Over 20 million people went to a gig or concert in 2023 to see their favourite artists and bands! But some people have a hard time affording these luxuries after ticket prices have sky-rocketed over the past decade. But why? Why do artists feel the need to charge such prices for a ticket – they make lots from their songs anyway! In this article we will find out.
Consumers spent £6.1 billion going to gigs, festivals and club nights in the UK last year, 1 million spent on the venue. That can leave anything between 50% and 70% of the gross, but there are no hard and fast rules for how that is divided between the act and the promoter. A commonly quoted figure is that the promoter will take 15% of what is left, and the act will get 85%.
Upcoming concerts in 2024-25 include Olivia Rodrigo with tickets via Ticketmaster, starting at £123.25 each but for VIP go up to £253.75 each. Whereas Chase Atlantic tickets start at £50 and £196 for VIP, Billie Eillish standard tickets are £459.71 each.
But live music in the UK is extremely varied. At one end, there are massive sold-out stadium tours from artists like Harry Styles, Oasis and Taylor Swift and on the other end smaller acts performing in local pubs and bars.
Platform Ticketmaster – saw revenues of $22.7 billion in 2023 (although many fans were unhappy with the platform’s ‘dynamic pricing’ system used for both the Oasis and Taylor Swift tours).
Have you recently been to a gig or concert? What are your views on prices?
By Maisie Yr9
Boston High School Newsroom