The Frightening Cost Of Gig Tickets these days...

[Master Ray]

That big fuss over the cost of Oasis gig tickets got me thinking.  Now I've got no interest in seeing Oasis again (I saw them at Maine Road in 1996, fantastic gig, and then twice more in subsequent years and they were dreadful) to be honest if they played in my back garden I'd close the curtains.  But, jeez, these stories about 'dynamic pricing' and how people trying to buy a £148 ticket spent hours in a queue only to be faced with a new price of £355... 

I've been faced with it recently with tickets for Bruce Springsteen and Depeche Mode.  Last time I saw Bruce was in 2016 and tickets were about £60.  Reasonable enough.  His UK dates over the last two years were ridiculously priced, you'd have to sell a kidney and remortgage your house to get a ticket in the same postcode as the stage.  See also The Mode.

And it seems like any band with a halfway decent following are doing arena gigs and charging the big bucks for doing so. Sleep Token, for example, a band that are hardly a household name although blessed with a cult following, are charging top prices at the biggest arenas in the country.  See also certain bands who are well past their prime and appealing mostly to the nostalgia junkies.  Hey, if they don't sell the place out they can always curtain off the unsold seats and pretend it's a sell-out!

And, yes, I get it that the likes of Spotify have killed any chance that anyone who isn't Taylor Swift or the like will make any money from making albums... they get thousands of listens for a song and they've got about enough income to buy a bag of chips.   

But I remember when following live bands was something that even someone who didn't have all that much money (like I was in the 80's and some of the 90's) could still see the bands they loved at an affordable price.  Yup, old fart speaking here whose probably got his head rammed up his arse as to how the world has changed  but I'm thinking of the kids of today who love music just as much as I did back then and now live music is just an unaffordable thing for them.

Whatever, fook it.  I'm not doing big arena or stadium gigs anymore, no matter whose playing.  Got a few gigs lined up in small to mid-sized venues at reasonable price by bands I love and who appreciate the custom.  I might even buy a t-shirt, anything to support these acts.

Anyway, bit of a rant there, be interested to see what you lot think.   

[Tarsier]

Those kind of ticket prices are absolute insanity! Guess I have to be grateful of having an obscure enough taste in music that no band has ever asked 100 euros from me. You can see the change in basic small local gigs too, but that's just expected as everything generally has gotten more expensive.  But those absolutely insane ticket prices? That's like emotional blackmail, given that music is one of those things that can be extremely important in one's life.
What was the most expensive ticket you guys have paid for?
I guess mine would be King Crimson back in Finland 2003 for 65 eur, and Mr. Bungle in Berlin this June for nearly 70 euros. I've never seen a stadium concert though....

[Ghosttrain]

Agree totally with both posts some/most of the prices being asked are outrageous......also like you Tarsier most of my favourite bands are a bit below the radar ,so ticket prices were / are within reach.How long some of them will be able to go on like this i think is unsure... ..

The most i have ever paid for a concert ticket was £80.00 back in 2012 for The Beach Boys 50th.Anniv. Tour at Wembley Arena....worth every penny (imho).. .....

[lupus225]

Not  sure about the most expensive  ticket (probably Nick Cave around 2003) BUT in 1997, we saw
 
Apollo 400
Helmet
Korn
New Model Army
Rage Against the Machine
David Bowie
The Prodigy

on a one day festival in Lübeck, Germany for round about 30 Euros 

[Master Ray]

Thanks for the responses.  I think the most I ever paid was about £95 for Rammstein.  This was when they were still playing arenas, so over a decade ago, it sold out in a heartbeat and I really fancied the gig so I went over the odds and had a great time...

[Stephanie]

It IS insane, isn't it?  Me, when I get the chance, I go and see shows in the Netherlands or Belgium, ticket prices there are a lot cheaper than in Germany. However, that also means it's a longer drive, more petrol...and not so easily done on a weekday. With our 5 doggies, I always need to make sure we get back the same day and aren't gone for too long - but that last bit is, of course, our own "fault. ;-)