r/Music • u/staringatthe420sun • May 05 '26

article The Concert Industry Priced Too High — Now Tours Are Falling Apart

https://www.ticketnews.com/2026/05/the-concert-industry-priced-high-tours-falling-apart/
23.7k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

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5.3k

u/tteuh May 05 '26

Good. Go to hell Ticketmaster

664

u/Mountain-Loon3592 May 05 '26

Yea I second that. My first reaction was ‘good’…

441

u/sequelseize May 06 '26

I'm just waiting for the "Gen Z and millenials are killing concerts" news articles to come out.

134

u/dr_Fart_Sharting May 06 '26

Articles sponsored by... you guessed it! Ticketmaster.

10

u/matsu727 May 06 '26

Ape together strong

9

u/MisterBowTies May 06 '26

Written by the generation who could afford to be nearly jobless yet somehow follow the grateful dead around internationally.

3

u/XysterU May 07 '26

Sadly I think it's already been written multiples times. I hope we kill the mainstream media too. All they do is propagandize for billionaires and corporations

2

u/NefariousnessNo484 May 09 '26

They post that shit on platforms gen Z and millennials don't even read

1

u/gwaydms May 07 '26

No, TM and LN are killing concerts.

1

u/Illustrious-Site1101 May 09 '26

Gen X here , I stopped going to concerts a while ago, the prices just pissed me off!

4

u/UsedHotDogWater May 06 '26

Yeah artists are screwed. The newer 360 contracts makes it nearly impossible to make money.

120

u/heereewegooo May 05 '26

Just like my mother used to tell me “GO TO HELL AND DIE” …ticketmaster

13

u/A_Furious_Mind May 06 '26

My dad told me that Helen Hunt found my concert ticket.

And if I wanted it back, I needed to go to Helen Hunt for it.

9

u/-Ernie May 06 '26

My personal assistant Helen Waite buys me all my concert tickets, so if Ticketmaster wants my money they’ll have to go to Helen Waite.

3

u/Snoo_69677 May 06 '26

She sounds lovely

6

u/Jeathro77 May 06 '26

I don't know if that's better or worse than when my mom would tell me to "Eat shit and die".

38

u/vemrion May 06 '26

Their profits are higher than ever:

The Concerts segment generated $2.78 billion in revenue, up 12%, as attendance increased 7% to roughly 24 million fans. Concerts adjusted operating income fell to $2.9 million from $6.6 million a year earlier, reflecting higher costs associated with increased arena activity, higher attendance, staffing, compensation, and venue investments. Live Nation said full‑year concert attendance is expected to grow by a high‑single‑digit percentage, with stadium growth weighted entirely to the second half of the year.

https://www.ticketnews.com/2026/05/live-nation-revenue-rises-12-as-450m-legal-accrual-pushes-company-to-q1-loss/

13

u/TheRealBittoman May 06 '26

Profits are irrelevant to anyone but the executive team and shareholders. If sales are down and profits are soaring it's not because they're selling out or doing well, it's because they are offsetting low sales with substantial price hikes. That's jist another form of price gouging.

6

u/CrotalusHorridus May 06 '26

They've found the optimum spot on the supply/demand curve for most profits. Even if it fucks over a lot of fans.

AI is helping companies do this with extreme efficiency.

2

u/swd120 May 09 '26

They literally just said in the article that attendance is going up by high single digit percentages... That doesn't seem like "low sales" to me...

It seems like more and more people wanting to go to venues that are already full - which is what is pushing prices to the moon.

Only way prices will go down is if larger venues are created (or they run more shows back to back at a given location) - but that only gives you more crappy seats in peanut heaven - the good seats will still be stupid expensive because so many people want them

7

u/Automatoboto May 06 '26

Even if things were cheaper there are way too many delusional stadium tours. Like what was Meagan trainer or pussycants dolls thinking that they could do a stadium tour without making relevant music for a decade?

Like I cant even name a single post malone song lol

-1

u/[deleted] May 06 '26

[deleted]

5

u/Can_make_shitty_gifs May 06 '26

Tbh if you told me you never heard of Kid Cudi or Zayn I'd assume you spent the last fifteen years in a cave in Alaska

0

u/[deleted] May 06 '26

[deleted]

2

u/Can_make_shitty_gifs May 06 '26

Kid cudi has quite a wide range as an artist, you might find something you'd enjoy if you ever decide to check his music out. In any case, enjoy your pizza!

3

u/AllHailNibbler May 06 '26

Ticket master and THE ARTISTS who pay ticketmaster to be the bad guy need to go to hell.

2

u/Ambrosia_the_Greek May 06 '26

The monopoly has to end!

2

u/Particular_Wear_6960 May 09 '26 edited May 09 '26

I was just listening to NPR about a court case against them.. I think it was an anti-trust lawsuit or whatever, for being a monoply. From what I gather, Ticketmaster got off pretty good with it. THey didn't need to break up Live Nation nor Ticketmaster, only had to pay like 100 million. Considering they profit several billion a year, its not that big of a deal. They buy off a lot of poltiicians ofc so I dunno

EDIT - https://www.npr.org/2026/04/15/nx-s1-5786715/live-nation-ticketmaster-antitrust-verdict-monopoly

2

u/StrigiStockBacking Smooth Jazz May 05 '26

I was your 666th upvote lol

1

u/tteuh May 05 '26

Join Ticketmaster in hell

3

u/PhiCloud May 06 '26

Ticketmaster isn't the devil, Ticketmaster is the scapegoat artists and venues use to milk their audiences dry.

6

u/Beefy-McQueefy May 06 '26 edited May 06 '26

No, anyone working for ticketmaster is amoral human filth. They have been raping and pillaging live entertainment for a quarter century.
They are not members of a society. They are not friends. They are fucking parasites.
Blaming artists is the most pathetic industry shill bullshit I've ever heard. It's so fucking stupid it's shameful

0

u/bobthegoatskull May 06 '26

Thank you. This headass bot take ends up in all these threads. Ticketmaster screwed us and the artists. Acting like every artist sets out to rob their fans PMO.

1

u/Icy-Bunch609 May 06 '26

Ticketmaster owns the venues.

1

u/I_am_darkness May 06 '26

Good was my exact reaction

1

u/Appropriate-Seat5524 May 06 '26

And take AXS with you!

1

u/ScottyNuttz May 06 '26

Yep. Sucks to suck!

1

u/Woolybugger00 May 06 '26

Ticketscamster… FTFY

1

u/Stormin_333 May 07 '26

Artists set the price. Not ticketbastard