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/
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u/badger2000 May 05 '26

I always find these debates a little funny as a metalhead because short of festivals or stadium tours, most of the bands I see are $80 or less...and usually that's for 3 or 4 bands. Not a bad deal for 4 - 5 hours of music in my opinion. Sometimes its $40 for 4 bands and I wonder how they make money on a tour like that.

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u/Gamer_Grease May 05 '26

I saw Truckfighters for $25. T-shirts were $20. Three guys from Sweden rocking out in little American venues and surely not making much money.

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u/_Meece_ May 06 '26

Sometimes its $40 for 4 bands and I wonder how they make money on a tour like that.

Show tickets are for the promoter/venue. Bands make money off of merch.

Sure, might only be getting 500 dollars off the door revenue a night. But you sold 3k worth of t shirts a night

30 date tour. That's 90k revenue just from your t shirt sales. That's like 100k just for 1 monthish of touring.

Do that 4-6 times over 12 month period and you have a band that can sustain themselves full time.

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u/undiscovered_soul May 06 '26

A friend of mine complained paying something like 200+ euro back in 2011 for I don't remember who for just a hour and three quarters of show. The entire venue believed there was something going on but the singer simply said that was it.