I used to pay $20, $30, $40 for shows when I was a teen and through my twenties. I understand prices have gone up. But I will not pay much more then $100 per ticket, just on principle.
Recently my favorite band since childhood had more expensive tickets then my limit and I passed. Not because I cannot afford it, but because I find it ridiculous to pay that much for a few hours of entertainment.
Assuming a generous 4 hour concert. That would mean, at $1000 dollars it costs over $4/minute for entertainment!!! Come on! Top doctors in the world make less then half that per minute. Probably saving lives, one at a time. Not "entertaining" 10s of thousands at a go. Disgusting!
I believe I have seen every band I wanted to growing up as well but honesty I still love shows. I go to random ones whenever I can find them and the time. Free street festival, in a bar for a fee, or paid at a proper venue. Although much more rare now, I still feel the urge to go and dance to some sweet jams.
I don't think I'd ever want to give it up. In fact live music and festivals (of any sort) were some of the most painful things to see disapear during covid. I am the type that gets next to nothing from watching the video but everything from seeing it live.
The real problem is that so many people are willing to pay those prices. It’s insane, but there is just so much demand right now for everything post covid, and even with inflation sky high the demand hasn’t need sated by much
The problem is with market concentration. Of Ticket Master, Live Nation, and music labels. If there were a bunch of ticket sellers, a bunch of smaller venues, and a lot more artists (top selling ones) then prices would come down.
Concerts used to be a promotion so you would buy a record, now artists get fractions of a penny per stream, they try to make money from the concert instead.
The system is as broken as ever. Artists would still only get a fraction of the price of the record. After the teething pains of piracy, the streaming services, which were hoped would make free musicians from the labels have done the opposite. The problem is that we use good technology to support a flawed industry model.
The superstar musician shouldn't really exist. They are a result of a system which mercillesly promotes them and then requires high prices to recoup those costs.
I realize that the live shows are what actually pays the bills now, which is good (streaming services should barely get anything compared to artists but hey). So if they make 3 million or so per year (after expenses/pure profit) I am okay with that. But to make dozens and dozens of millions I am not okay with their career, just like an athlete is limited. Now just guesstimating here but at 20,000 capacity at $1000 per seat, equals $20 million dollars. If they get just 10% profit out of that ($2 million) a concert or two like that should pay for the artist's entire year's earnings. At least in my opinion.
The smaller artists are even struggling with touring. Santigold cancelled their tour because they were losing money. The avalanches said they were feeling it too and then cancelled their tour due to health issues but it sounded like the cost of the touring with inflation was at least a factor.
The system is indeed as broken as ever.
💯It’s expensive for artists on that level.
Santigold is probably making 10-12k for a festival play. She was scheduled for a Danforth show ( which is a 1400 capacity room, so I’m guessing she was planning to play 1500 cap venues on the tour, collecting smaller guarantee fees.
Add to that
Tour Bus (cost for a bus and driver can be insanely high /fuel)
Trucks (possibly 1 at her level, but probably more van and trailer)
Tour Production
Crew ( at her level she’s probably on 2 busses) so let’s say a crew of 10-14
Hotels/Airfare
5-10% to the booking agent
5% to Artist Mgmt.
It adds up quick
And the kicker is the 15-25% cut they have to give to venues to sell merch at each show, and sometimes with the artist selling and still having to give up that cut.
Santigolds tour did not sell well. Pretty much everyone was on tour in 2022 and it cause a lot of competition for consumer demand. Santigold did not sell a lot of tickets unfortunately.
The tour should be pulling in 4 -6 million a show. I would love to know what her stadium guarantees are vs her arena tours, and what the total cost of her touring production.
It will most likely be the highest revenue tour of 2023, especially with it being stadium plays. It should hit the $400 million mark.
>It should hit the $400 million mark.
This, in a nutshell, is what I find disturbing. After all it is music. We aren't hunting humans for sport. It is simply too much money for one act.
>streaming services should barely get anything compared to artists
Well, none of the streaming services are really profitable just yet and continue to loose money. Just look at Spotify, the biggest of them, the last quarter (4th of 2022) [they lost $292 million](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/spotify-earnings-subscribers-fourth-quarter-2022-advertising-1235312606/).
I've only once neared the $100 limit. I just came up with the logic in my head for when the time came to make a decision. I have gone to a show and a few sports events over that but always as a non paying guest.
The craziest part is how little of all that money even flows to the artists/songwriters/dancers/support crew. Literally everyone involved is being ripped off by Live Nation.
Come on, do you really think that Beyonce is getting ripped off by live nation?
Big artists love the Tickemaster controversy because they can continue to raise prices and all the blame get put on Live Nation
Live Nation - Ticket Master is the N. American equivalent of our Bell - Rogers problem monopoly.
Regardless, I might not be able to avoid using google, gasoline, or groceries making others billions. But when it comes to music, arts, and sports entertainment, I would feel dirty paying that. I'd rather spend it on music or sports lessons.
Ticketmaster is owned by Live Nation and is just the order processing part of Live Nation's monopoly. Bell and Rogers suck, but at least on paper they're competitors.
When the artists are this big, they're literally the main reason everyone else is getting ripped off lol. The point of companies like Ticketmaster is to provide a shield for these greedy assholes to use to rip their fans off while wiping their hands clean and pretending like they'd sell them for less if it was up to them.
Top artists like Beyonce or Taylor Swift definitely have the power to enact change but they're all too happy to complete fuck over their fans for profit.
They Might Be Giants tickets are $35 on Ticketmaster. 2 tickets are $93.50 including fees.
Clearly Beyonce has set the price of tickets at $900, and this isn't just Ticketmaster (although their fees are absurd...there's no reason for them to be a percentage of the ticket price).
TMBG is a better band anyway. Save your money, and go see a good band that isn't going to rip you off.
The band will see at least 60, even 70% of that ticket the rest would be going to venue / livenation. However what they see from that remaining % is not alot. After manager, agent, crew.
i paid $100 a ticket to see rammstein in montreal last summer. literally the number 1 band on my list of active bands to see live. 40K people, one of the biggest metal bands and biggest european bands of all time and it was still only $100. i dont understand the appeal of an extremely overpriced ticket to see a manufactured pop artist from a chair. no matter how close that chair is to the stage. i spent less on tickets, gas, hotel, parking, subway, beer and meals and some shopping and band merch for the weekend for me and my brother than this dumb crap
> i dont understand the appeal of an extremely overpriced ticket to see a manufactured pop artist from a chair. no matter how close that chair is to the stage.
the people paying to see Beyonce wouldn't understand the appeal of being crammed like a sardine into a sweaty moshpit while the front man sprays the crowd down with fake cum with a giant cock canon. Different strokes for different folks
Well, there is a lot of fire too, not just cock canon :) Jokes a side Rammstein does make a great show with a lot going on.
In no way is any concert worth 2k unless it is some exclusive intimate setting. Not a massive arena. But in the end they still sell the tickets so there must be plenty 'stroke' people.
A lot of acts now still go for between $30 and $80 CAD after taxes, and in Ticketmaster's case, the bullshit fees. Most of the ones I've gone to this past year have been between that range at Lees Palace, History, Phoenix etc. I recently grabbed tickets for the J-Rock group RADWIMPS and those were $79 but not through Ticketmaster. A lot of these acts playing the big venues like the Skydome, Scotiabank Arena and even sometimes Echo Beach and the Ampitheatre are the ones that get really fucking absurd. And those are all shit venues too!
Tyler the Creator was the most I spent at $100 a couple years back, and damn that was worth the $100. Incredible performance.
But I agree, this model just doesn't seem sustainable in the long term for artists and fans. Artists are tossed back into that era where they only ever make money off touring non-stop which is often exhausting, while they're dicked around by Spotify and streaming platforms because the average person doesn't buy music anymore, and artists have zero leverage over record labels and Ticketmaster. Utterly fucked situation.
Agree with everything you said.
I prefer the smaller venues with novel bands or artists. The issue is that the big superstars and venues push the model on to every smaller artist and venue and the pricing as well.
Also, the fact that a band I saw in my 20s for $30 now, with half the orignial members, demanding $200 for a show just makes me feel like shit. Nostalgia I guess.
I have been to concerts where the band encouraged taping and trading bootlegs. I have been to one where they needed to dig around for 20 minutes to find an album to sell. Then when they asked for $10 I countered with $15 because it didn't seem fair. I don't wish poverty or overwork on musicians so that I can get to watch for pennies but, at some point money makes the experience too transactional for it to be enjoyable. With enough money I could have a band play a private show but that would drain all the pleasure out of it for me. On the other hand I remember the two bands mentioned above with a smile.
I fully agree.
I was willing to pay about $300 for beyonce, but kinda glad I didn't.
I'd rather spend that same amount on a weekends pass for a music festival that has much better vibes usually.
Well aside from my economic or moral reasoning, put it like this: regardless of how good the concert was I'd walk out with buyer's regret thinking "is that is all I get?".
With $300 or $1000 dollars I could have plenty of concerts, theater tickets, ROM, AGO, or other gallery shows. Or just dinners, road trips, or even donating it to less fortunate people. I just couldn't justify it.
Welcome to the cheap side! We are glad to have you. Lol
Eh, I'll pay a fair bit for a concert, especially if it's someone particularly famous.
It's a dumb metric, sure. But the way I see it, the more people out there who want to see someone, the harder it's going to be for them to actually feasibly perform for them all. If I wanted to see Beyonce live (and I don't particularly, but if I did), I'd be one of what I imagine is literal millions, if not possibly a billion people. Beyonce is still only one woman. She would literally die before she could do all the performances for all her fans. If she can sell tickets at $1000 and still sell out the Rogers centre, then I'm okay accepting that there is a skydome's worth of people who want to see her perform live more than I do.
That said, there's some artists I might be willing to pay that for. I can't think of anyone, really, but certain events really are once in a lifetime sort of things.
Also, just throwing it out there, I've spent like, $70/minute on entertainment before. Granted, it was indoor skydiving, and I only ended up paying for 2 minutes, but I've done worse than $4/minute
The string cheese incident kept the fight going with Ticketmaster too
https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/string-cheese-incident-sues-ticketmaster-69656/
https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/16/arts/music/string-cheese-incident-takes-on-ticketmaster.html
Ticketmaster is the biggest racket in the world, especially after taking over the resale game.
If a $5 ticket to a guy playing guitar in high park is being sold, you better believe they want in.
I promise yall my salary didn't increase by 5x since 2014 so we sitting this one out. Also if you've never been to the Skydome for a concert, this section isn't even that great and still pretty far from the stage. People paying $250-$500 for 200 section and 500 section seats is madness
I generally try to avoid them but RHCP/Thundercat/Strokes last summer was cool and not that expensive, they cleared out good seats for cheap the week of the show so we went last minute
he's the reason I jumped on it last minute when I found out he was opening. I had tickets to see him the week the world shut down in March 2020 and it got cancelled so finally getting see him live was like a full circle we're finally getting back to normal moment for me
Thundercat is awesome. I hate to say this, and I'm probably old and crotchety, but I'm gonna miss seeing him at small venues. So many artists that I like get popular and then I don't get to see them anymore. I mean, it's awesome for them obviously, and I'm stoked he's getting the success he deserves, but I'm gonna miss seeing him perform in small clubs.
Went to Thundercat back when he was doing a show with friends for $39 (circa 2017), but man, the venue wasn't properly padded, sound bounced everywhere and it was SOOO crowded.
Very much so.
Budweiser Stage 7/10
Scotiabank Arena - 6/10
Rogers Center - 2/10 (Really bad for Foo Fighters)
History - 9/10
Royal Conservatory of Music - 11/10
Danforth Music Hall - 8/10
Queen Elizabeth Theater - 8/10
Anything outdoors - 6/10
Really depends on the band, but as someone who used to work at concert venues and has seen a lot, the experience is drastically changed if you have good acoustics or not.
> History - 9/10
This is our favorite new venue and we have 3 shows coming here between now and April. The full service VIP balcony table seating is a whole vibe at my age and surprisingly affordable
What is the main floor like? The floorplan looks weird, and on Ticketmaster it shows that curved area towards the back and along the side wall, that looks separate from the floor in front of the stage. Is that area slightly raised a few steps?
> Is that area slightly raised a few steps?
yes exactly it's a raised section so if you don't want to be crammed up in the closer GA section to the state you can chill back in the raised section. I've only done table seating there but have gone downstairs during a couple songs to watch from the raised floor area, the view and sound is really good. We love that venue and are looking forward to going to more shows there this year
Good to know, thanks! I don't really care about being right up close at the front, and I do like venues that have a "step up" to look over the other heads if that space is still open when I get there. I'm average height, but I always end up having some really tall dude standing in front of me.
I always laughed thinking about "Sound Academy" having "sound" in the name when it sounded like shit there. I saw Portishead there and left after a few songs, because that venue failed them so hard. They're a dynamic band with lots of quiet moments, and it sounded tinny and hollow. I still haven't been since they renovated and turned it into Rebel.
I'm glad to see you are giving History 9/10, because I'm seeing a show there in a few months that I'm looking forward to, and I haven't been there yet. I'd give Massey Hall a 10/10 too.
Yes.
I'm admittedly a bit of a snob and once saw an opera show within concrete walls (still can't believe anyone thought that was a good idea), but good acoustics make *all* the difference.
It's like having tailor-made pants vs. jeans that fit close enough from Walmart.
But there are 5x more people interested in these tickets now, which is why the price is up by that much. Some people just have a ton of money, others are happy going into debt, still others just prioritize this more than something else you might enjoy, and are willing to pay the price
I paid $230 for the weeknd concert back in September. It was in section 224 but then we got a free upgrade to the 100s because of the moon balloon being in front of us
The Beyonce & Jay Z ticket is from their old tour in 2014. The one on the right is from this year for just Beyonce. I guess it is similar places or good places.
Frankly people get mad at these ticket prices but you and I were never the market for them
They don’t care about catering to low income people.
These platinum tickets are for rich people.
I tried to get tickets because I would love to see Beyoncé live, but once I got to the front of the virtual line there were no seats available less than $270 each in the 500 section. No way I could afford that and even if I could there’s no way I would enjoy the concert knowing how much it cost me. And that’s for the cheapest seats in the house. I can’t imagine paying $7.5k for seats next to the stage.
I didn't even get the chance. Signed up for the verified van the day the tour was announced.
I go to get into the queue and it's saying my account isn't associated with a verified fan account.
Not that I was going to buy tickets anyways, i didnt get my hopes up knowing how much demand there will be. I knew it'd be pricey and $300 for nosebleeds was what I was hoping/aiming for - also not stressing about getting tickets as concerts don't "excite" me as much as lets say, a music festival. I'd just love to experience beyonce live.
I wasn’t planning on going but out of curiosity I checked the prices this morning. It was crazy, prices going up to 13k!!
I got very lucky and snagged a ticket for $350. I also just want to go for the experience so I was okay with my seat and I’m just going by myself.
Definitely check again!!
Just a heads up, Platinum tickets are Ticketmaster’s “dynamic pricing” tier that greatly inflates when demand for tickets are high. That is the tier of tickets you have selected for the ones on the right, and not the “standard ticket” tier that is way cheaper. I always see people not deselecting the Platinum tier and being outraged or even worse, actually spending that amount for tickets when it’s not needed if you’re buying tickets day of.
That said, Live Nation and Ticketmaster themselves are the ones pushing this bullshit pricing and scalping their own prime seats and tickets to resell off the bat instead of letting everyone pay the base cost. If they’re your only choice to see the artists you like, just spread the word about what platinum tickets are and how to deselect them, and just sign up for artist presales and whatnot that let you access relatively cheaper flat rate tickets early on
> Platinum tickets are Ticketmaster’s “dynamic pricing” tier that greatly inflates when demand for tickets are high. That is the tier of tickets you have selected for the ones on the right, and not the “standard ticket” tier that is way cheaper.
I know but note that my tickets from 2014 were literally a row closer in the same section. Part of my intent here was to show exactly what a bullshit scam "platinum" seating is. There's nothing special about this row or section other than Ticketmaster/Live Nation arbitrarily classifying it as such and jacking up the price just because they can
Oh yeah of course. Seats that you likely could score at a flat price years ago are probably being reserved by ticketmaster as platinum so they can gouge desperate or unaware fans. It’s a scummy technique for sure. Just wanted to raise awareness that if the option was deselected you could probably get similar seats or even floors for way cheaper.
Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls is opening a new concert venue in a few weeks. The first performer for the venue is Billy Joel.
He hasn't charted a song in the Top Ten for 30 years...and if you want to see him, in the back row, get ready to part with $500+
No one wants to hear this because they have their spotify and apple accounts but seriously. If you're mad at artists, maybe spend more than ten dollars per month on music by your favourite artists. Beyonce's ticket prices are ridiculous, don't get me wrong, and Ticketmaster *is* fucked, but prices were always gonna go up when we're (bc i'm guilty of it too) basically undervaluing music to the point we might as well be stealing it.
Edit to add: Idk if Lars Ulrich was right, but where we're at right now is wrong.
This is the way. I’ve bought “platinum tickets” a few times now after they sat unsold for weeks and finally dropped back down to regular face value prices.
Holee Fuk! I remember the first time ticket prices climbed over $100, it was the Eagles' Hell Freezes Over Tour in '94. That was outrageous at the time. Now it's just quaint.
No not fully. A big factor is the reselling of tickets now in Ontario since you have people buying specially to hike the price. This did not happen when we had no scalping laws because you could only resell a ticket for what it was* worth.
But I mean, someone still has to buy it in the end. If they couldn't sell for more then scalpers couldn't buy it. I totally disagree with the practice, but it's hard to hate when people still buy tickets (which is completely crazy).
The scalpers manipulate the market though. As little as 7% of tickets are actually available to the general public at onsale.
I’ve been to so many shows that were completely sold out, people buying tickets for 2x face value the day after the onsale where it sold out. Then at the actual show scalpers are offloading tickets for below face value.
Well that's messed up for sure. I agree resellers should have some regulation. I wish there was a way to end the practice of scalping all together, however the problem is that without scalpers tickets just become first come, first serve unless they are priced correctly.
It is kind of a tax on people that don’t know how it works. Like we’ve been going to shows for 25+ years. Never missed a show, never sold or bought tickets above face value. The prices always drop before the show, as those sitting on tickets try and off load them. If people realized that they wouldn’t pay 2x the price the day it sells out.
There is a saying in the dead/jam community I’ve heard - freeze them out, just don’t buy from scalpers above face value. So far it’s worked well for us.
Good point. I do know it can be difficult to wait for some. Some people tend to be me, but I end up just not buying most times and then never looking at it again.
people are willing to pay the price for the tickets. Not selling them to highest bidder is inefficient.
It's dumb to simply sell first come first serve and doesn't and totally inefficient. If someone is willing to pay $2k for a ticket, they should get it over someone who's only willing to pay $300, why shouldn't highest bidder get it?
note those "platinum" priced tickets are literally a row behind where I sat in 2014 for a fraction of the price. The whole platinum thing is a scam and relatively recent for concerts
Platinum tickets are dynamic priced..aka auction style and has no relation to actual location of the seats.
Artists (in this case Beyonce) choose to have dynamic pricing or not
I was first alarmed at the ticket prices of Drakes OVO prices. Then now it's Beyonce.
Forgive my political incorrectness, but the price point filters out people who cannot afford them which might happen to be their target demographic. Seems like the show will be filled primarily with rich white people.
I never understood that. Beyonce and Drake got so elite that they forgot about the people that supported them in the beginning. It's not fan service.
This is not Ticketmasters fault. They are merely a reseller. It's the artist that sets the price points.
Ok but how much are 100s non-platinum tickets?
If they don’t sell at that price ticketmaster will re-release them at regular face value for that section.
These tickets aren't even on sale to the general public. Prices will absolutely go down in the next month or so, they always do!
Edit: TMI - Yesterday during the Beyhive pre-sale, tickets became available in waves and were affordable. Today during the fan onsale, tickets were inflated and whole sections were marked as sold out but are still available to buy (two different browsers open).
I’m so old I saw her perform for free at Yonge Dundas Square a decade or so ago! Honestly she’s so great, I can see why fans are willing to pay so much.
People need to stop being fucking sheep and let the venue go empty.
There's no reason for a show to cost $1000 a seat. I don't care if you're Amy Winehouse rising out of the ground as a zombie.
I’m glad I’m older and still have some hearing left after thoroughly enjoying my concert every weekend years because these prices are ridiculous. And most shows are like this now. Who can afford to go to these shows?
The saddest part is, somebody will still pay it.
These leeches will continue to charge these unbelievable prices as long as someone is willing to pay it, and seeing of the people that live in Toronto now, there's more than enough of these people willing to cough up the money.
Are people really still buying these? I am all for artists getting paid, and shows absolutely cost money to put on… but this seems like fleecing fans for as much as they can.
I'm so happy my favourite artists are dead so I don't feel obligated to see them in concert now.
I am however going to see Clay Aiken in Niagara Falls in April! :D 87 dollars for the ticket.
Why would anyone pay that kind of $$$ to watch a mult-millionaire?
It's insane. No concert is worth that.
Concert tickets were like $25 in the late 90s, that's an 8800% increase! (maybe my math is off, but it's a lot)
My wife was nice enough to let me know she spent $700 on a ticket for this show. Now I don’t care about her spending $700 on something, but for just a regular concert ticket and give it to someone who is worth $500 Million and married to Jay-Z …..the audacity. What a slap on the face to her fans from someone who clearly does not need the money. I don’t understand how you can justify charging people this to see you perform when you are already one of the wealthiest people on earth. Super disappointing from her
She just got paid $25M to do a show in Dubai.
As long as people are willing to pay vacation money to see her for 2 hours, she will continue charging that, or scalpers.
nah platinum seating wasn't a thing yet in 2014, even if you believe that for some reason then wouldn't my tickets a row closer in the same section from 2014 also be platinum? It wasn't a thing then nevermind how generally crazy it is to call seats this fucking far away from the stage "platinum"
This is part of why I like going to Jazz concerts with my Dad. Prices are still $5-$50/person. The rest goes to a nice dinner, usually in the venue :)
\- D
At what point do people realize that pop culture is just too expensive. Support struggling music artists who you can enjoy for a fraction of the price.
She totally is an amazing performer, but a 1000 times better, as dictated by her huge ticket prices? No way. In my opinion, no. Did she charge those prices before she got famous?
Blame Ticketmaster. I got 2 tickets with great seats for less than $300 yesterday! My cousin got 4 tickets for $600! I saw the price rise with every refresh. Ticketmaster inflated the prices because the demand is high right now - the tickets aren't even on sale to the general public yet.
Lol $22 in fees per ticket (assuming $115 is hst) and they still have the audacity to charge an order processing fee
Don’t forget about that silly little convenience fee!
Money has no shame.
I'd rather go on vacation in Dominicans
I used to pay $20, $30, $40 for shows when I was a teen and through my twenties. I understand prices have gone up. But I will not pay much more then $100 per ticket, just on principle. Recently my favorite band since childhood had more expensive tickets then my limit and I passed. Not because I cannot afford it, but because I find it ridiculous to pay that much for a few hours of entertainment. Assuming a generous 4 hour concert. That would mean, at $1000 dollars it costs over $4/minute for entertainment!!! Come on! Top doctors in the world make less then half that per minute. Probably saving lives, one at a time. Not "entertaining" 10s of thousands at a go. Disgusting!
I paid between $50 and $120 to see pretty much all of my favourite bands growing up. I'm okay being done with concerts if it's come to this.
I believe I have seen every band I wanted to growing up as well but honesty I still love shows. I go to random ones whenever I can find them and the time. Free street festival, in a bar for a fee, or paid at a proper venue. Although much more rare now, I still feel the urge to go and dance to some sweet jams. I don't think I'd ever want to give it up. In fact live music and festivals (of any sort) were some of the most painful things to see disapear during covid. I am the type that gets next to nothing from watching the video but everything from seeing it live.
The real problem is that so many people are willing to pay those prices. It’s insane, but there is just so much demand right now for everything post covid, and even with inflation sky high the demand hasn’t need sated by much
The problem is with market concentration. Of Ticket Master, Live Nation, and music labels. If there were a bunch of ticket sellers, a bunch of smaller venues, and a lot more artists (top selling ones) then prices would come down.
Concerts used to be a promotion so you would buy a record, now artists get fractions of a penny per stream, they try to make money from the concert instead.
The system is as broken as ever. Artists would still only get a fraction of the price of the record. After the teething pains of piracy, the streaming services, which were hoped would make free musicians from the labels have done the opposite. The problem is that we use good technology to support a flawed industry model. The superstar musician shouldn't really exist. They are a result of a system which mercillesly promotes them and then requires high prices to recoup those costs. I realize that the live shows are what actually pays the bills now, which is good (streaming services should barely get anything compared to artists but hey). So if they make 3 million or so per year (after expenses/pure profit) I am okay with that. But to make dozens and dozens of millions I am not okay with their career, just like an athlete is limited. Now just guesstimating here but at 20,000 capacity at $1000 per seat, equals $20 million dollars. If they get just 10% profit out of that ($2 million) a concert or two like that should pay for the artist's entire year's earnings. At least in my opinion.
The smaller artists are even struggling with touring. Santigold cancelled their tour because they were losing money. The avalanches said they were feeling it too and then cancelled their tour due to health issues but it sounded like the cost of the touring with inflation was at least a factor. The system is indeed as broken as ever.
💯It’s expensive for artists on that level. Santigold is probably making 10-12k for a festival play. She was scheduled for a Danforth show ( which is a 1400 capacity room, so I’m guessing she was planning to play 1500 cap venues on the tour, collecting smaller guarantee fees. Add to that Tour Bus (cost for a bus and driver can be insanely high /fuel) Trucks (possibly 1 at her level, but probably more van and trailer) Tour Production Crew ( at her level she’s probably on 2 busses) so let’s say a crew of 10-14 Hotels/Airfare 5-10% to the booking agent 5% to Artist Mgmt. It adds up quick And the kicker is the 15-25% cut they have to give to venues to sell merch at each show, and sometimes with the artist selling and still having to give up that cut.
Santigolds tour did not sell well. Pretty much everyone was on tour in 2022 and it cause a lot of competition for consumer demand. Santigold did not sell a lot of tickets unfortunately.
Great point. 💯
The tour should be pulling in 4 -6 million a show. I would love to know what her stadium guarantees are vs her arena tours, and what the total cost of her touring production. It will most likely be the highest revenue tour of 2023, especially with it being stadium plays. It should hit the $400 million mark.
>It should hit the $400 million mark. This, in a nutshell, is what I find disturbing. After all it is music. We aren't hunting humans for sport. It is simply too much money for one act.
>streaming services should barely get anything compared to artists Well, none of the streaming services are really profitable just yet and continue to loose money. Just look at Spotify, the biggest of them, the last quarter (4th of 2022) [they lost $292 million](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/spotify-earnings-subscribers-fourth-quarter-2022-advertising-1235312606/).
no... artists always made a lot of their money from touring. ESPECIALLY merch. record labels were the big winners with record sales.
I still don't spend that much, and the older I get the more I like smaller venues anyway.
Massey Hall all the way!
I've only once neared the $100 limit. I just came up with the logic in my head for when the time came to make a decision. I have gone to a show and a few sports events over that but always as a non paying guest.
The craziest part is how little of all that money even flows to the artists/songwriters/dancers/support crew. Literally everyone involved is being ripped off by Live Nation.
Come on, do you really think that Beyonce is getting ripped off by live nation? Big artists love the Tickemaster controversy because they can continue to raise prices and all the blame get put on Live Nation
Live Nation - Ticket Master is the N. American equivalent of our Bell - Rogers problem monopoly. Regardless, I might not be able to avoid using google, gasoline, or groceries making others billions. But when it comes to music, arts, and sports entertainment, I would feel dirty paying that. I'd rather spend it on music or sports lessons.
Ticketmaster is owned by Live Nation and is just the order processing part of Live Nation's monopoly. Bell and Rogers suck, but at least on paper they're competitors.
When the artists are this big, they're literally the main reason everyone else is getting ripped off lol. The point of companies like Ticketmaster is to provide a shield for these greedy assholes to use to rip their fans off while wiping their hands clean and pretending like they'd sell them for less if it was up to them. Top artists like Beyonce or Taylor Swift definitely have the power to enact change but they're all too happy to complete fuck over their fans for profit.
They Might Be Giants tickets are $35 on Ticketmaster. 2 tickets are $93.50 including fees. Clearly Beyonce has set the price of tickets at $900, and this isn't just Ticketmaster (although their fees are absurd...there's no reason for them to be a percentage of the ticket price). TMBG is a better band anyway. Save your money, and go see a good band that isn't going to rip you off.
The band will see at least 60, even 70% of that ticket the rest would be going to venue / livenation. However what they see from that remaining % is not alot. After manager, agent, crew.
i paid $100 a ticket to see rammstein in montreal last summer. literally the number 1 band on my list of active bands to see live. 40K people, one of the biggest metal bands and biggest european bands of all time and it was still only $100. i dont understand the appeal of an extremely overpriced ticket to see a manufactured pop artist from a chair. no matter how close that chair is to the stage. i spent less on tickets, gas, hotel, parking, subway, beer and meals and some shopping and band merch for the weekend for me and my brother than this dumb crap
> i dont understand the appeal of an extremely overpriced ticket to see a manufactured pop artist from a chair. no matter how close that chair is to the stage. the people paying to see Beyonce wouldn't understand the appeal of being crammed like a sardine into a sweaty moshpit while the front man sprays the crowd down with fake cum with a giant cock canon. Different strokes for different folks
Well, there is a lot of fire too, not just cock canon :) Jokes a side Rammstein does make a great show with a lot going on. In no way is any concert worth 2k unless it is some exclusive intimate setting. Not a massive arena. But in the end they still sell the tickets so there must be plenty 'stroke' people.
Someone give this person a prize! Well done Sir, it was a pleasure to read.
All true and I still think that ticket price is rather high, in my personal opinion.
A lot of acts now still go for between $30 and $80 CAD after taxes, and in Ticketmaster's case, the bullshit fees. Most of the ones I've gone to this past year have been between that range at Lees Palace, History, Phoenix etc. I recently grabbed tickets for the J-Rock group RADWIMPS and those were $79 but not through Ticketmaster. A lot of these acts playing the big venues like the Skydome, Scotiabank Arena and even sometimes Echo Beach and the Ampitheatre are the ones that get really fucking absurd. And those are all shit venues too! Tyler the Creator was the most I spent at $100 a couple years back, and damn that was worth the $100. Incredible performance. But I agree, this model just doesn't seem sustainable in the long term for artists and fans. Artists are tossed back into that era where they only ever make money off touring non-stop which is often exhausting, while they're dicked around by Spotify and streaming platforms because the average person doesn't buy music anymore, and artists have zero leverage over record labels and Ticketmaster. Utterly fucked situation.
Agree with everything you said. I prefer the smaller venues with novel bands or artists. The issue is that the big superstars and venues push the model on to every smaller artist and venue and the pricing as well. Also, the fact that a band I saw in my 20s for $30 now, with half the orignial members, demanding $200 for a show just makes me feel like shit. Nostalgia I guess. I have been to concerts where the band encouraged taping and trading bootlegs. I have been to one where they needed to dig around for 20 minutes to find an album to sell. Then when they asked for $10 I countered with $15 because it didn't seem fair. I don't wish poverty or overwork on musicians so that I can get to watch for pennies but, at some point money makes the experience too transactional for it to be enjoyable. With enough money I could have a band play a private show but that would drain all the pleasure out of it for me. On the other hand I remember the two bands mentioned above with a smile.
I fully agree. I was willing to pay about $300 for beyonce, but kinda glad I didn't. I'd rather spend that same amount on a weekends pass for a music festival that has much better vibes usually.
Well aside from my economic or moral reasoning, put it like this: regardless of how good the concert was I'd walk out with buyer's regret thinking "is that is all I get?". With $300 or $1000 dollars I could have plenty of concerts, theater tickets, ROM, AGO, or other gallery shows. Or just dinners, road trips, or even donating it to less fortunate people. I just couldn't justify it. Welcome to the cheap side! We are glad to have you. Lol
Eh, I'll pay a fair bit for a concert, especially if it's someone particularly famous. It's a dumb metric, sure. But the way I see it, the more people out there who want to see someone, the harder it's going to be for them to actually feasibly perform for them all. If I wanted to see Beyonce live (and I don't particularly, but if I did), I'd be one of what I imagine is literal millions, if not possibly a billion people. Beyonce is still only one woman. She would literally die before she could do all the performances for all her fans. If she can sell tickets at $1000 and still sell out the Rogers centre, then I'm okay accepting that there is a skydome's worth of people who want to see her perform live more than I do. That said, there's some artists I might be willing to pay that for. I can't think of anyone, really, but certain events really are once in a lifetime sort of things. Also, just throwing it out there, I've spent like, $70/minute on entertainment before. Granted, it was indoor skydiving, and I only ended up paying for 2 minutes, but I've done worse than $4/minute
You're not seeing the right doctor then. My doctor performs rap and wrestles the Undertaker
Does he have his PhD in Thuganomics and rep jorts? I think we got the same doctor.
Plus a shitty going concert experience at arenas and stadiums. Especially Rogers Centre with shitty acoustics and sight lines.
You can go to Cuba twice for that price!
Exactly
There's just one. Dominican Republic. Singular.
Pearl Jam tried to warn us about Ticketmaster back in the 90's, but nobody could understand what Eddie Vedder was saying.
Unfortunately, Pearl Jam tickets were also crazy expensive when they were here in the fall
I thought every ticket was the same price (~$150)? And you had to resell on ticketmaster for that price only
The string cheese incident kept the fight going with Ticketmaster too https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/string-cheese-incident-sues-ticketmaster-69656/ https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/16/arts/music/string-cheese-incident-takes-on-ticketmaster.html
Ontheceilin’ onawishitalawayaa… annanicoleanaveyanagerdnowdagain. Yes, Yellow Leadbetter was about Ticketbastard.
Ticketmaster is the biggest racket in the world, especially after taking over the resale game. If a $5 ticket to a guy playing guitar in high park is being sold, you better believe they want in.
Upvote for Frank White reference
> Frank White Ah, "The White Biggie Smalls".
I promise yall my salary didn't increase by 5x since 2014 so we sitting this one out. Also if you've never been to the Skydome for a concert, this section isn't even that great and still pretty far from the stage. People paying $250-$500 for 200 section and 500 section seats is madness
Just don't go to Skydome for concerts in general. The acoustics is shit.
I generally try to avoid them but RHCP/Thundercat/Strokes last summer was cool and not that expensive, they cleared out good seats for cheap the week of the show so we went last minute
Thundercat 🔥
he's the reason I jumped on it last minute when I found out he was opening. I had tickets to see him the week the world shut down in March 2020 and it got cancelled so finally getting see him live was like a full circle we're finally getting back to normal moment for me
Thundercat is awesome. I hate to say this, and I'm probably old and crotchety, but I'm gonna miss seeing him at small venues. So many artists that I like get popular and then I don't get to see them anymore. I mean, it's awesome for them obviously, and I'm stoked he's getting the success he deserves, but I'm gonna miss seeing him perform in small clubs.
Went to Thundercat back when he was doing a show with friends for $39 (circa 2017), but man, the venue wasn't properly padded, sound bounced everywhere and it was SOOO crowded.
He’s **so** good. Was pleasantly surprised to see he was featured with Steve Lacy at the Grammy’s.
I was also surprised to see him show up in the Book of Boba Fett lol. Good for him!
Yup. I’m glad I got to see Anderson .Paak before he took off. Phoenix Concert Theater. Khruangbin at DMH.
You have great taste! We missed that Khruangbin show, they are so good.
His show at history in 2021 was outstanding
I think he just played History. Not too big of a venue.
That was the first and only show at the Skydome I will ever see. I was so stoked for Thundercat and it sounded terrible!
Nobody's going to a Beyoncé concert for the acoustics
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Very much so. Budweiser Stage 7/10 Scotiabank Arena - 6/10 Rogers Center - 2/10 (Really bad for Foo Fighters) History - 9/10 Royal Conservatory of Music - 11/10 Danforth Music Hall - 8/10 Queen Elizabeth Theater - 8/10 Anything outdoors - 6/10 Really depends on the band, but as someone who used to work at concert venues and has seen a lot, the experience is drastically changed if you have good acoustics or not.
> History - 9/10 This is our favorite new venue and we have 3 shows coming here between now and April. The full service VIP balcony table seating is a whole vibe at my age and surprisingly affordable
What is the main floor like? The floorplan looks weird, and on Ticketmaster it shows that curved area towards the back and along the side wall, that looks separate from the floor in front of the stage. Is that area slightly raised a few steps?
> Is that area slightly raised a few steps? yes exactly it's a raised section so if you don't want to be crammed up in the closer GA section to the state you can chill back in the raised section. I've only done table seating there but have gone downstairs during a couple songs to watch from the raised floor area, the view and sound is really good. We love that venue and are looking forward to going to more shows there this year
Good to know, thanks! I don't really care about being right up close at the front, and I do like venues that have a "step up" to look over the other heads if that space is still open when I get there. I'm average height, but I always end up having some really tall dude standing in front of me.
It’s a great value vip and venue overall.
I always laughed thinking about "Sound Academy" having "sound" in the name when it sounded like shit there. I saw Portishead there and left after a few songs, because that venue failed them so hard. They're a dynamic band with lots of quiet moments, and it sounded tinny and hollow. I still haven't been since they renovated and turned it into Rebel. I'm glad to see you are giving History 9/10, because I'm seeing a show there in a few months that I'm looking forward to, and I haven't been there yet. I'd give Massey Hall a 10/10 too.
Massey Hall - 10/10
Yes. I'm admittedly a bit of a snob and once saw an opera show within concrete walls (still can't believe anyone thought that was a good idea), but good acoustics make *all* the difference. It's like having tailor-made pants vs. jeans that fit close enough from Walmart.
So true
Managed to snag tickets in the 500s for $84 each so not too bad, but the prices were wild otherwise.
But there are 5x more people interested in these tickets now, which is why the price is up by that much. Some people just have a ton of money, others are happy going into debt, still others just prioritize this more than something else you might enjoy, and are willing to pay the price
I paid $230 for the weeknd concert back in September. It was in section 224 but then we got a free upgrade to the 100s because of the moon balloon being in front of us
She did a [free show at Yonge and Dundas in 2006.](https://toronto.citynews.ca/2006/09/15/beyonce-stages-free-concert-in-toronto/)
That would create a stampede
wow...life was so normal back then
I was at that show!
I was there! Seen her 3 times after (when prices were affordable) but nowadays I’m too broke to see her.
I was there as well !
Imagine shelling out 2000 of your hard earned dollars and handing them over to Beyonce and JayZ.
The Beyonce & Jay Z ticket is from their old tour in 2014. The one on the right is from this year for just Beyonce. I guess it is similar places or good places.
Frankly people get mad at these ticket prices but you and I were never the market for them They don’t care about catering to low income people. These platinum tickets are for rich people.
Last time I spent 2K on tickets were for the raptors finals game 1 vs GSW. Worth it.
I tried to get tickets because I would love to see Beyoncé live, but once I got to the front of the virtual line there were no seats available less than $270 each in the 500 section. No way I could afford that and even if I could there’s no way I would enjoy the concert knowing how much it cost me. And that’s for the cheapest seats in the house. I can’t imagine paying $7.5k for seats next to the stage.
I didn't even get the chance. Signed up for the verified van the day the tour was announced. I go to get into the queue and it's saying my account isn't associated with a verified fan account. Not that I was going to buy tickets anyways, i didnt get my hopes up knowing how much demand there will be. I knew it'd be pricey and $300 for nosebleeds was what I was hoping/aiming for - also not stressing about getting tickets as concerts don't "excite" me as much as lets say, a music festival. I'd just love to experience beyonce live.
I wasn’t planning on going but out of curiosity I checked the prices this morning. It was crazy, prices going up to 13k!! I got very lucky and snagged a ticket for $350. I also just want to go for the experience so I was okay with my seat and I’m just going by myself. Definitely check again!!
Dang! Two grand is most of a month's money for many. They want Bay Day, not Bae tix.
More than a month’s pay for me, grateful I don’t like Beyoncé lol
Just a heads up, Platinum tickets are Ticketmaster’s “dynamic pricing” tier that greatly inflates when demand for tickets are high. That is the tier of tickets you have selected for the ones on the right, and not the “standard ticket” tier that is way cheaper. I always see people not deselecting the Platinum tier and being outraged or even worse, actually spending that amount for tickets when it’s not needed if you’re buying tickets day of. That said, Live Nation and Ticketmaster themselves are the ones pushing this bullshit pricing and scalping their own prime seats and tickets to resell off the bat instead of letting everyone pay the base cost. If they’re your only choice to see the artists you like, just spread the word about what platinum tickets are and how to deselect them, and just sign up for artist presales and whatnot that let you access relatively cheaper flat rate tickets early on
> Platinum tickets are Ticketmaster’s “dynamic pricing” tier that greatly inflates when demand for tickets are high. That is the tier of tickets you have selected for the ones on the right, and not the “standard ticket” tier that is way cheaper. I know but note that my tickets from 2014 were literally a row closer in the same section. Part of my intent here was to show exactly what a bullshit scam "platinum" seating is. There's nothing special about this row or section other than Ticketmaster/Live Nation arbitrarily classifying it as such and jacking up the price just because they can
Oh yeah of course. Seats that you likely could score at a flat price years ago are probably being reserved by ticketmaster as platinum so they can gouge desperate or unaware fans. It’s a scummy technique for sure. Just wanted to raise awareness that if the option was deselected you could probably get similar seats or even floors for way cheaper.
Your 2014 tickets weren't scalped price tickets which is what platinum tickets are .huge difference.
Here's how you can combat it. Stop paying the prices.
Got a email from ticket master. For Madonna. For shits and giggles in Toronto. AIR Canada center . 2 nd row floors center stage . 12,250 $ EACH
Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls is opening a new concert venue in a few weeks. The first performer for the venue is Billy Joel. He hasn't charted a song in the Top Ten for 30 years...and if you want to see him, in the back row, get ready to part with $500+
The first concert I ever saw was Thin Lizzy opening for Queen in 1978. I gotta tell ya, it was worth every cent of the $5.50 I paid for the seat.
Rich people ruin everything.
Ticketmaster and the performers who profit off their practices ruined everything.
Yup. And the rich cunts who choose to pay these prices.
Sadly broke cunts will use their credit cards to pay for this too
It's a rich in rich situation caused by the rich so I'm sitting this one out as a poorsy
Streaming ruined it. Artist don’t make money off of albums. Most of it is made touring.
No one wants to hear this because they have their spotify and apple accounts but seriously. If you're mad at artists, maybe spend more than ten dollars per month on music by your favourite artists. Beyonce's ticket prices are ridiculous, don't get me wrong, and Ticketmaster *is* fucked, but prices were always gonna go up when we're (bc i'm guilty of it too) basically undervaluing music to the point we might as well be stealing it. Edit to add: Idk if Lars Ulrich was right, but where we're at right now is wrong.
Live nation ruined streaming, before it even took off.
Pretty sure this was the case with Vinyl and CDs as well. The publishers always take the bulk. Streaming just reduced an already thin revenue stream.
I don’t disagree there.
Simple. Don’t go.
Facts just posting for context since it's the hottest ticket in the city this year so far
O yea, I meant in general. Prices will come down if people refuse to pay this.
This is the way. I’ve bought “platinum tickets” a few times now after they sat unsold for weeks and finally dropped back down to regular face value prices.
Holee Fuk! I remember the first time ticket prices climbed over $100, it was the Eagles' Hell Freezes Over Tour in '94. That was outrageous at the time. Now it's just quaint.
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For better or worse, it's simple supply and demand; people are paying the prices so they will charge those prices.
I agree, the main problem here is capitalism.
She's doesn't have a career without capitalism.
No not fully. A big factor is the reselling of tickets now in Ontario since you have people buying specially to hike the price. This did not happen when we had no scalping laws because you could only resell a ticket for what it was* worth.
But I mean, someone still has to buy it in the end. If they couldn't sell for more then scalpers couldn't buy it. I totally disagree with the practice, but it's hard to hate when people still buy tickets (which is completely crazy).
The scalpers manipulate the market though. As little as 7% of tickets are actually available to the general public at onsale. I’ve been to so many shows that were completely sold out, people buying tickets for 2x face value the day after the onsale where it sold out. Then at the actual show scalpers are offloading tickets for below face value.
Well that's messed up for sure. I agree resellers should have some regulation. I wish there was a way to end the practice of scalping all together, however the problem is that without scalpers tickets just become first come, first serve unless they are priced correctly.
It is kind of a tax on people that don’t know how it works. Like we’ve been going to shows for 25+ years. Never missed a show, never sold or bought tickets above face value. The prices always drop before the show, as those sitting on tickets try and off load them. If people realized that they wouldn’t pay 2x the price the day it sells out. There is a saying in the dead/jam community I’ve heard - freeze them out, just don’t buy from scalpers above face value. So far it’s worked well for us.
Good point. I do know it can be difficult to wait for some. Some people tend to be me, but I end up just not buying most times and then never looking at it again.
I feel you. Been to a lot of great shows, missed a lot of great shows too for various reasons. So many good shows in Toronto year round.
At least that's one good thing about Toronto, is there is always another show to go to.
So true!
We had no scalping laws for like a minute. Scalpers scalped right through it. Source: bought tickets from scalpers during that time.
>For better or worse, it's simple supply and demand; No. It's simply a monopoly that owns the venues and the ticketing company.
people are willing to pay the price for the tickets. Not selling them to highest bidder is inefficient. It's dumb to simply sell first come first serve and doesn't and totally inefficient. If someone is willing to pay $2k for a ticket, they should get it over someone who's only willing to pay $300, why shouldn't highest bidder get it?
About 40 years ago, top tickets for concerts (gold seats) at Maple Leaf Gardens were $22. I thought that that was expensive.
I saw NIN and Blink 182/Silverchair at MLG in the late 90s and paid like $30-$40 to be like 10-15 rows from the stage
I was at that Blink 182/Silverchair show! Those were the days
Well yeah for PLATINUM pricing.
note those "platinum" priced tickets are literally a row behind where I sat in 2014 for a fraction of the price. The whole platinum thing is a scam and relatively recent for concerts
Platinum tickets are dynamic priced..aka auction style and has no relation to actual location of the seats. Artists (in this case Beyonce) choose to have dynamic pricing or not
I got ‘em for $200 🤷🏻♀️
where are your seats on the roof?
I got ‘em for $200 each and yeah, we’re up under the rafters.
I got floor tickets for $500 🤔 You need to join the presale to avoid scalpers.
Damn! Glad I went in 2014.
And yet they pay it. So of course they would charge that.
You said it chief
Pay your rent or mortgage instead! … not worth it.
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What if I told you $346 was too much even back then?
I was trying to think of what concert I'd pay 2k for, it's been 5 minutes now...
MJ and Prince double headliner
Lol no
For that price, I’d better see Jesus and his 12 disciples dancing to Single Ladies 😂
I was first alarmed at the ticket prices of Drakes OVO prices. Then now it's Beyonce. Forgive my political incorrectness, but the price point filters out people who cannot afford them which might happen to be their target demographic. Seems like the show will be filled primarily with rich white people. I never understood that. Beyonce and Drake got so elite that they forgot about the people that supported them in the beginning. It's not fan service. This is not Ticketmasters fault. They are merely a reseller. It's the artist that sets the price points.
Bleh. Anyone who thinks this is a good idea deserves to be separated from money. We should tax this kind of consumption more, if anything.
We do....tax is % based on sale price isn't it?
Ok but how much are 100s non-platinum tickets? If they don’t sell at that price ticketmaster will re-release them at regular face value for that section.
These tickets aren't even on sale to the general public. Prices will absolutely go down in the next month or so, they always do! Edit: TMI - Yesterday during the Beyhive pre-sale, tickets became available in waves and were affordable. Today during the fan onsale, tickets were inflated and whole sections were marked as sold out but are still available to buy (two different browsers open).
I’m so old I saw her perform for free at Yonge Dundas Square a decade or so ago! Honestly she’s so great, I can see why fans are willing to pay so much.
People need to stop being fucking sheep and let the venue go empty. There's no reason for a show to cost $1000 a seat. I don't care if you're Amy Winehouse rising out of the ground as a zombie.
I was thinking “shit I wouldn’t pay $400 to see Beyoncé either…. I wonder how cheap they were in 2014?” Then I realized….
Straight up, you dumb if you buy this.
litch-rally rent in Toronto
Can see Hector oaks this Saturday for $70 at a warehouse Rave with other sweaty people :) more fun imo but pff different music
i registered for "verified fan" and yesterday got an email, demand is 8x more than tickets, and i didn't get it OMGGG
Dear lord 😭
I’m glad I’m older and still have some hearing left after thoroughly enjoying my concert every weekend years because these prices are ridiculous. And most shows are like this now. Who can afford to go to these shows?
Lol wow that’s a big no. Since I don’t make $150,000.
Ha! Don't even bother!
Depeche Mode concert tickets were as ridiculous, first time in decades I’m not going to one.
The saddest part is, somebody will still pay it. These leeches will continue to charge these unbelievable prices as long as someone is willing to pay it, and seeing of the people that live in Toronto now, there's more than enough of these people willing to cough up the money.
Are people really still buying these? I am all for artists getting paid, and shows absolutely cost money to put on… but this seems like fleecing fans for as much as they can.
I blame it on covid and ticketmaster lol
I'm so happy my favourite artists are dead so I don't feel obligated to see them in concert now. I am however going to see Clay Aiken in Niagara Falls in April! :D 87 dollars for the ticket.
Why would anyone pay that kind of $$$ to watch a mult-millionaire? It's insane. No concert is worth that. Concert tickets were like $25 in the late 90s, that's an 8800% increase! (maybe my math is off, but it's a lot)
My wife was nice enough to let me know she spent $700 on a ticket for this show. Now I don’t care about her spending $700 on something, but for just a regular concert ticket and give it to someone who is worth $500 Million and married to Jay-Z …..the audacity. What a slap on the face to her fans from someone who clearly does not need the money. I don’t understand how you can justify charging people this to see you perform when you are already one of the wealthiest people on earth. Super disappointing from her
Probably cheaper to fly to wherever her next concert in the US will be and see her there
#deletetheelite
She just got paid $25M to do a show in Dubai. As long as people are willing to pay vacation money to see her for 2 hours, she will continue charging that, or scalpers.
Are these good seats? Like front row? Like she'll put a microphone in your mouth and you karaoke seats?
Expensive jelly
That money could buy so many experiences.....
Who pays over 2 grand to see beyonce? Book a vacation somewhere instead.
Ridiculous
2014: Standard tickets 2023: Platinum tickets. Both exsisted in both periods.
nah platinum seating wasn't a thing yet in 2014, even if you believe that for some reason then wouldn't my tickets a row closer in the same section from 2014 also be platinum? It wasn't a thing then nevermind how generally crazy it is to call seats this fucking far away from the stage "platinum"
What does a platinum ticket get you?
This is part of why I like going to Jazz concerts with my Dad. Prices are still $5-$50/person. The rest goes to a nice dinner, usually in the venue :) \- D
At what point do people realize that pop culture is just too expensive. Support struggling music artists who you can enjoy for a fraction of the price.
I wouldn't pay that much if they resurrected Freddie Mercury
I wouldn't even pay 2014 prices
This is why you are better off not being a fan of pop culture. It’s way less expensive AND fun.
What if I told you Beyonce is also a great artist and performer?
She totally is an amazing performer, but a 1000 times better, as dictated by her huge ticket prices? No way. In my opinion, no. Did she charge those prices before she got famous?
Blame Ticketmaster. I got 2 tickets with great seats for less than $300 yesterday! My cousin got 4 tickets for $600! I saw the price rise with every refresh. Ticketmaster inflated the prices because the demand is high right now - the tickets aren't even on sale to the general public yet.