Concert Ticket Prices are Outrageous
Jul. 16th, 2026 12:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerConcert ticket prices are outrageous. I was reminded of this several days ago when Hawk looked up the prices to see a recording artist she likes who's on tour. The cheapest tickets were over $500. And those were for nosebleed seats. Floor seats were over $2,000.
Everyone agrees that concert ticket prices are outrageous. Let me put the level of outrageousness into perspective. I'll do the math with a comparison on what I paid to see major-name concerts years ago.
1992 was when I first attended concerts on my own, as a young adult. I saw 2 or 3 shows that year in two different cities. The tickets ranged from $19.50 to $23. Yes, I remember the prices after all these years.... Attending these concerts with no parents involved was a right of passage!
As a first pass comparison, government inflation statistics show that average prices are 2.4x higher now than than. So in today's dollars those tickets would be $47 - $55... if they followed the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Instead they are 10x higher than the CPI.
Oh, but wait— those tickets I bought cheaply in 1992 were floor seats. Buying similar seats in 2006 are 40x the price adjusted for inflation.
But here's an even more salient comparison: How much does a young adult have to work to afford a concert ticket?
In 1992 the minimum wage was $4.25. A young adult working a min-wage job in 1992 could buy a concert ticket—floor seats, not nosebleed— with about 5 hours of labor, give or take 30 minutes. That was something a young adult, even a college student, working part-time in food service or retail or light office work, could afford. Attending a concert was a "Let's have a nice night out" proposition.
Today, in 2026, the federal minimum wage is $7.25, buying a floor seat ticket costs 276 hours of labor. Even the nosebleed seats cost 69 hours of work. This takes attending a concert out of the realm of, "Let's have a nice night out" and puts it into the realm of, "I'm saving up to go on an overseas vacation."
But local min-wage is often higher, you might object. That's true. The two places I lived & worked in 1992 now have min-wage laws of $13 ~ $16. In the area I live now various cities have minimums around $19/hour. Even using the higher figure means those floor seats are the equivalent of 105 hours of work. And that's not even counting taxes!
Everyone agrees that concert ticket prices are outrageous. Let me put the level of outrageousness into perspective. I'll do the math with a comparison on what I paid to see major-name concerts years ago.
1992 was when I first attended concerts on my own, as a young adult. I saw 2 or 3 shows that year in two different cities. The tickets ranged from $19.50 to $23. Yes, I remember the prices after all these years.... Attending these concerts with no parents involved was a right of passage!
As a first pass comparison, government inflation statistics show that average prices are 2.4x higher now than than. So in today's dollars those tickets would be $47 - $55... if they followed the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Instead they are 10x higher than the CPI.
Oh, but wait— those tickets I bought cheaply in 1992 were floor seats. Buying similar seats in 2006 are 40x the price adjusted for inflation.
But here's an even more salient comparison: How much does a young adult have to work to afford a concert ticket?
In 1992 the minimum wage was $4.25. A young adult working a min-wage job in 1992 could buy a concert ticket—floor seats, not nosebleed— with about 5 hours of labor, give or take 30 minutes. That was something a young adult, even a college student, working part-time in food service or retail or light office work, could afford. Attending a concert was a "Let's have a nice night out" proposition.
Today, in 2026, the federal minimum wage is $7.25, buying a floor seat ticket costs 276 hours of labor. Even the nosebleed seats cost 69 hours of work. This takes attending a concert out of the realm of, "Let's have a nice night out" and puts it into the realm of, "I'm saving up to go on an overseas vacation."
But local min-wage is often higher, you might object. That's true. The two places I lived & worked in 1992 now have min-wage laws of $13 ~ $16. In the area I live now various cities have minimums around $19/hour. Even using the higher figure means those floor seats are the equivalent of 105 hours of work. And that's not even counting taxes!
no subject
Date: 2026-07-16 09:57 pm (UTC)Yes ...
Date: 2026-07-17 02:34 am (UTC)What we have today are concerts mostly for rich people, because few others can afford them. That tends to take live music out of the reach of ordinary people.
There are some other options though. Recently we attended an art fair at a winery. They had THREE music venues all staffed with excellent performers: an al fresco site, indoors in the lounge, and the big stage that was setting up an orchestra facing a tent with tables and chairs. Cost of admission? Nothing. It was just a value-added part of their event. Apparently the winery does music nights every Friday so they know plenty of performers. And the Marshall Farmer's Market has a performance by the town orchestra afterwards.
Maybe as concerts become less feasible for most people, they'll return to local performers or making their own music. That would be nice.
Re: Yes ...
Date: 2026-07-17 05:23 am (UTC)Re: Yes ...
Date: 2026-07-17 05:36 am (UTC)The current bullshit is downright abusive.
I just though of this -- you could post your analysis over on