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There are lots of words that may run through your head as you buy tickets to a live concert in 2025 but “bargain” probably isn’t one of them. That’s what Michael Rapino, CEO at Live Nation, seems to think, though.
Speaking last week at CNBC and Boardroom’s “Game Plan” conference, Rapino pointed out that despite the rising costs of live music, demand from fans has never been higher and he believes that tickets might actually be “underpriced.”
“Music has been underappreciated,” Rapino said, per Rolling Stone. He used an analogy to another world that relies on live audiences to make his point. “In sports, I joke it’s like a badge of honor to spend 70 grand for a Knicks courtside [seat]. They beat me up if we charge $800 for Beyoncé.”
He continued, “We have a lot of runway left. So when you read about ticket prices going up, the average concert price is still $72. Try going to a Laker game for that, and there’s 80 of them. The concert is underpriced and has been for a long time.”
That $72 figure Rapino cited appears to be a little off, though not by much. 2024 data compiled by Pollstar suggested that the average cost to see one of the 100 top tours in the United States was $136. Drilling further into the numbers, the average cost of attending a stadium show came out at $128 with arena ($98.78), amphitheater ($70), theater ($75), and club ($43) level acts following. This, of course, does not factor in the problem of scalpers and the hugely increased fees charged on the secondary market.
Rapino suggested that ticket prices cost what they do today because artists are putting so much of their money into elaborate and costly productions in an effort to put on a memorable show. Fans are, however, also having to contend with additional fees and dynamic before they even set inside a venue and see the impressive pyro displays and elaborate light shows.
The comments don’t suggest that the cost of attending live music is going to become more affordable any time soon. In 2022 the Department of Justice filed an antitrust suit against Live Nation and accused the company of operating as a monopoly, an allegation they have so far denied. Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission has filed its own suit, accusing Ticketmaster of hiding fees from customers and not doing enough to stop scalpers exploiting their platform.
