With Beyoncé's recent album tour breaking banks, and news of Taylor Sheridan's extortionately expensive one-day festival dropping, it's clear that ticket sales are staying high for the foreseeable. The unwelcome price hike for tickets is making live music an event for the elite, and it's all due to the changing face of the industry.
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The days of buying physical copies of albums and singles are over. Now, if you want to listen to your favorite band, it's as simple as streaming it the minute it drops. Rather than having to wait for it to play on the radio or buy it, anything can be played on repeat at the touch of a button.
For artists, this means that they no longer have to pay to press the record, but it also means they're at the mercy of the streaming services' pitiful payouts. On average, an artist will receive around $0.003 to $0.005 per stream on Spotify. Some services pay more, but only marginally.
According to Royalty Calculator, a million streams on Spotify will only net an artist $4000. This often has to be split between multiple people. There simply isn't any money in streaming for most artists and bands. So, money needs to be earned in other ways, and one of the major forms of income is via pricey ticket sales.
Ticket Sales Pay The Bills
Without revenue coming from album sales, and streaming services paying slave wages, ticket sales are a large part of an artist's or band's income. A study in 2018 found that of Bruce Springsteen's $53 million earnings that year, $50 million came from touring.
Of that amount, less than half a million came from sales, and only around $800,000 came from streaming. Taylor Swift, the same year, an artist still regularly releasing albums, only made $1.5 million from sales of her total $99.6 million yearly earnings. $90.5 million came from touring.
It is clear to see from these numbers that if an artist or band wants to make money, they have to sell tickets. The only way that streaming helps is by pushing new music through the algorithm to become noticed. It's still important to get a lot of plays for this reason. Streaming sites are exposure, but they're certainly not a payday.
But, it still hurts to see ticket prices getting so high that most can't justify the cost. To put it in perspective, a study by BackgroundAnimal broke down the inflation-adjusted prices of the biggest acts of the year's tickets. In 2002, seeing Eminem would cost around $59 in today's money. Comparatively, seeing Beyoncé in concert in 2025 will set you back around $300.
Gigs And Tours Are Reserved For The Elite
Seeing a top name has never been something people do every month of the year. It has always been a special treat. But, it shouldn't be something that bankrupts someone. If parents want to take their two children to see Taylor Swift, the bill will come into the thousands. Her median ticket price is $1,550 per seat. Then there are costs for accommodation, transport, food, and drink on top of it all.
Going to see a live show is no longer a once-a-year or even once-every-six-month occasion. It is reserved for the rich. This kind of elitism is not only disrespectful to the fans but also dangerous for the music industry. Denying people the opportunity to enjoy their favorite music creates a social boundary in art.
The obscene ticket prices mean that the majority can no longer experience their favorite artists. In some cases, high prices are due to a band needing to make income, but in many, it's greed.
You Don't Need Another Private Jet Taylor Swift
For many new and upcoming acts, slightly inflated tour ticket prices can be justified. If I go to see a new indie band, breaking out, it's nice to see ticket prices going straight into their success. But, when it's someone who regularly takes 30-minute flights between cities, or has a net worth of small countries, it's stomach-turning.
Beyoncé, for instance, with her new tour, is gouging on her ticket prices. Her net worth is $826 million. She could do a tour for free and still have $800 million left over. These kinds of prices charged by superstars only tell me one thing. They don't care about their fans, they don't even care about their music, they just care about the money, and their fans are how they're going to get it.
Real artists, like Oliver Anthony for example, still have a love for their music and their fans. He canceled a show at Cotton Eyed Joe in Knoxville due to high ticket prices. They were looking to charge $99 for a ticket, and $200 for a meet and greet.
He called off the whole show and looked for another local venue that "can do $25 ticket and free meet and greet." He even offered to refund people who had already bought tickets from his own pocket. Now that's dignity.
So, next time you're thinking about spending hundreds of dollars on a disgustingly expensive ticket to see a multi-millionaire, don't. Go to your local music venue and pay $20 to support someone who's just trying to buy a new guitar string and a few beers at the end of the night.
