Why did everyone have such a problem paying $13 for a CD but have no problem now shelling out $100 to $300 for a concert ticket?

I don’t know. Because I stopped going to concerts when they became so expensive. I can fly to the Caribbean for the price of a 3 hour concert? No way. The idea of watching it on a large screen TV in an oversized stadium for $300 is absurd to me - don’t care who it is. Not sure how an average American can afford those tickets.

Even indie bands are $45 and up.

Beats me. Concerts are way too expensive, and the absurd ticket price is only the start. I feel the same way about the Superbowl too.

I was watching a documentary on the first US Festival in California in 1982 and tickets were $20 per day for day-long show. Maybe that's not the best example because he lost more than $10 million on the festival. Same with the follow-up. But I'm pretty sure just regular concerts by major acts back then cost about $12 to $15 per ticket. Even with inflation, that doesn't add up to what's being charged nowadays.

Posting a pic of your cd on insta doesn’t get the same attention as your shitty iPhone recording of a concert?

But in reality, Napster and Limewire truly made it feel like paying for an entire cd was absurd. You can’t get the in person concert experience anywhere else.

Regarding the US Festival, Woz was paying outrageous prices to bands (including Fleetwood Mac. Maybe that's where they got their taste for unbridled greed, if not cocaine). And he excavated the park for months beforehand to build an outdoor ampitheater. Everyone says he was/is a really nice guy (especially compared to the evil Steve Jobs). He just didn't have a lot of sense of what to do with his money, it seems. Not that he's suffering, of course.

Sorry, the last post was not from R5. Typo.

"You can’t get the in person concert experience anywhere else."

But that doesn't justify the current ticket prices

Because you may never have a chance to see that performer (Janis Joplin) or group (Bob Dylan and the Band) again.

I feel for good musicians, who create great music, but may not be great live performers (for whatever reasons) or don't want to perform, therefore make no money from creating great music.

Did you mean you don't feel good for them, R10? That's what I'm hoping you meant.

Regarding R9's response: "Because you may never have a chance to see that performer (Janis Joplin) or group (Bob Dylan and the Band) again." Janis and Bob Dylan weren't gouging their fans back then. And still there's the greed factor that you're not addressing.

Yes, agreed. I believe the high price of concert tickets is the reason why stadiums are empty.

No one needs to pay $25 to watch Janet Jackson lip sync.

R12: Yes, I know stadiums aren't all empty. (Although some are and have to be papered with freebies.) I'm just questioning the mentality that one would have to decide: "I'm too cheap to pay for a CD. But I would LOOOOVE to spend hundreds of dollars on a concert ticket that 10 years ago would have cost $50, $75 dollars on the high end." This back and forth could go on and on, and your answer is not a good one, so let's just agree to disagree as they say.

The selling of recorded pop music was an incredible cash cow for decades and it's now come to an end.

Now one's forcing anyone to see a group of ancient musicians perform old songs at rocket high prices.

There is great reasonably priced live music to be heard in most cities. And you don't have to pay a few hundred $ to sit a mile away from the stage.

R14 I see your reasoning. I’m going to agree to agree with you. In the 80’s I saw several concerts and remember thinking prices were a little high, but not astronomical like today. My husband loves Fleetwood Mac and seriously their tickets were $1,000 for a great seat. He did not get to go to the concert, because we chose to eat for the month.

OP, it's because we are now a bunch of attention whores who need to post everything on social media. We don't care how much it costs because we need more attention. I go to at least 3-4 concerts a month and this is what I see the most. People go on fb live to post videos of them at a concert and not the concert itself. It's fucking anti social bizarre behavior.

Maybe because the people who were complaining about $13 as young people and now that they're older they have more disposable cash.

Streaming has ruined it as well. Artists aren’t properly compensated. Remember when Adele didn’t make her last album available to stream and she ended up selling umpteen million?

I remember when The Jackson’s upped the game by doubling the price of their “Victory” tour. Concert tix were on average $15 and they charged $30!!!!! Everyone was outraged!

I think this all started when Liz Taylor said(as a joke) “Sure I’ll do it for a $1,000,000” when asked to play Cleopatra.

Concerts used to be loss leaders that were only intended to promote record sales, where the money was made. Once CDs could support the promo tour, the tour had to pay for itself, and then they got greedy.

I’ve heard some older artists can’t afford to stop touring because they have first, second and sometimes third families to support in addition to keeping up with a lifestyle.

Diana Ross, Frankie valli, Johnny Mathis prices aren’t outrageous. They play casinos and smaller venues, but get a huge appearance fee and a cut of the box office. Also the stage setup is minimal and the band is scaled down.

Fake fleetwood and fake eagles prices didn’t go down with the departures and passing of members. There’s not much time left for those kind of money grabs as those audiences are starting to age out of concert going. Elton, George strait, Paul Simon, bob seger, and Neil Diamond (who was on his retirement tour before having to quit) are all retiring from touring and charging top dollar.

Peter Frampton is retiring because of a rare muscle disease. His prices are reasonable.

Streisand escalated the tour prices with her tour in 1994. With ticket prices ranging up to a thousand dollars for the best seats (with scalpers charging high as 2500), there wasn't much controversy, because she hadn't toured in ages and it was rumored that it was going to be her only tour.

Old Fart Thread Alert!!!!

" I wipe back to front and then eat it! "

Morrissey tickets are $350. I’m willing to bet that every person who goes to that show is an asshole.

You got that right, r26.

The problem I had with CDs is that too many albums were 1-2 good songs and the rest were filler. You'd buy a soundtrack and learn only after opening that the songs were different versions. I would buy a Greatest Hits album and the songs I wanted were live or remix versions.

I stopped going to concerts when I realized they just weren't that great.

There are only a few singers/band that make it an interesting experience. I don't want to hear the songs I can listen to on CD to sound the same on stage.

Plus, As I get older, I like intimate venues so much more than big concerts

Well sports events are outrageously priced as well. If you want big name professional entertainment live you are going to pay extortionist prices. This is true of everything even going to popular theme parks and restaurants with really good food. Everywhere you go you get sticker shock.

'Popular Prices!' hasn't been used in decades.

Why are concert tickets so high? Ask the mother fucking, do nothing "promoters" who get 1/2 of the ticket price for basically doing jack shit. Such a rip off.

And an especially big fuck you to Live Nation, next to Donald Trump, the biggest con artist and grifter in the United States.

In my office, we have a KISS ticket from 1976 in New Orleans at the Warehouse. The cost: $7.00

Nowadays, to sit in the proximity of the band such in that event space is $250.

yes, it's so fucking expensive now. you gotta pay hundreds to sit in the nosebleeds. I would rather watch on you tube.

Although I did spend thousands to watch a few of my fav bands for the past 2 years. since so many are dropping dead.

oh, and when you get there, it's like 10 bucks for a lousy beer.

They have to make up the money some where. Me personally...I'd never pay more than $20-$30.

The high prices are one thing and then there are the huge fees and then there’s the scalpers who get all of the good seats....

And then, if you do actually make it into the arena, you have to put up with the drunks. A guy once threatened to punch me for not dancing (!!) at a White Stripes show (!!!!!!).

Fuck! All! That!!!!

Tickets cost what they do because there are people who are willing to pay that. It's simple supply and demand. If people stop paying those prices, the prices will come down.

For her birthday this year I got my sister a $70 ticket to see her favorite ageing boyband live on tour at a shed venue in the next county over. It’s steep and I felt a stab of “why the fuck am I paying this” at the purchase screen, but she’s loved and idolised these guys since she was a kid in the 90s and they likely won’t tour near our homes again, so I justified it that way. She was ecstatic to get the ticket and has been playing their discography non-stop ever since I gave it to her so I count it a win (though my ears regret the choice).

For me personally I’d rather pay $5 at the door of a bar and get drinks while watching an up-and-coming band play, but not everyone enjoys watching unsigned or relatively unknown musical acts.

I always wait for the $20.00 no fees promo LiveNation has 2 to 3 times a year. One it before Xmas , during the summer and the other is randomly thrown in during the year. I'm seeing Dream Theater this week. Then I see Switchfoot next month and two shows with Todd Rundgren in May. I realize these shows may no be stellar for many but I saw Rundgren & Utopia last year in concert and the blew the roof off the theatre and then set it on fire! It was one of the best concerts I've ever seen.

An experience is always worth more than material possessions.

OP, this might come as new information for you, but musicians have always earned a living playing live music. With the invention of records, these became a way of promoting concerts. Then, much like that hack from Big Eyes when he realises people might pay for the posters instead of the original paintings, promoters ended up generating profit (and massive profits at that) from the promotional material.

Now with the demise of the record industry, which is nothing more than an INDUSTRY, we are back to basics, that is enjoying live music. The way it should be.

Look up local bands, there are plenty of free/very affordable concerts everywhere.

That said, I've noticed North American artists are insanely priced. This is not the case with European acts. It's the same with theatre.

[Quote] Look up local bands, there are plenty of free/very affordable concerts everywhere.

Those are not that fun. Tons of blabby drunks go to those.

Musicians and entertainers have come full circle. Way back when, concerts were how musicians made a living because, aside from the biggest names, a recording contract didn't mean much to the average musician. Records were mostly a way for them to promote their concerts. Meanwhile, the music industry was raking it in selling LPs and tapes, and by and large, not letting the proceeds flow through to the performers.

Then the music industry fell apart when two things happened: the Supreme Court ruled that home-made mix tapes were legal, setting the stage for wholesale theft; then, CDs were introduced at the low low bargain price of $18 (when an LP was at $8- $10 depending), and the industry justified the price because there were only three factories in the world that could press discs (this was around 1981-2). People were enthralled with the technology and the quality of the sound (no pops! no hiss! It's a miracle!) and willingly handed over double the cash for the same content. The music industry went "Wow..." with dollar signs in executives' eyes, and that was that. Short sighted, they were.

Musicians, meanwhile, began negotiating higher fees for concert tours and live performances, demanding a share in the humongous profits shows generated. And they were successful as comments above point out; the price for a concert ticket doubled, doubled again, and then became truly outrageous.

Fast forward to the late 90s, and between Napster and MP3s and the digitizing of everything, and music consumers discovered that they could "share" their music with their millions of online friends, and the market for CDs (and DVDs) began its nosedive. And then came streaming, torrents, file lockers (remember those?) and it became ridiculously easy to steal music (and all entertainment). The days of the music industry throwing off hundreds of $millions abruptly ended. But concerts continued to generate huge cash; my brother-in-law worked for TicketMaster in the 90s and boy, was it fun. There was no such thing as too much extravagance.

But a record contract returned to nothing more than the cost of entry to the live performance world. I think, given a choice, musicians would forgo record contracts altogether if there were any other way to effectively promote their music. So, we're back to musicians making a living (albeit in many cases, a very good one) by performing live and only releasing records more or less on the side.

[quote]An experience is always worth more than material possessions.

Sometimes.

Janis Joplin: would you prefer a CD or watching her live?

Sure, you can have both. But one can never be replicated. Therefore it has more value.

I paid $15 to see The Smiths

I paid $7 to see Sting

I paid $19 to see Elton John at the Garden in '76.

Yes I bought it through a ticket agency and yes my friends and I knew we were being scalped. A friend's mother was horrified. I wouldn't tell mine.

It was the front floor so it was worth it. But I did not find it extortionist the way I do today's box office prices no matter what it's for.

Yet a decent whore can still be had for 200 bucks in many cities, no inflation for decades.

I paid £40 for 4th row at a show 2 years ago not knowing one of the guys from ABBA would be making an appearance. He was literally 5 feet away.

[quote]Streisand escalated the tour prices with her tour in 1994. With ticket prices ranging up to a thousand dollars for the best seats (with scalpers charging high as 2500), there wasn't much controversy, because she hadn't toured in ages and it was rumored that it was going to be her only tour.

This is why the poor and middle-class vote Republican.

Alanis Morisette is going to be in Vegas in April, and I have loved her since the 90s. If I go to vegas + pay for the flight, room, etc... it's going to be way more than the ticket altogether. I can't decide. And once I am going all the way there, I might as well get a really good seat, so that's why I'd pay for the $200+ section.... but it's a big "if" - i don't really feel like going to all the way to vegas rt now.

Middle class white people grew up with rock bands in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Now those people are old and they have money to spend on luxuries like concert tickets. I think of concerts today as something old people would do, and I'm not young myself (I'm 45).

R54 I had the same issue last year as she was touring Europe. I have never seen her on stage, missed her in 2004-2005 when she played here. Ended up forking out 64 euros (I don't usually pay this type of money for rock concerts, even saw the Scottish band Texas for free on Bastille Day last summer) for a concert in Bonn, Germany - and ended up not going as the trip was going to be a hassle and the venue simply huge. Anyway.

My partner works with venues that host concerts, mostly rock concerts, and the average concertgoer is 40-50+ years old. They are struggling to get younger people to rock concerts. They'll get 30+ year-olds, but not much younger. The average audience is in their forties and older.

Yes r57 for "rock" concerts. Younger people are not into rock music so it should not be a surprised they are not in the arena/theatre/club.

Hip hop music sell out every arena mostly where I live. Rock concerts sells out but it takes a little longer.

R54–spend the money to see Alanis. You are clearly a super fan who would love the show. I’m not a super fan but even I know that Alanis is a one-of-a-kind. If you’ve loved her for 20 years, be a part of her live experience. You won’t regret it, money well spent.

Have fun!