And inflation causing even shows that used to cost 5-10 bucks to be 20-25 bucks. That makes the normal person go “oh no sweat, totally going” to “now I have to think about it”. It only screws young bands.
I used to suffer blue dot fever when I lived in a very progressive college town in an otherwise deeeeep red part of Florida.
Like we were saying between the economy, the prices of tickets, parking, merch, drinks, people are passing or they simply don’t have the money. It sucks for the artists but this is a much needed thing to bring live nation back down to earth. They can’t keep charging this for the same artists.
going through a few possible $30 deal options in my town, would not be shocked if the babymetal tour and Muse tour are next, at least in the rock genre (didnt look at stuff i dont care about)
It's been a "stadium" since opening in 2013. It's what it is. 5,500 seating capacity, but standing on the field portion will add more of course. It's right across the river from downtown, which proximity to the city was always a complaint. It's only been there once before (when it was still Highmark Stadium) in 2019 and due to field issues, it was held in the parking lot instead. Since then, except 2024, it's been at Wild Things Park (now EQT Park) in Washington, south of the city.
An issue I've seen is that a lot of people do NOT know how to buy tickets the right way.... They google the show, click on the first link, and then pay stubhub / tickpick / vivid seats etc a higher price for a show that's not even sold out. The amount of people who don't go to that many shows and have joined me for one and have gone that route is crazy. Someone was texting me at a show saying that tickets were like $45 and there's just a few left, and I paid less than $35 at the door because they didn't even know you could just buy a day of show ticket. I 100% blame google and how scummy they are with 'sponsored' posts taking precedence over what you're obviously looking for. The official source should always be first, and not someone who paid to look official by being first in line. Anyway.... What does everyone consider reasonable for a 'club' show? (lets say a 500-1500 cap) and then a venue a little larger in the 2500-3000 cap? I don't go to many amphitheater or shed shows or anything like that, but I'm basically under $50 for the smaller venue, and under $75 for the larger (with fees) as the current going rate, and that honestly feels fair. Obvs a small true 500 cap (or less) I'm looking at even lower - $30-$35 with fees. The handful of arena shows I've done, I've pad $100-$150 for floor.
To be fair… who the fuck was actually going to go to this? Especially for the prices they were charging?
I have a lot of friends like that who don’t understand that you buy tickets on Ticketmaster/axs etc. They just google the concert info and click the first sponsored link they see (usually stubhub or tick pick). I think you’re on the money with those prices. I saw Early November & Hellogoodbye in a 1k cap club and ticket was $45, which I thought was reasonable. Poppy is doing a 3,500 cap venue by me and that was also a reasonable $60. I can no longer justify spending $80+ for club shows though, unless it’s a deliberate underplay.
1-250: $15 250-500: $25 500-1k: $30 1k-2k: $40 2k-4k: $50 4k-10k: $75 10k-20k: $100 And I know someone is going to say something about how this is ten years too late or whatever but these are the numbers of what I would purchase a ticket for without a question if it was a band I liked. Anything above 20k better be a festival or else it isn't getting my money.
I'm in no way trying to financially shame anyone and/or their situation but I just don't have any sort of expectations around what things "should" cost anymore. They cost what they cost and I can decide if I want to go or not based on what I'm willing to pay. I live in one of the most expensive cities in the world so it typicaly breaks down like this: Up to 500: $30-40 500-1400: $30-60 2-5k: $60-90 5-8k: $70-150 Arenas/Sheds: $150-300 or more Most GA Floor tickets these days I've noticed range from $160-320 for the standard price, though if they're too cheap they get scooped up and resold instantly.
It’s weird I’ve been seeing people panicking about the state of live music/the economy over some of these recent cancellations. Yes tickets are expensive but like Meghan Trainer, Zayn and Pussycat Dolls would never fill an arena in 2026 even if it was ridiculously cheap lol
How do the artists never get any of the blame? They play a role in price gouging too - but it’s always blame ticketmaster. I’d love to support bands through merch, but when it’s averaging $50+ to get in the door and then shirts are $35 and hoodies $65, I’m not buying. It’s always the same sob story about “we’re struggling artists”… at some point we need to admit the reality that most of these bands aren’t a step away from living on the streets lol. Everybody’s making money while the consumer is paying out the ass, just like everything else
Most bands make a LOT less than you think, especially those who have managers, lawyers, accountants, tour managers, etc. to pay.
My question with those types of shows/tours is why can't tickets be dynamically LOWERED. I guess they were selling so poorly it wouldn't have mattered but, for instance, it makes no sense trying to hawk nosebleeds for arena show for like $200 + if they aren't moving a few weeks leading up.
This! And like Post Malone in a stadium with jelly roll after they did tons of dates just last year was going to flop. Over saturation and extremely ambitious venue sizes are a big problem for some of these artists too
Man, whoever said that Godsmack tour was tanking wasn't fucking around... Their hometown MA date still has $122 pit tickets available. It's a sea of blue and there's loads of cheap seats toward the front. I didn't expect much. But I definitely expected them to be doing a little better than that. Yikes.
Another factor is that a lot of these acts fans are older now and have children, which adds another cost/hassle of finding childcare for a night out
Live Nation sale ends today: Ended up getting tickets for Wilco, Evanescence, Wet Leg, Daniel Tosh, and Seth Meyers! The last three were for a casino in Windsor, ON so I only paid $25 US for those which was cool!