by Abbie Moore
In recent years concert ticket prices have soared, with the average price of a gig ticket increasing by 428.7 percent over the last 30 years according to an analysis by the Yorkshire post. Today the average ticket would set you back around £100, whereas in 1996 the average cost of a ticket was just £17.
While some may argue this is due to inflation, if the price of tickets had risen in line with inflation, that £17 ticket from 1996 would only cost £38.50 today, nothing even close to the price fans are now being charged.
Phoebe Bridgers Ticket Sales
Phoebe Bridgers recently announced ‘The Lost Tour’ has sparked outrage amongst her fans due to the noticeable rise in her ticket prices. Just four years ago a standing ticket to see Bridgers would cost just £25, now fans are being charged almost £90 for the exact same ticket.
Fans Reaction
I spoke to Brydie Edwards, 22, from Birkenhead, a long-time fan of Phoebe’s, to see what she thought of the situation. She said: “I’m really disappointed to be honest, the prices are just so extortionate. I can’t justify spending £100 to see the same person I saw for a quarter of the price a few years ago.” Many fans just like Brydie are sorely disappointed in the prices, but who is at fault for these high ticket costs? “I think both the artist and Ticketmaster are to blame here, it’s just really greedy,” Brydie explained. “They’ll keep on doing this though, as long as the tickets still sell, which they do, the prices will never go down and they’ll probably get even worse”.
Brydie is not alone in believing that the site Ticketmaster is partly to blame for the unaffordability of tickets in recent years. The company is the main ticketing website for concerts as well as sporting events and theatre, Most people have used the site if they’ve ever purchased a ticket for an event.
While Ticketmaster themselves don’t set the face value price for tickets, they do introduce something called ‘dynamic pricing’. This is where ticket prices fluctuate in real time, and tickets that are considered to be in demand are sold at higher rates.
Oasis Ticket Fiasco
One of the most notable occasions where dynamic pricing was used was during the sale of Oasis’ reunion tour tickets in 2024, where prices skyrocketed to £350 instead of the advertised £150. I spoke to Michael Wilson, 25, an Oasis fan from Manchester who witnessed the jump in prices when he was trying to purchase tickets. He said: “I was so shocked when I got into the sale. Increasing prices like that is something you expect from scalpers, not actual reputable ticketing platforms, it’s just not right.”
Despite over 450 complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority and an investigation by the European commission, nothing has changed, and dynamic pricing continues to be used by Ticketmaster, much to fans dismay.
As ticket prices continue to rise with each new tour announced it raises the question, how long until fans have finally had enough and stop purchasing the tickets?
Abbie Moore discusses the high cost of concert tickets with fellow music journalists Anayo Eltringham Onuora and Lewis Hannah.
