About Those Ticket Prices...

In the wake of every live show in the world seemingly canceling because of the Covid-19 pandemic, I have to ask: what will happen to ticket prices when this nightmare is over? Ticketmaster/Live Nation already add exorbitant fees on every ticket sold. The lost revenue we are looking at now is breathtaking in scope. Pretty soon a $35 lawn seat will be $100 after fees. I hope there is some pressure on Ticketmaster/Live Nation to not add a bunch of miscellaneous and nebulous fees, but I am not confident.

We are definitely in a recessionary environment. As time moves along and people begin pulling back their spending because of job loss or fear, that will impact concert ticket sales too. That is economics 101. Food and shelter are a need. Concerts are a want. This will also put pressure on Ticketmaster/Live Nation to keep ticket prices in line to at least where they were two weeks ago. In many instances, prices will need to fall to get people back at shows, especially in this pandemic drags on for a long time. From history, pandemics usually last three months per impacted region. Interesting times.

Comments

[GNR]

I don't believe there will be a mass increase in fees in trying to recover lost revenue. We are talking about Ticketmaster/Live Nation who has had year after year of record NET income.
They can afford to take a hit to capital.

What I'm watching and waiting with anticipation is the mass refund of tickets already purchased. The logistics of it. Will all the "fees" be refunded as well.

[Bkallday]

Id be surprised if we ever have any concerts again, there will always be a disease we arent prepared to deal with, and this is only the beginning of how we approach and handle these situations. At the end of all this, i guess we will see.

[JCD]

If they decide to increase their already hefty fees for tickets, then just don't go. If enough people would rally around the thought of refusing to pay these fees by just not purchasing tickets then LN would have reduce or eliminate these overcharges. I am very picky on what shows I buy tickets for these days and will go way out of my way to purchase at the venue's box office to offset much of the fee. I'm lucky enough to be able to afford the fees but for me it's principle. This entertainment shut down we are experiencing could prove to them a powerful point, we don't need them to lead happy and productive lives. They need us not the other way around.

[Him]

Wise questions, Allyson. And good points, posters.

If history is any indication (I don't think Shakespeare was necessarily right when he suggested the past is prologue), there will be an adjustment, some movements in different directions, and then a return to the norm. Meaning? Unless those entities are forced to break up or required to handle things like fees differently, they will go right back to where they were.

In the near term, the indications from Live Nation and others have not been particularly stellar. Yes, they called off touring shows. That is a good thing. Other artists did the same. But some groups are resisting to the very end any adjustment to day-to-day practices . . . until they have to do so. I see the responses in Vegas as a case study. Wynn announces thermal cameras. Then they close the sportsbook and poker room. When? In the span of 24 hours. Luxor is still listing concerts like DLR's as a go, until they don't (and they will).

Circling back a bit, I agree that concerts are a want. And I bet all of us would love to be at a venue right now, enjoying a show and sticking a righteous middle digit in the air. In the near term though, that isn't going to be an option. When all of this is over, you hope people build on the experience (corporate persons and living humans) and learn from it. I certainly hope they do. I would love to think that is going to be the case.

In the meantime, I hope everyone is doing well (even if I unleashed a bit of acid yesterday). I want nothing but the best for those of you who help make BBG! what it is.