(NewsNation) — Going out has gotten more expensive; from football games to concerts, fans are paying higher prices for tickets.
Demand to attend live music concerts following the pandemic increased amid low ticket inventory.
Live Nation Entertainment, the parent company of Ticketmaster, said prices likely won’t be decreasing anytime soon.
The company said concert ticket sales for the third quarter of 2022 were up 37% compared to 2022, and ticket sales for concerts scheduled for 2023 are packing up double digits compared to the previous year, CNBC reported.
Over the summer, performers like the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Coldplay saw high demand for tickets with multiple tours selling more than 500,000 tickets, pushing Live Nation to record its highest quarterly attendance ever – more than 44 million fans across 11,000 events, CNBC reported.
Other high-profile acts like Taylor Swift already booked for stadiums next year and the potential for artists like Beyoncé also expected to go on tour will likely push other acts into the following years – resulting in no end to the high demand for tickets.
“You’re never going to have a bunch of tours on the same weekend piled on. So that just meant we have more inventory to spread into ’22, ‘23, and we’re talking ’24 now,” Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino told CNBC analysts. So, I would say we have a backlog that needs to still work through the system in ’22, ’23, which will be incredibly strong years.”
While ticket demand is high, many have criticized the price of tickets and fees.
President Joe Biden said that as part of his plan to lower costs for American citizens that he was going after “hidden junk fees,” one of which he said was tied to concert tickets.
“I know hidden junk fees – like processing fees on concert tickets – are a pain. They’re unfair, deceptive, and add up,” Biden tweeted.
Ticketmaster has also faced criticism for its Officials Platinum feature, which has variable prices based on demand, CNBC reported. Tickets in that category have skyrocketed in situations of high demand. For example, some seats for Bruce Springsteen’s upcoming tour were listed as high as $5,000 each on the first day of being on sale.
In a statement, Ticketmaster distanced itself from ticket prices, noting that, “Promoters and artist representatives set pricing strategy and price range parameters on all tickets, including fixed and market-based price points.”
“As the resale ticketing market has grown to more than a $10 billion industry over the past few years, artists and teams have lost that revenue to resellers who have no investment in the event going well or any of the people working behind the scenes to bring the event to life. As such, event organizers have looked to market-based pricing to recapture that lost revenue,” the company said.