“People are willing to spend a lot of money because they know they’re going to get quality content, and also who knows if after this tour they’ll do another one,” said Mario Ihieme, a London-based Beyoncé fan.
UK leisure and culture prices rose 6.8% in the year to May 2023, the biggest rise in 30 years, with the biggest effect from cultural services, “particularly tickets to live music events.”
Event prices in the UK inflation data are based on the time the shows take place, not the time the tickets are purchased. However, as different artists perform each month, it is difficult to compare one with the other, according to a spokesman for the Office for National Statistics.
“The (subjective) quality of music artists highlights how difficult it is to calculate a ‘clean’ price rise,” said Paul Donovan, chief economist at UBS Global Wealth Management. “And for UK inflation, the pressures may persist,” he added, pointing to a series of UK concerts by singer Harry Styles in June.
A glance at ticketing websites reveals the impact of prices. On Stubhub, the cheapest seat to a Taylor Swift concert in Seattle in July is $1,200; tickets for a concert in Mexico City in August cost $500 each.
“I had to get nine phone numbers for three different Ticketmaster accounts with three different credit cards,” explains Joel Barrios, a Beyoncé fan in Los Angeles. He spent about $7,000 on three shows in the United States for himself and his friends, as well as another $6,650 on various shows in Europe.
Others say it was easier for them. Carolina Candelas spent 92 euros ($101) each to see Beyoncé with her sisters and parents in Barcelona. “My sister bought them from a pre-sale link that Ticketmaster sent her, so I think it was pretty easy,” she said.
But because live music is just a subset of general entertainment spending, which accounts for a smaller share of consumer spending compared to housing or food, some questioned the idea that concert prices could have an appreciable effect on inflation.
Andy Gensler, executive editor of Pollstar, a publication that tracks the global concert industry, called it a “ridiculous claim” that Beyoncé’s shows can affect inflation. While ticket prices have risen, he said, the mid-year numbers have not shown an appreciable increase since May 2022, when US inflation was 8.6%.
With demand far exceeding supply, TD Cowen’s vice president of equity research Stephen Glagola said secondary market ticket prices had soared to an average of 75% to 100% above value. nominal.
The US Department of Labor does not specifically measure concert price inflation, but the rate of increase in the cost of live performance tickets is currently 2.6 percentage points higher than overall US inflation. The difference has increased this year as the general price index has fallen.
Across Asia, audiences flock to see the likes of Bruno Mars, Coldplay and the Backstreet Boys.
“If it hadn’t been for the concert, I wouldn’t have traveled,” says Fairuz Zahari, a 36-year-old Malaysian who has visited numerous countries to attend concerts, most recently Ed Sheeran’s in Australia.
In India, fans are willing to pay more for a quality show, according to Owen Roncon, head of BookMyShow’s Live Entertainment business.
“Average ticket prices for the Backstreet Boys’ DNA World Tour in India ranged from Rs 7,000-8,000 ($85-98), which is very healthy growth,” Roncon says of the May concert. .
A recent survey by the US event management company Eventbrite showed that 80% of consumers want to go out as much or more this year, even if they have to bear the cost and difficulty of obtaining tickets for big events.
Live Nation Entertainment LYV.N CEO Michael Rapino stated last month that ticket sales had increased 41% in the first quarter, with prices rising in double digits.
In Britain, some 150,000 music fans paid 340 pounds ($431) for a ticket to the Glastonbury festival in June to see Elton John and hundreds of other artists.