The Affordability of Live Music

Introduction. In a post-lockdown world, live music has allowed people the opportunity to reconnect with their communities, and year-by-year attendance is steadily rising. Concert attendance rose by 20 percent compared to 2022, with total revenue rising by 36 percent overall according to Live Nation.[1] However, an increase in live music event attendance has been accompanied by a major increase in concert ticket prices, leaving them inaccessible to thousands. There are many theories as to why the cost of concert tickets has significantly increased, the most well-known being Ticketmaster. With Ticketmaster acting as a main ticketing vendor worldwide, many people hold generally antagonistic views towards the entertainment giant for their business practices. They feel certain that a single company is to blame for concert tickets becoming largely unaffordable for the average person. According to Pollstar, concert tickets have seen an overall 27.38% increase in cost since 2019.[2] This data also showcases a worldwide increase in concert ticket pricing, with the average ticket costs ranging from $40.80 at club venues, to $124.47 at stadiums. Figure 1: Concert Ticket Costs from 2019 to 2023. Most notably, stadiums have the highest increase in cost, showing a 35% increase in tickets from 2019-2023, which can be attributed to an overwhelming post-lockdown demand for live music events. This demand was driven by artists such as Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, who held record-breaking stadium tours in 2023; Beyoncé’s tour generated $4.5 billion for the economy, while Swift’s tour helped to increase hotel revenue across the United States.[3] There are a number of contributing factors that have led to increased concert tickets prices and a lack of accessibility. This article will examine where people are attending concerts, how much the average person has to work to afford a concert ticket, and what factors have contributed to concert tickets becoming increasingly expensive. Overview. Concert ticket pricing is at an all-time high, but so is concert attendance. Live Nation cited attendance for their events rose 4% from 2023 to 2024, with a total of 151 million people attending Live Nation events in 2024.[4] According to Pollstar, the top 10 tours of 2023 brought in a total of $2.7 billion in profit.[5] Here’s a quick breakdown of the tours: Figure 2 - Top 10 North American Gross Income (2023) The artists included in 2023's top 10 tours are from the pop, hip-hop, country, rock, and Latin sectors. However, 2023 was completely dominated by two artists: Taylor Swift and Beyoncé. Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour accounted for nearly half of all gross profit from the top 10 tours combined. Collectively, all 10 tours had 335 shows across North America, and despite the fact that the Eras Tour and Renaissance Tour combined only made up 26% of those, they managed to generate almost half of the gross income of these tours.The revenue generated was purely the buying power of both artists. To What Lengths Are People Willing to Go for Live Music? After COVID lockdowns ended, people wanted live music. However, the sheer demand for tickets created a competitive landscape for obtaining them and made many people question how much they were able and willing to pay to see their favorite artists in concert. Fans appear to be willing to splurge when it comes to concerts. When Innerbody surveyed 850 people across three generations, they found that on average, most people were willing to spend $1,028.33 on floor seats to see their favorite artist live.[6]Additionally, 42.8% of respondents said they would be willing to travel up to 500 miles to see their favorite artist live. If a fan lives in Washington, D.C., the nation’s capital, this could mean traveling as far as Montreal, Canada, or just outside Atlanta for a concert. Figure 3 - Concert Distance Map. Traveling for concerts isn’t an uncommon practice. In a study of 31 tours in the United States, Upgraded Points found that the top 10 most popular cities for concerts host 40.5% of all shows in the U.S.[7] That’s 413 shows per year at some of America’s most popular tour stops. Figure 4 - Top Cities for Concerts in the United States. New York City sees the most live music performances, hosting 89 shows from the most popular 2023 to mid 2024 tours.[8] On the West Coast, Los Angeles isn’t far behind, with 70 shows per year, followed by Chicago (43 shows per year) and Atlanta (39 shows per year). One of the factors that can change ticket pricing is location, which varies in the United States depending on what city a fan resides in. Figure 5 - Average Concert Ticket Price in Top Ten Cities New York has the most expensive average ticket price at $231.06. The city that never sleeps also gets the most concerts per year and has the largest metropolitan population in the United States. Nationwide, however, people should be prepared to dish out an average of around $150 per ticket for a live event. If a fan lives in a concert hotspot, convenience comes at the sacrifice of ticket cost. Using these top ten cities as a guideline, this article will dissect what exactly it takes for the average American to attend a concert and what factors have contributed. How Much Labor Goes Into Buying a Concert Ticket? According to a study by USA Today, the average American spends about 260 days a year working.[9] This means just under a quarter of a year (23.74%) is spent working to earn a salary. Each hour is worth something different depending on where someone lives, and this ultimately determines how much work is required to afford a live music event. Figure 6 - Pay Per One Day of Labor. According to Census Reporter data, this graph demonstrates how much money is made from one day of labor in America’s top ten touring cities.[10] The average American works 8 hours daily, resulting in a total of about 2080 hours a year. But not all eight hours are created equal—eight hours of labor in Seattle, WA is worth over double the same amount of labor in Phoenix, AZ. When graphing both Census Reporter data and Upgraded Points data, the disparity in the average ticket cost versus the average pay for one day of labor is made evident. Figure 7 - Pay for One Day of Labor vs. Average Ticket Cost. The rows in which the yellow line exceeds the blue indicate cities where a concert ticket costs more than one day of labor. While income has remained rather stagnant due to inflation rates, the cost of concerts has continued to rise. Figure 8 - Days of Labor Required to Purchase Average Concert Ticket. The average amount of labor required to purchase a ticket varies city to city. In both New York, NY and Los Angeles, CA, the average fan needs to work 9.44 hours. In Chicago, IL and Dallas, TX, people need to work a total of 8.56 hours. In Miami, FL the minimum is 7.04 hours; in Boston, MA it is 6.24 hours; in Atlanta, GA the minimum is 5.84 hours; in Denver, CO it is 5.52 hours; in Phoenix, AZ it is 5.44 hours and Seattle, WA is the lowest of the 10 cities, with a minimum of 5.28 hours. The average amount of labor required is about 7.12 hours, meaning it takes almost one full day of labor to attend shows in America’s most populated cities. In 4 out of 10 touring cities, more than one day of work is required to purchase a concert ticket. With most concerts lasting anywhere between 1 to 3 hours, this number represents a disproportionate relationship between the cost of live music and the income of the average American. Additional Costs. When attending a concert, very rarely is a concert ticket the only cost for a consumer. There are an assortment of costs accrued, especially when traveling for a show. According to Upgraded Points data, the five common associated costs are as follows:[11] Food & Beverage: The most common secondary cost when it comes to live music events, with almost 3/4 of people (70.9%) saying they accrue expenses on venue food and drinks when attending a concert. Travel: 48.2% of people reported being willing to travel between 100 and 500 miles to see their favorite artist live, with 48.9% of people saying travel is a common secondary expense when attending live music events. Accommodation: Going hand in hand with travel expenses, about half (48.5%) of respondents said accommodation expenses were also accrued when attending live music events. Merchandise: Around a third (32.0%) of respondents said they purchase memorabilia when attending a concert. T-shirts, sweatshirts, posters, bags, keychains—the possibilities are endless! Transportation: Transportation to and from venues is a cost that around a third (30.6%) of people accumulate when attending live music events. Fans often use rideshares such as Uber and Lyft, and for those who do drive, parking costs can hike up to around $80 USD, depending on location.[12] Figure 9 - Total Cost of Attending a Concert in Top Touring Cities. This chart displays the total accumulated costs of traveling to attend a concert in America’s top touring cities. Notably, in all top ten cities, accommodation is around 40% of total expenses. Music Industry Insights. Clayton Durant, Adjunct Professor of Music Business at NYU, and Chelsea De Jesus, Booking Coordinator at Live Nation, offered their insights on what factors have contributed to the cost of live music skyrocketing. Both experts helped to raise attention to some of the contributing factors that have flown largely under the radar. According to both experts, the three main factors that have played into the increase of ticket costs were inflation, supply and demand, and most notably, streaming. When asked about what touring costs might go undervalued by the general public, De Jesus says that it can be easy for fans to underestimate the sheer costs of holding a tour for a performing artist, stating, “We're all just busy bees trying to make one big thing come to fruition. Obviously, the impetus is the artists or their deal...