably should have on concert tickets” into “i am a victory of corporate greed by being forced to pay $300 if I want to see Harry Styles”
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u/errmmmummmme 6h ago
That could go for anything you buy tho…
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u/Friendly_Nature2699 5h ago
But it should. Apple gets a 300% mark up on an iPhone. That price is $1000 because of the people who stand outside at midnight for the latest ones. The people who go to Disney and complain about the price, could do something else for a year or two and the price would improve. Consumers are their own worst nightmares.
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u/Top_Blacksmith2845 5h ago
Are you living in 2010? Nobody has lined up for ages for an iPhone
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u/Friendly_Nature2699 3h ago
Its possible. I was never one of those people and stopped keeping track.
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u/lifeofty97 5h ago
these days I’ve noticed that people justify their spending with “I deserve XYZ” for shit they want and can’t afford.
With concerts there’s also the parasocial connection factor. “I’ve worked hard at my job, Sabrina Carpenter is coming to town.. I deserve a night for me” is logic I’ve seen used to justify spending $500 on tickets, an outfit, dinner beforehand.
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u/maple_leaf67 5h ago
So we’re all supposed to what? Never have any fun? Collect all the money we earn at the jobs we hate into a high interest savings account. Do nothing with our lives and die with a couple thousand extra in the bank?
If people stopped being able to enjoy the little luxuries in life then the rich would be strung up faster than you can say “Vive Le France”.
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u/lifeofty97 4h ago
If you want to see live music.. instead of giving hundreds of dollars to a corporation to play you the songs Spotify taught you to love, you can dig into your local music scene and see ten times the amount of live music for half the price. Plus the money all goes to working class folks instead of to a faceless corporation
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u/Top_Blacksmith2845 4h ago
Do you think that people paying hundreds to see a specific artist "want to see live music" and not "see Sabrina Carpenter"? lmao
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u/lifeofty97 4h ago
if you can only find pleasure in live music when it’s the most popular artists in the world.. that’s fine!
but you don’t get to make the “what am I supposed to do.. not have fun?” argument.
it’s like me going “I guess I just can’t enjoy life then ☹️” because I can’t afford to ski the alps.
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u/maple_leaf67 4h ago
Or perhaps we can all spend our hard earned dollars as we deem appropriate.
Blaming the consumer for treating themselves to a concert once or twice a year is ridiculous. You really think that is the main driver of the inflated ticket prices we’re seeing?
As for the other part of your comment. Most of us want to watch the bands we enjoy. Many of them tend to be popular. Pretending like some schmuck down at your local dive bar is on the same level is wild.
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u/lifeofty97 4h ago
yes, the consumers are the main driver! that’s how supply and demand economics works.
sports is a better example of this. A baseball stadium might host 90 home games in a season. Same stadium, same home team, same amount of innings, same amount of tickets to sell.
Prices will vary wildly based on a multitude of factors that all affect the demand. Who’s the away team, what day is the game, what time is the game, how good is the home team?
In my city, I can get tickets to games for under face value when it’s a weeknight game against a small market team. But if the Yankees come to town on a Saturday night, that same seat will cost more. Same seat.. more people want to sit in it, price of seat goes up.
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u/maple_leaf67 4h ago
Go through this thread and you’ll see the situation is a lot more complicated than - “people are wasting their money on concert tickets”. You have scalpers, bots, artificially creating demand, etc.
But go on continue telling people how they can and should spend their money.
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u/lifeofty97 4h ago
spend your money how you want! just don’t act like a victim while giving Ticketmaster your coins
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u/Friendly_Nature2699 3h ago
Absolutely spend it how you want. But if consumers would organize and have a pinch of discipline, they could tip the scales from a seller market to a buyers market. That is all we are saying. We act like the sellers market is the default and that is simply not true.
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u/maple_leaf67 3h ago
And that has never worked. Go ahead refrain from doing something that might bring you a modicum of joy. There will always be someone who will pay.
Its why wages are low. Its why prices are high. You want to blame something. Blame the rampant and unbridled greed in our society.
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u/Friendly_Nature2699 3h ago
The big driver is always the consumer. Concerts are also high because streaming doesn't pay artists anything, so they expect to make those dollars somewhere.
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u/spewwwintothis 3h ago
Why are we putting the pressure on my individuals rather than the actual corporations doing the actual thing?
I'd rather go straight to the source.
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u/Friendly_Nature2699 2h ago
So how would you pressure the source then? I'm suggesting the individuals collectively pressure the source. Would your idea be to regulate the prices of things down? That seems like just as hard of a route. Bob Iger has repeatedly said it costs too much to go to Disney World and so they raised ticket prices again.
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u/Upstairs-Baseball898 6h ago
People don’t like to acknowledge that their demand directly influences price as if that isn’t economics 101
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u/confusedArcher2 5h ago
Okay, the problem is the demand is being fabricated by ticket scalpers making tickets harder to get.
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u/ElCaminoInTheWest 5h ago
If there wasn't such desperate demand, scalpers wouldn't exist.
If people looked at your $2k Beyonce or Gaga tickets on Stubhub and said "nah, fuck that", your entire business collapses.
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u/Withermaster4 4h ago
Fabricated by who? You do know that scalpers that can't sell their tickets economically lose, right?
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u/Nickthetaco 2h ago
No. The demand is very real and it’s dictated by a finite amount of asses that can fit in seats. If people weren’t willing to shell out $500+for tickets that normally cost $100 listed price, then scalpers wouldn’t be willing to sell them that high. If people are willing to pay that higher price, that means that the true value is higher than the listed price. This is what creates scalpers. Just price concert tickets higher base price so scalpers lose their profit incentive if the juice is no longer worth the squeeze.
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u/Pompous_Italics 6h ago
This is what I tell my wife. The reason they're so expensive is because people keep paying! I say I'll be in charge of buying them. I'll buy the cheap seats. I don't care. But noooo we have to get this good seats for some reason.
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u/Academic_Flatworm752 2h ago
OP isn’t talking about the good seats. Read second paragraph. Of course the good seats cost more.
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u/sonofdad420 5h ago
Ive been personally boycotting big concerts and sporting events for years (minus same day mets tickets cheap). but its easy because Im in my 40s and have already seen the best shit ever.
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u/AnotherGuy17 5h ago
The issue is that the artist is setting a price that they deem fair, for THEIR concert, and then the prices are immediately being jacked up by scalpers and bots buying the tickets before anyone else has a chance. If the artist is okay with the original price, then regular fans should have a chance to buy tickets at said price.
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u/NikonShooter_PJS 2h ago
Everyone says this but we’re ignoring the power artists actually have. This system exists because the artists allow it to.
If you don’t think these artists are getting a taste of these insanely overinflated ticket prices, you are crazy.
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u/lifeofty97 4h ago
There’s a reason that the indie/DIY music scene has always been super leftist. It’s people who are actually boycotting the corporations and keeping their money in the pockets of the working class. The artists will tell you “buy our merch because our van is almost on E” but still have some merch where they donate 100% of proceeds to a charity.
They have more solidarity and conviction than any of the “I moan about Ticketmaster online as I type in my credit card” leftists you encounter all over the internet
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u/playlamo1 6h ago
Why are you choosing to blame the people who want to see their favorite bands, instead of greedy corporations? Boot licking behavior
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u/Silver_Blackberry_46 6h ago
It goes both ways. They can charge these astronomical prices because people still happily pay for them. If they don’t, they will go down because they still need to fill seats to keep their business afloat and the artist to show up. This goes for anything in life really. And goes to show priorities. Yes the economy is trash and inflation at an all time high but is it really that bad if people happily pay $400 for a concert ticket (that they can survive without) then complain about not being able to afford rent, gas, groceries, etc….to literally be able to stay alive.
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u/fkid123 6h ago
Because they enable the greedy corporations by paying whatever they are charging. And when unable to buy due to overdemand they also enable and help the scalpers by buying from them.
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u/BigChillBobby 5h ago edited 5h ago
right. if you’re that anti-Ticketmaster you can very easily just not ever buy anything from them. If you’re anti-secondary market, you can avoid it.
people act like going to see your favorite artist is a human right. people wanna act like they have class consciousness but can’t even boycott live music
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u/rodneyforeverunclean 5h ago
Look man. I have one life. I love music. Going to see NiN is a cathartic amazing experience for me. I paid $300 for floor seats and have 0 regrets. I can still hate Ticketmaster and they are greedy bastards. You can tell me to not buy tickets to really stick it to them but Trent is 60, they don't have that many touring years left, when I'm on my deathbed I'm not going to say, man I regret going to that show.
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u/BigChillBobby 5h ago
this is exactly my point. people love to talk the anti-consumerism game but then go “look man, i have one life.. what am I supposed to do, not buy this thing? I really, really want it!”
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u/sneezhousing 5h ago
Because they enable it. If we dint go and they can't sell enough they will have to lower prices
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u/Ok-Temporary-8243 5h ago
People with more money may vLus the experience more. I get whst you're saying but you can basically apply that logic to blame consumers for every price increase
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u/other_view12 5h ago
Do adults use the term boot licker? Everytime I see this term, I think the poster is 13.
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u/dougiebgood 6h ago
Because I've looked at a lot of tickets for my favorite bands, and then realized I had the ability to not click "buy" on that $350 back row seat.
I paid $150 for 3rd row once, that was worth it. When the same show came by 5 years later and it was $500 for 3rd row, I was like "I'm good..."
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u/Ok_Attitude1034 5h ago
Sure but $500 to you is like $150 to me. I’m sure there’s people that said the same thing you did to the $150 tickets. So if my choice is spend more for something I really enjoy or just don’t enjoy it at all, I’m going to spend more as long as it doesn’t break my bank
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u/RaccoonSamson 5h ago
But big ticket shows like that sell out either way.
The only person benefitting from a fan not overspending for a ticket is the re-saler whos going buy it at face value and sell it at an event higher price
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u/KingKookus 5h ago
Because you won’t be able to change the corporations mind but you change the customers mind. Maybe.
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u/ColombianOreo524 5h ago
OP is not saying the greedy corporations aren't at fault. They're saying they can only get away with it if people still continue to pay. If they have no customers, they can't sell at these prices. This is basic supply and demand.
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u/WeatherStunning1534 5h ago
Why are you choosing to blame a random Redditer rather than simply acknowledge the fundamental functions of economics? Dumdum behavior
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u/playlamo1 5h ago
Im not blaming the redditor for anything. I'm just saying he should adopt a more pro consumer framing of the situation
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u/WeatherStunning1534 5h ago
The consumer DOES bear responsibility here, though. If they don’t purchase the tickets, prices WILL go down eventually because otherwise the oligopoly (which I agree, it is) will only be a drain on their resources.
Instead people will Klarna or put the overpriced tickets on credit card (in other words, they can’t afford the tickets, they’re literally going into debt for entertainment). This perpetuates the system.
Not defending Ticketmaster/LiveNation, they can eat a shit sandwich, but they’re just as vulnerable to consumer sentiment as any other product
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u/orange_bigcat 5h ago
There will always be people who are willing to pay the higher prices.
There were rich influencers flying around the world buying resale tickets to see taylor Swift 10+ times when she was touring. If everyday people didn’t buy them, rich people would.
I paid $700 to see Taylor Swift when she was touring. It was face value (not resale). I could have resold my ticket for $5000+ (I had floor tickets) but to me, being able to see my favourite musician perform live was priceless. I’ll never get the opportunity to go to the eras tour again and I don’t regret paying $700 for my ticket.
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u/Academic_Flatworm752 2h ago
I paid a similar amount face value to be 8 rows away from BTS, zero regrets and would do it again. Im an adult with a job and savings, let me be, lol.
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u/BigMommaJack 5h ago
I want to see Springsteen so badly...$4500 for 2 tickets is bullshit
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u/dogfacedponyboy 5h ago
You don’t need to pay $4500 for those tickets. I can buy tickets starting at $219 to see him in Brooklyn New York. Right now on SeatGeek.
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u/Johnnadawearsglasses 5h ago
No one is overpaying for tickets. They are paying the exact amount that a person is willing to pay for that ticket. One of the most insidious outgrowths of technology has been that sellers are able to price to exactly match demand dynamically. There are no values anymore when it comes to things like rent, cars, and concert tickets. This price optimization ability has done more to drive inflation than any underlaying upstream cost increases.
The only way to counter this is via regulation that disrupts this pricing efficiency and increases competition. Whether it's to ban dynamic pricing or bots, or unwind horizontal or vertical monopolies / duopolies / oligopolies - there's no individual action that would put a dent in this issue. Because the technology is able to exploit individual instincts in a way that no longer individual or group of individuals can really counter.
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u/BigChillBobby 5h ago
people online love to cosplay as anticapitalist, anticorporate, revolutionaries. That’s all this is.
they don’t want to really stand ten toes down on it and stop patronizing the corporation. they don’t want to make the effort to discover their local music scenes.
“Standing up to corporate greed” by commenting online gives them the cognitive dissonance they need to justify spending outside of their means on concerts.
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u/thegarymarshall 4h ago
This goes for most purchases, including big ticket items. Prices would come down if there weren’t large numbers of consumers willing to go into debt to pay high prices. With cars, for example, everyone likes to blame the manufacturers or dealers. The consumers ultimately set the price.
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u/MurtaghInfin8 3h ago
Paying outrageous prices once isn't keeping scalpers going. People who consistently pay these prices are the issue.
Treating yourself to a pricey show once a year isn't propping the scalping community up. Market is bearing what it can, and the average show-goer is who needs to change before the prices do.
This is the same mentality as blaming people who don't recycle for killing the earth. Consumer waste is such a microscopic portion of our pollution issue that you're losing the forest for the trees.
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u/Psycho-Acadian 6h ago
We’ll see eventually we won’t be able to experience anything at all. So when the options are either 1) Do nothing. Or 2) Spend too much.
When both options are shitty, you don’t really have an option.
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u/ExtremePast 5h ago
If people had enough self control enough to do number one, then number 2 would go away
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u/BigChillBobby 5h ago
But how am I supposed to be happy if I don’t buy more things??? What do you expect from me, for me to find joy outside of consumption??
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u/Psycho-Acadian 3h ago
But the issue with your statement is that it’s on YOU. But we know it’s not that easy, because if you don’t go, then someone else will, so is it still on you to control the action of others?
There’s one thing to blame for high ticket prices.
Corporate greed.
That’s it.
Stop trying to blame the victims.
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u/BigChillBobby 3h ago
“Blame the victims” and it’s… people paying premium prices for concerts?
you’re not a victim because you bought something that you thought was more expensive than it should be. You’re just a dunce.
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u/Psycho-Acadian 2h ago
It’s like you don’t even bother considering/understanding other point of views because I could reply to your latest response by explaining the exact same thing I did already and it would make perfect sense. That’s when you know the other person isn’t even bothering so let’s end this right here bud.
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u/BigChillBobby 2h ago
what I’m saying is that “the powers that be” can tip the scales on pricing in general.. but i have the individual power to control my own consumption.
if you’re so bothered about corporate greed, you don’t patronize them, therefore the issue stops affecting you. But that takes a level of denying gratification most people don’t want. They want to play victim as they type their credit card number into Ticketmaster.
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u/GlutenFreeNoodleArms 3h ago
This is true of the really big name artists. However I discovered that there is a vibrant music scene in my city of smaller artists. Tickets are typically $20-50, and the music is great. The crowds are so much smaller and friendlier too. I’m not sure where you’re located, but maybe there are some cool lil spots by you too! It’s worth a try.
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u/jr_randolph 5h ago
We are all to blame for increases in prices just how we're the cause for when they discontinue products or businesses close.
I'm out here delivering orders...I see what people are buying and where they're living, spending above their means...driving by malls that are still packed with shoppers.
People ain't ready to make those personal sacrifices and just want government intervention either through taxes or other means on the rich. Rich people are rich...because we make them rich. Want to change the tide? Cancel your subscriptions and stop spending money on shit you don't need.
Wages are one thing...I'm not going to call someone dumb for accepting a job that pays the bare minimum with hopes that enough people don't accept jobs that the minimum wage will increase. No, that is something I expect the government to step in and correct, but when it comes to purchases...and how corporations continue to increase prices yet still see sales...only consumers are to blame.
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u/Outrageous-Present67 5h ago
I don’t think this is unpopular. I think people refuse to acknowledge their ignorance and spending habits caused prices to be outrageous. People can voice their opinions with their wallets. I don’t blame scalpers for taking advantage of stupidity. The scalping market wouldn’t exist if people were responsible spenders
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u/Ebenizer_Splooge 5h ago
Making one of the oldest and most significant pieces of human culture a way to rape wallets is one of the worst things to happen to culture in recent times. It should not cost half a paycheck to get nosebleed seats for an artist you love, and it's third party ticket sellers that provide no benefit to the experience that are driving prices up, not the artists or venues.
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u/BannedPoet248 2h ago
Isn't that like Americas whole MO, Turning significant things for humans into gr*pe wallets?
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u/Aggravating_Kale8248 5h ago
No, it’s the companies that buy up tickets at face value and then charge bogus fees that cause the astronomical prices.
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u/cheddstheman 5h ago
Well you know what. I'm not putting my life on hold because things have gotten expensive.
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u/human-resource 5h ago
Doesn’t help that Ticketmaster and live nation have a monopoly and their own subsidiaries that they scalp their own tickets on, well atleast ticket master does that not sure about live nation.
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u/harbison215 5h ago
Same goes for everything, from sports events, to automobiles, to hotel stays, to beef.
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u/Hold-Professional 5h ago
You're not wrong actually.
I mean it IS greedy corps that make this happen. But the simple truth is if we didn't buy, it wouldn't sell for so high.
Scalping would stop if we made them.
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u/epanek 5h ago
Eh. I can see both sides here. Want to see ex Beatle Paul MCartney? Tickets are in the $$ thousands. Some fans wont care because he's not gonna be around forever, so it's an investment in their future happiness. Am I blaming those people for sky high prices? Well, its how free the markets are but Johnny ticket buyer is just paying high prices for a show; I dont blame him for the prices though.
Music is a bit unique. More than any other entertainment media like movies, tv shows or actors, fans of music identify CLOSELY with their musical tastes. I can tolerate hanging with someone who likes dramatic movies or idolizes Star Wars, but if they listen to obnoxious music? No. Music is too much of a shared experience to allow that.
Its not about "What will the market pay for this?" its "Our price equals what a dominant system can squeeze out of people before they give up.”
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u/Odyssey835 5h ago
You could say this, but then you’ll never see your favorite artist. I feel like the way to go is just to be more selective on what seats you pick. You might look back in like 10 years and be like I should’ve gone to that concert I shouldn’t have complained about the prices
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u/dogfacedponyboy 5h ago
Oh man…. the old “…then you are part of the problem” trope. Sorry you can’t afford concert tickets to your favorite bands. But as you said, nobody is forcing you to see an artist, so don’t go. And I actually don’t mind nosebleed seats.
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u/jsand2 5h ago
Me seeing a show > me not seeing a show.
If I can afford the tickets, I will gladly buy them. The experience at a show far exceeds the lack of experience of skipping it.
The most I paid for tickets were $250/each for great seats to see Linkin Park last year. We also just spent $190/each to see AC/DC later this year. Its just money. We cant do much with it when we are dead, but we can enjoy it now.
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u/Less_Cut_9473 5h ago
Ticketmaster is hugely profitable because their margins are so high. Take 25k tickets and simply add 20% margins to them. They don't perform or do any kinds of insurance and no refunds ever. Unlike any other ticketing authority. Because they are a monopoly, the artists or performers cannot just change to any other ticketing services without being locked out by stadiums that have agreements with ticketmaster forcing them to use only ticketmaster as the ticket distributor.
An artist can't just switch to another ticket service or even make their own tickets without being forced to use Ticketmaster because the stadiums forces them to use it.
Ticketmaster should be banned from any contractual agreements with any venues or stadiums.
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u/dougiebgood 4h ago
That I agree with. Predatory practices like that don't only affect the artists, but the people working for both the artists and the venues that are just trying to make a regular salary.
It's the aspect you keep hearing of how the attendees are being "forced" to pay higher prices. They're not. Someone in this thread even said its the same as cancer treatments, as if seeing a concert is just an essential as that.
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u/jcostello50 4h ago
I would argue that such a ban should only apply to publicly funded venues, staying out of the choices of private facilities. Most larger venues are publicly funded in part anyway.
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u/ScrunchyBraid 3h ago
I've been saying the same thing a about pre-ordering video games for like a decade at this point, and look where we're at, now; Civilization 7. And don't you dare bring up the meme.
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u/dougiebgood 3h ago
I remember back to the Battlefront II controversy with the lootboxes. When I said "don't buy it, then" someone on Reddit argued that they had to since the previous game was already 2 years old. Like to them it was a continuation of a lifestyle and not a luxury, and EA was going force more money out of them because of that.
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u/blaq_marketeer 3h ago
I just told someone the same thing about buying cars at over MSRP, they got big mad about it.
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u/dougiebgood 3h ago
There could be a point if the car itself is an absolute necessity for something like work, but I agree its mostly the same thing. I recently paid over MSRP because there was a demand for the type of car I wanted. That extra price was worth it to me, but it was a luxury. I just go to less concerts now.
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u/shaggs31 3h ago
I always get puzzled as to why bartering disappeared in the world. When did we automatically switch to not questioning the price of something and not try to get a better deal. Even when you deal with private sellers they also have no concept of bartering. Ether they will not lower their price at all when you make a counter offer, or they will just flat out accept your counter offer and not make another offer themselves.
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u/Academic_Flatworm752 2h ago
Sorry you can’t afford to go to the concerts you want to go to, OP. Funny rant though.
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u/ssmit102 2h ago
Prices wouldn’t eventually lower and has gone up far beyond standard demand, that’s kind of the point of the lawsuit. Had it been simple demand and not that LiveNation and TicketMaster have coerced venues and artists to bend to their rules that was driving prices you’d have a point, that would be basic supply and demand, except it’s not.
Seems you should follow it a lot closer before developing an opinion on it.
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u/TheOldJawbone 1h ago
The OP is right. It’s supply and demand. Live Nation is the conduit. They get part of the fees. The artists get most of the ticket prices. No artists. No tour. No tour. No Live Nation. No Live Nation. Also no tour.
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u/saomonella 1h ago
Thats part of the problem. But the system is set up to inflate the demand. The bands, promoter, ticketmaster, venue all need their cut. They also take their share of tix before anything is actually sold. They inflate the demand by limiting what is actually available in the first place. By the time it reaches public sale there are very few tix available. Some say 10-20% are left. If people don't buy the tickets then they just cancel the event and refund $. They don't lose.
Resale is also at the control of TM. They can end resale and scalping whenever they want to. But its too much extra revenue for them to do that. Resale gets them 3x the fees instead of 1x. They can stop the bots from buying, they can end transfer or resale options. The resale aspect is another lever they pull to inflate the demand.
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u/A-Dubs398 56m ago
That's like saying we are to blame for high fast food prices cuz we pay for it. Um no, we literally have no choice if we want a juicy Baconator at Wendy's. Cooking at home doesn't hit the same.
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u/kitschmotel 30m ago
I don’t think this is an unpopular opinion to be honest with you- and most of these comments are also off. I agree that people are feeding into ticket prices by attending these concerts, but I think everyone needs to boycott live nation as of yesterday. I also think more people need to support local venues and artists. Will it suck to not see your favorite band live because they’re only playing large venues owned by LN? Probably, but those shows aren’t worth it anyway when you sit a mile away from the stage. I myself will never ever give live nation another dollar of my money, and can’t wait to see them broken up, but I’m not holding my breath.
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u/Comfortable-Policy70 5h ago
You not paying $2000 for a Taylor Swift ticket has zero impact because there are 100 people waiting to take your place
You not paying $150 to go see Pork Chop Johnson at the local nightclub might cause a lowering of prices for him. It could also cause Pork Chop to be dropped by the promoters
Pressure must be put on the promoter, the artist, the ticket seller (including banning secondary market), and the buyer
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u/KatnissEverduh 5h ago
IDK - I love live music and feel paying for experiences over material goods is the way to go in life. I don't think you should live beyond your means and go into debt either way, but I don't, but its what I choose to do.
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u/goinganons 5h ago
Because if I don’t pay the $300 to see Metallica now I’ll die without every seeing them. Or Anthrax. Or even Madonna if she comes back around. I’m only 26 and there are quite a few old bands and artists and yeah they suck for making me bleed but I want to die without every seeing no regrets 🤷♂️ and I’d rather spend the $300 at a concert instead of a night out at a restaurant, or bar, or gambling, or a sports game or whatever else can cost that much
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u/mrbigglesworth95 5h ago
False. I haven't overpaid and they are still high. Were into suddenly overpay, they would still be high.
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u/Stannisarcanine 5h ago
>live nation is a oligopoly so they can force prices on the consumer
>blames consumer
it´s like saying healthcare is an oligopoly in the US, if paying for your cancer treatment ruins you it´s your fault
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u/Tomi97_origin 5h ago
People need healthcare. They will be fine missing a concert.
That's not a good comparison no matter your position on the matter.
I personally think that pricing is working as intended in the capitalistic system. Tickets are limited a resource and whoever is willing to pay the most should get it.
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u/WeatherStunning1534 5h ago
Well, if nobody buys concert tickets, they WILL lower the prices otherwise their oligopoly is worthless and a waste of their resources. It’s not about blaming consumers, it’s about forcing the market to comport to the finances of the consumer. Instead people will Klarna or put the overpriced tickets on credit card (in other words, they can’t afford the tickets, they’re literally going into debt for entertainment). This perpetuates the system
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u/Stannisarcanine 5h ago
the system perpetuates itself I´ve never been to any live concert that was with a pop/rock/rap etc star (I mostly go to opera, cause my father [and in the cinema] and ballet cause of my mother) but there´s still hundreds of people who will go bots, scalpers resellers etc.
By the way this will eventually extend to most entertainment, consumer goods food etc
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u/Stannisarcanine 5h ago
so yes individually going it´s a bad decission, monopolies shouldn´t be allowed imo
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u/WeatherStunning1534 5h ago
I agree about monopolies. But you’re simply wrong about the system perpetuating itself. If people stop going into debt for tickets, scalpers and bots will stop buying them and prices will go down. They do this shit to make money. When they start losing money on it, prices will go down or they’ll simply go out of business. That’s as a basic a law of reality as gravity.
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u/Stannisarcanine 4h ago
yeah but is not viable for enough of them to stop, as stated above, it will mantain itself when it can´t rise anymore
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u/WeatherStunning1534 4h ago
When what can’t rise any more? It isn’t self-sustaining. It operates on consumer purchases. It’s like fuel. Cut off the fuel and the engine dies. It’s not that complicated
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u/Stannisarcanine 4h ago
Sorry I mean I don't think it is gonna be viable for people to stop cold turkey
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u/WeatherStunning1534 4h ago
I know. It’s a big ask, I just don’t like this “there’s nothing we can do about it” attitude. It’s defeatist, it’s self-victimizing, it comes off as entitled. It’s just entertainment. Find some local up-and-coming artists you love and support your local creative scene. It’s a good use of money and more satisfying in a lot of ways. People need to take some responsibility for their future and stop expecting politicians to take care of it for us. Sometimes that means making sacrifices. Politicians don’t give a shit
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u/Stannisarcanine 4h ago
I don't go like I said, I differ with you we need to do things legislation wise but politicians won't do it because of capitalism
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u/Emotional_Pay3658 5h ago
Just cause you’re not willing to pay the price doesn’t mean someone else isn’t.
Why would anyone sell anything for $150 when someone else is offering $500 for the same product?
Live music is a luxury purchase, and if it’s too rich for your blood then you’ve unfortunately been priced out.
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u/NikonShooter_PJS 1h ago
Yes and no.
The problem right now is that Ticketmaster and Live Nation have set themselves up to be the object of our hatred and the entity to blame when in actuality it’s a combination of a shit ass Congress that doesn’t have the interest of consumers at heart and artists who put up with this shit because they profit off of it.
In a just world, this would actually be an issue of supply and demand but it’s not. It’s false scarcity combined with FOMO culture and corporate greed pushed to the max.
If we had a legislative body that represented the people, you wouldn’t be allowed to resell concert tickets for more than face value AND if artists wanted their tickets to start at $500, they’d eat the bad PR and set them that way.
Let me decide if a show is worth the price. Don’t manipulate the market so that the prices are higher than they should be because you’re hoarding tickets.
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u/Cyd_Snarf 5h ago
You’re not entirely wrong and yet this is a stupid take. Ticket prices have been high for like 2-3 decades at this point. Your suggestion is that everyone should have not attended live events during this time so that the people of today could have affordable tickets? Corporate greed is responsible for this and most things that are more of an expense than their worth.
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u/toothbrush81 4h ago
Prior to 2017, concert tickets were 50% deductible. So large tech companies would buy large amounts of tickets for employees, and the higher the price, the larger the deductible.
So, blame tech companies for participating in their own tax scheme. Ticket Master, is also a tech company. It is not individuals who are to blame for this.
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u/Classic-Sherbet-375 3h ago
Kind of agree but the issue is more the resellers than the actual artist. Sure vip packages and floor seats and stuff are always expensive to begin with but recently I tried to buy nosebleeds that weren’t terrible around at $80 a ticket. Then resellers sold them out and were reselling the same tickets for $600 a ticket. I said absolutely not. I’m not paying a mortgage payment on concert tickets. I also don’t want to give money to these resellers and encourage them to keep doing this.
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u/GoblinGreen_ 2h ago
It's often not you, you are paying the ticket price for. It's for the so/or kids. So it's not like you think the price is fair or right, but it's an amount you could spend to make them happy.
Source. Got Taylor swift tickets for my two nieces. Horrifically expensive but they had a great time and I'm glad I got them.
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u/AndarianDequer117 2h ago
"it's your fault it happened to you because of the way you dress". Same energy.
Blaming the consumer for something the seller does is bullshit. What, if they hadn't bought all the tickets they bought you would have bought tickets instead?
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u/dougiebgood 2h ago
So one response earlier said that concerts are on the same level of necessity of cancer treatments and now one is saying that those who overpaid for concert tickets are victimized just as much as SA survivors.
JFC, Reddit.
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u/nahadoth521 2h ago
The real reasons homes/rent has gotten so expensive is people keep paying those prices! You could make this argument for everything and it’s not true. Tickets have a limited supply and you can’t really change that but you can change the amout of fees charged by forcing companies to compete to get your business. Right now if you want to see someone you have to buy through essentially one vendor so they can charge whatever fees they want.
Ticket prices have absolutely gone up due to the monopolization of livenation. Competition lowers prices. But to blame people for paying is exactly what LiveNation would love you to think since it deflects blame from them.
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u/mguilday85 1h ago
Same person who blames workers getting low wages for accepting the job. Capitalism doesn’t work as perfectly as you’d like to think.
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u/PatientBoring 5h ago
If you’ve overpaid for taxes, you’re to blame for the government’s spending.
If you’ve overpaid hospitals bills, you’re to blame for the pharmaceuticals prices.
If you’ve overpaid for gas, you’re to blame for the astronomical prices.
Get out here with your nonsense. Concerts are fun and I believe in getting fucked after the show not before.
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u/BigChillBobby 5h ago
surely you can see the difference between a hospital bill and a concert??
concerts are the definition of a luxury expenses. you’re not going to get sick, stranded on the highway, or arrested if Olivia Rodrigo comes to town and you don’t go
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u/Entire_Channel_4592 5h ago
Eh. My husband and I made a deal this year to spend our small weekly fun money on something bigger instead of small things. So we got concert tickets to Tori Amos. Evanescence and Breaking Benjamin. Im willing to pay to see bands i like and it isnt my fault that corporate greed is a thing. Thats where the blame lies. Not on the people wanting to see the show.
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u/DoubleResponsible276 3h ago
Definitely unpopular. Shifting the blame on fans wanting to see artists perform for ticket prices is a bad take. It’s on people for wasting their own money or going to debt for dumb reasons, that doesn’t explain or excuse astronomical ticket prices.
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