‘Dramatically increased costs’ hitting Aussie concerts
Higher costs for live music events are causing Australians to question how much is too much to pay for concert tickets.
How much is too much to pay for a concert ticket? It’s the question plaguing Australians as more big artists announce tours Down Under.
With reports of expensive tickets across the internet, the chief executive of Live Performance Australia, Evelyn Richardson, said that concerts and tours have seen an increase of up to 50 per cent in production costs since their return after Covid-19.
“As concerts and tours have restarted, they have been hit with dramatically increased costs ranging from 30 to 50 per cent,” she said.
“These have been driven by huge increases in transport and freight costs, and supply chain and skills shortages, all of which have driven up the costs of putting on a concert, tour or festival across the board.”
Despite this, the Ticket Attendance and Revenue reports from Live Performance Australia found that the average cost for tickets to contemporary music events in 2020 was $115.
During 2021, there was a dramatic drop to $56 after international border closures and ongoing restrictions in Victoria and New South Wales.
“Covid had an extremely disruptive impact on live music and concerts. Attendance and revenue in 2021 were at its lowest level in two decades with ongoing disruption caused by Covid restrictions and cancellations, border closures and the absence of major international touring acts,” Richardson commented.
New data for 2022 is not yet available, making it difficult to really illustrate that 30-50 per cent hike over the last couple of years.
However, Professor Heath McDonald from RMIT agreed that it seems like there’s been a general increase.
“I think there has been a market increase in prices, particularly for international touring acts doing national tours in Australia, that greatly outweighs inflation,” McDonald said.
“They should be maybe 10 per cent higher than they were a year ago, and that doesn’t seem to be the case. It seems to be a lot more.”
Aside from increased transport and freight costs, McDonald explained that it’s always been expensive for artists to tour Australia in particular due to higher costs for flights as opposed to simply taking a tour bus around the US.
Other culprits for increased costs could include “legacy acts”, such as KISS and Fleetwood Mac, announcing “last tours”, where it’s marketed as a last chance to see them live.
VIP packages are another thing to consider, where artists often charge upwards of $1000 for tickets paired with things like merchandise, photo opportunities, and early access to the venue.
Def Leppard currently have $2600 packages on offer for their upcoming Australian tour, while Blackpink charged up to $1300 for VIP tickets earlier this year.
The price of Taylor Swift’s VIP packages also came under a magnifying glass earlier in the year, with the most expensive package – priced at $1249 – including an “unforgettable” A Reserve Floor Ticket, four Taylor Swift prints, a tote bag, a collectable pin, sticker and postcard set, as well as a VIP laminate and lanyard.
Unlike Def Leppard’s package, there’s no photo with Swift in sight.
The sale of Jonas Brothers tickets also caused a stir online recently, with one $1200 ticket drawing particular controversy.
Appealing to the Jonas Brothers themselves, one fan posted a screenshot of the $1200 premium reserve seat on TikTok.
“What is this ticket pricing! I thought those sections would be A reserve … maybe Gold seats! Can’t afford that – send help @Jonas Brothers,” they captioned the video.
The TikTok also showcased screenshots of a conversation with Ticketek over Facebook, where the ticketing giant confirmed that the $1200 ticket is “just inclusive of a seat to the event”.
Others pointed out the expensive tickets, with one asking if anyone is “actually buying” the pricey tickets.
“Feel like this is a valid question to ask but is anyone actually buying Jonas brothers tickets in Australia??!? Why are they more expensive than Taylor Swift???”
Feel like this is a valid question to ask but is anyone actually buying Jonas brothers tickets in Australia??!? Why are they more expensive than Taylor Swift???
— abbey (@manic_kitsune) August 8, 2023
Despite the discourse online, it’s difficult to tell whether audiences still have a high capacity for entertainment as increased costs continue to hit the industry.
While some events – such as Paramore and Taylor Swift’s Australian shows – have sold out, others, including the Foo Fighters, KISS, and even Paul McCartney, still have tickets remaining for their upcoming Australian tours.
This could be attributed to concertgoers purchasing tickets later than usual, which Richardson said has increased since the pandemic.
With audiences purchasing tickets later, Richardson added that there’s now an increased risk for promoters in “recouping costs”.
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