It’s concert season! Now that the pandemic has died down, people are getting ready to go out and see their favorite singers in concert and festivals like Rolling Loud, Coachella, Lollapalooza, etc. But of course, you need to buy a ticket first. Imagine logging into Ticket Master or SeatGeek, excited to buy these tickets, just to see that prices are $500+?!? 

In the last few decades of the internet becoming a thing, lots of things have moved online for sale, like tickets, making it more accessible to everyone. And part of that “everyone” is resellers. Resellers go in and mass buy a ton of tickets when prices are super low and then gauge the prices way up to make a profit, which makes $50 -$100 tickets now $300-$1,000 PLUS. People would sell houses, arms, legs, and kidneys just to get the money to buy these tickets because let’s be real: who has the money to spend $1,000 for one concert?  

These are not premium tickets, like you would think, but instead, standard admission. STANDARD ADMISSION. And let me also mention the fact that these tickets don’t cover transportation, hotel, and food expenses. Oh, and the fact that you have to wait in a virtual queue packed full of 10,000+ waiting buyers just to even have a CHANCE to buy tickets. These queues last for hours and most of the fans who get to the site after waiting so long can’t even buy tickets anymore because they all sold out. The premium tickets (like stage/pit tickets and special box view) get even crazier, usually costing around $500-$5,000. But why? 

 Like I mentioned earlier, resellers are one of the main causes. And you might think “Why are they still in business? Who would be crazy enough to buy $1,000 tickets?” And the answer is: devoted fans. Boy oh boy, do I know a lot about devoted fans. 

You may have heard of fanbases like BTS’ (called ARMYS) or Taylor Swift’s fanbase (called Swifties) and how crazy they can act on social media, especially Twitter. These types of fans are called “stans”, coming from the Eminem song “Stan” in which he raps about a stalker fan who goes crazy over Eminem not responding to his letters or acknowledging him. In the end, he goes so insane that he gets drunk and with his pregnant girlfriend tied up in the trunk, drives a car off a cliff, killing both of them. 

 Anywaaayyysss, Stans are exactly why resellers still have a market to sell to. And because people keep buying, it only encourages them to continue stacking up the prices. As the origin states, Stans are so devoted that they will do anything it takes just to see their favorite singer live. Just to be in the same room, even breathing the same air as them is a big deal.

Now I’m not totally hating on Stans because I myself Stan a few celebs, and I understand the desire to see them live too. But aren’t these prices a little outrageous? 

As much as I love SZA, I could never pay $3000 to see her live. If I wasn’t a 17-year-old high school student with no job I would probably be willing to spend that much. But also keep in mind: most Stans are around my age  too, like 13-24. Which is a little confusing, because how are people that young making this much money????  

But anyway, resellers aren’t the only ones to blame here. Another main cause for the boost in ticket prices lately is Ticketmaster’s “dynamic pricing”. Dynamic pricing is a selling technique that adjusts ticket prices based on consumer demand. It happened very recently after Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift announced their new tours. Many fans were upset about this marketing tactic and even tried suing Ticketmaster over the pricing. Fans complained and complained to Ticketmaster and the artists themselves, but nothing ever happens. Unfortunately, most of these artists’ don’t care because that’s what makes them money. Not only does Ticketmaster get a cut, but so does the artist and their management, which is probably why nothing extreme has been done to stop it. What are consumers to do? Stop buying tickets so demand goes down?

Long story short, capitalism sucks and you’re either gonna have to start budgeting better or sell your kidney on the black market if you wanna have enough money for concerts now.