Live performance ticket costs have been the supply of shock for years, however Dwell Nation CEO Michael Rapino now means that followers are nonetheless getting a cut price. Talking at CNBC Sport and Boardroom’s Recreation Plan convention on Tuesday (Sept. 23), Rapino argued that live shows are “underpriced” when in comparison with different reside occasions, significantly sports activities.
“In sports activities, I joke it’s like a badge of honor to spend [$70,000] for Knicks courtside,” Rapino stated. “They beat me up if we cost $800 for Beyoncé.”
He continued, “If you learn in regards to the ticket costs going up, it’s nonetheless a median live performance value [of] $72. Strive going to a Laker sport for that, and there’s 80 of them [in a season].”
Rapino framed rising ticket costs as a mirrored image of scale and manufacturing worth, pointing to the spectacle of main excursions: “The artist goes to make 98% of their cash from the present. We simply did Beyoncé’s [Cowboy Carter] tour. She’s obtained 62 transport vehicles outdoors. That’s a Tremendous Bowl she’s placing on each evening.”
The Timing Couldn’t Be Worse
The feedback come simply days after the Federal Commerce Fee (FTC) filed a lawsuit towards Ticketmaster and its mum or dad firm Dwell Nation (Sept. 18). The FTC accuses the corporate of deceiving customers, inflating costs by means of hidden charges, and colluding with scalpers to drive up resale prices.
Based on NPR, the FTC outlined three unlawful practices, together with Ticketmaster’s “bait and swap” strategy—promoting deceptively low ticket costs that soar by 30% or extra throughout checkout. Between 2019 and 2024, the corporate is alleged to have collected $3.7 billion in charges from resale transactions alone.
The lawsuit additionally highlights how Ticketmaster income from “triple dipping”: gathering service charges when scalpers initially purchase tickets, once more after they’re resold on Ticketmaster’s secondary market, and a 3rd time when followers purchase these inflated resale tickets.
Followers and Artists Push Again
Rapino’s feedback are unlikely to sit down nicely with followers, who already really feel squeezed by skyrocketing prices. In 2022, Taylor Swift followers filed a lawsuit accusing Ticketmaster of value gouging in the course of the Eras Tour ticketing fiasco. Earlier this month, Ariana Grande additionally spoke out towards secondary ticket resellers for her Everlasting Sunshine Tour:
“I’ve been on the telephone each second of my free time combating for an answer,” Grande wrote on Instagram. “I hear you and hopefully, we will get extra of those tickets into your palms as an alternative of theirs. It’s not proper.”
In the meantime, artists have little selection however to lean on touring as their important supply of revenue. “Streaming presents little monetary return,” Rapino admitted, whereas insisting reside performances are “a shared second” well worth the value.
However for a lot of followers, the so-called “shared expertise” seems like a luxurious solely the rich can afford. With a federal lawsuit underway, fan lawsuits piling up, and high artists voicing frustration, the declare that live shows are nonetheless “underpriced” could also be one of the tone-deaf defenses but from the reside music big.
