It will come as no surprise to any regular gig-goer that concert prices have risen dramatically in recent years — with many summer stadium shows for 2026 already on sale, it seems this trend is only continuing. For example, pop superstar The Weeknd is charging a huge £176 for front standing tickets at his Wembley Stadium shows next year.
A report by The Yorkshire Post published in July stated that since 1996, the average UK ticket price has risen by an astounding 428.7%. Back in 1996, the average ticket only cost £16.99. Now it has reached £105.60. So why has the cost of a concert spiralled so out of control?
Well, like most things in life, the answer is multi-faceted. However, one key factor is Covid and the ensuing lockdowns. This left the majority of the world without live entertainment for the best part of two years, thus massively driving up the demand and therefore the price. According to United States Bureau of Labor Statistics data, ticket prices for films, concerts and theatre rose by 20% between 2021–2024.
The squeeze on the middle market
An interesting trend any concertgoer will have noticed is how the rise in prices is not equal across differently sized venues. Seeing a small artist in a pub or small venue for under £10 is still possible. Similarly, mid-sized venues still regularly sell tickets for between £30–40. However, once you make the leap to arena and, in particular, stadium shows, the prices increase dramatically — with a standing ticket at a stadium show often exceeding £200 now.
Ryan Penty, booking agent for Wasserman Music which has Ed Sheeran and Lewis Capaldi on its roster, pointed out in an article in The Independent:
“It’s once you get to that £20–25 a ticket market, that’s where artists are really struggling to make the finances work whilst putting on a show that fans would expect for that price. After the pandemic, the middle has been squeezed out.”
This is while some mid-level artists such as Kate Nash have complained of making no profits from touring despite playing to thousands of people. At the same time, bigger artists are making greater profits than ever. This is an issue right across the music industry and it bears similarity to how many chart-topping artists are now generating more money per stream on Spotify than smaller artists. Simply put, the poor are getting poorer and the rich are getting richer.
Consumer power and the “Beyoncé effect”
Despite many commercially successful artists making huge profits, there are still issues at the top end. Beyoncé’s much-publicised struggle to sell out her residency at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium perhaps showed that punters are being pushed to the limit with what they are willing to spend. Though she is one of the largest artists in the world and recently released Cowboy Carter — an album that broke streaming records — she couldn’t sell out all the dates, and many discounted tickets were put on sale in the weeks preceding the shows. This reluctance from fans will definitely have made ticketing agents and management question how much they charge for future shows and highlights how we as consumers do have power to change ticketing prices.
Monopolies and malpractice
Although important, Covid is not the only cause of increasingly expensive tickets. The monopolisation of the ticketing market is undoubtedly a factor in the price increases. The 2010 merger between Live Nation and Ticketmaster gave even greater power to two giants of the industry.
Ticketmaster’s malpractices are numerous and date back some time:
- September 2025: The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) as well as seven US states sued Ticketmaster and Live Nation, accusing the companies of illegal resale tactics and colluding with ticket brokers.
- Taylor Swift (2023): The company’s shambolic handling of the Eras Tour sale sparked a Department of Justice investigation into anti-competitive practices.
For fans who wish to avoid these companies, there are some alternatives popping up. Perhaps the fastest-rising of these is Dice, a ticketing app that shows all fees and taxes on a ticket upfront. Phil Hutcheon, founder and CEO of Dice, set his company up in part to help smaller acts and independent venues sell more tickets. He noted in The Guardian that “mid-sized and small concert tickets are actually underpriced for what you get”.
A legislative victory against touting
One other major issue is touting. The internet has made the practice easier, more widespread and more profitable. Earlier this month, a collection of high-profile artists — including Radiohead, Dua Lipa and Coldplay — co-signed a letter to the UK government demanding it deliver on its pledge to tackle the scourge of touting.
However, there is a very simple solution: ban resale for profit. Thankfully, last week the UK government did exactly that. This meritless market will be gone, and the government predicts it will cause a 24% decrease in the average ticket price in the UK.
Overall, while ticket price increases have been dramatic, there is cause for hope. The legal cases against Live Nation and the banning of for-profit resale in the UK show there is demand for change. This year has also seen the first drop in concert prices in several years, with Bloomberg reporting that ticket prices for the top 100 tours have fallen by 6%.
Hopefully, through a mixture of regulation and consumer resistance, we can look forward to a time when live music is accessible to all once again.
