Taylor Swift Concert Prices

So the aforementioned Chicago concerts are this weekend.  I just realized that we have a Chicago Symphony concert Saturday night, the last in our series for the year.  Normally we park in Grant Park South for about $17.  There are no spots to be had in GPS for Saturday; the best we can do on Spot Hero is a lot about 5 blocks away for $40.  We probably will have to leave about 1.5 hours earlier than the norm and all the restaurants have no seating 

man, for $2k for concert tix, even for TS, you can get a really decent pair of headphones for hours and hours of very pleasant listening

Personably, I can’t imagine paying that much to see any artist but if I had unlimited funds, I might well hold a different view.

As is so often the case when the topic of "perceived value" arises, it’s all about the context. For example, I recently spent 6K on an acoustic guitar. It’s likely the last guitar I’ll ever buy, after playing for 50 years but some might think me nuts..

More to the point, the OP doesn’t tell us whether his "significantly unhappy" friend can easily afford 2K worth of concert tickets or not-- in other words, whether his displeasure is more about the actual amount or more about how it was spent. Both, perhaps?

However, I will join the chorus of fond remembrance of the old days. My first concert experience was the G. Dead at the San Diego Sports arena in ’73. I believe my friends and I paid around $5.00 apiece. Furthermore, the "party favors" were free -- people just passed them around communally, back then.

@thecarpathian

+1

While PT Barnum may not have said it... it, nevertheless, may be apropos:  "There's a sucker born every minute!"  

Just for fun I dug out an old ticket stub from a Dire Straits concert at Red Rocks from 9/4/1985. $14.30. Taking inflation into account that ticket would be $42.

Think I'll  buy a BR and enjoy in my HT. Chair is more comfortable. Beer is much cheaper. Line for the bathroom is much shorter, and I can pause while taking care of business. Can control volume and don't have to stand for the whole concert. 

At the same time I can't blame Swift, or any act, to charge what they can. That's the (not-so) free market at work.

The Live Nation/Ticketmaster merger 13 years ago is roughly neck-and-neck (non-scientific moral judgement metrics) with the ubiquity of digital pitch correction (Autotune) as the worst things to happen to popular music in my lifetime, maybe anyone’s lifetime.  
Soulless, heartless, vile disrespect to art and the public’s accessibility to it, combined with shameless, ruthless, unchecked, unrepentant greed.

Apropos of nothing, Aaron Rodgers is going to her Meadowlands show this weekend.  His favorite album is "Folklore".  If the J-E-T-S get to the SB, I bet AR invites her as a guest.

Couldn't name a single song she sings he but I'll tell you one thing I really like about her; In an era where women artists are in a competition to wear the least amount of clothes, she bucks that trend with style and class.

I'm not a fan and at some point there may be a backlash against such ridiculous prices, but the market is what people are willing to pay, so I say she should earn it while she can.

But there are two things I know with 100% absolute certainty, she would never in a billion years date me but maybe more importantly, I would never date her because I wouldn't ever want to be the subject of one of her songs after we break up. I can't imagine being a guy who knows darn well what's going to happen and still being so star struck he tries to date her. Reeks of desperation and total lack of dignity.

And a Taylor Swift fan may very well think spending $1,000 on  stereo equipment is an incomprehensible waste of money.  I know of two such people. We live within our own particular value systems. If we have empathy, then we can appreciate the other person's experience. Respect it though not share it.  One can also appreciate that there is a gender divide going on here with most Taylor Swift fans being female and most hi-fi enthusiasts (posters here) being male. Even a back rub comment was thrown in for some odd reason. 

I like Taylor Swift, some of her music is really good and well recorded.  Just because she's popular doesn't mean she isn't talented.

She loves to make money for herself.  Has she ever done a concert for charity? 

She is extremely successful.

Really don’t understand why people are so desperate to go to one of her concerts

Value, like beauty, has always been in the eye of the beholder. For a Taylor Swift fan, a grand or more for a seat at one of her live performances may be acceptable, even if not exactly a bargain. Not being a fan of her music, I wouldn’t pay a grand for even a whole night with her followed by a back rub the next morning. In fact, I wouldn’t shell out that kind of geld to see ANY live performance, regardless of who was on stage.

My wife and I have been attending the Catalina Jazz Festival every year for 20+ years. We’re talking about top musicians, like Dave Koz, Gerald Albright, and Brian Culbertson, among many others, and no less than ten individual shows over three days. Art Good, the festival producer, has held the line as best he could on ticket prices, and my hat is off to him for that. Our tickets the first year for the entire weekend and every performance were about $700, and this year, the price was about $800. That’s an increase of only about 15%. And that’s for BOTH OF US, so $400 each, or $40 per show for each of us, and we have the same premium table seats every year. Works for me!

Being young(under 30) is no excuse for poor taste in music and making bad financial decisions. I purchased Gustav Mahler, Sarah Vaughan and Wynton Marsalis recordings at 17. Why defend Swift when there are thousands of recorded musicians under 40 with superior songwriting, vocal and instrumental skills.

So here in Chicago the daughter of a friend was able to buy 4 tickets for $150 each by apparently being one of the lucky ones to click on just as they were released.  She and her 3 friends will no doubt have a memorable night at what seems like a sane, if still difficult price for a Nursing Student.  If I was Tsar of the Entertainment World I would ban Ticket Resellers 

@charliech she did not handle or come out well from her private jet mileage scandal, but in general she seems like a good human being

One Reason I built up my HT rig was to watch concert video's.  I still go to live shows.  Just saw Crowded House in an 1,800 seat theater for ~$150.   But its rare anymore. 

But I am done padding the pockets of all the parasites that have infested this business with the big shows.   

To pay $2500 for 2 hours of entertainment to me is absurd , but spending $2500 on a streamer that will give me years of entertainment is not a big deal.

I'm not really a TS fan, but did find this Tiny Desk concert she did you be pretty impressive.  Especially the version of the "The Man" she does here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvVnP8G6ITs&ab_channel=NPRMusic

I’m of the vintage that remembers fondly the concerts I went to back 50+  years ago, when tickets were less than $10.  Better yet, at my favorite local venue, I could     things like price are relative.  We grew up paying such-and-such and then think it’s “highway robbery” what they charge today.  My father bought brand new cars in the 1960’s with popular features for $3,000.  When my mother bought a new 1980 Chevy Monte Carlo with turbo-charged engine, my Dad thought that was highway robbery.

I’ve long thought that people today are DESPERATE for entertainment and will pay almost any price to see favorite acts.  With some, I think it is as much or more being able to say, “I was there!” as enjoyment of the concert itself.  Fortunately, I can usually find acts I want to see for $100/ticket or less, so I don’t pay the big prices.  I’ve seen enough of the older acts to know that most have lost a lot of ability over the decades,  so not paying huge money to see the Stones is no sacrifice.  

@j-wall,

Good on ya! Son & future Daughter-in-law also attended Iggy’s show four weeks ago in Los Angeles at Orpheum Theater, had the time of their lives from what I’ve heard. Towards the end Iggy allowed approximately 20 fans from the audience on stage. Consequently and in Lexi fashion, she happened to be first, done wrapped her arms around him (bear hug style) then proceeded dancing face to face and along side.

Sitting fourth row with a great view of Chad Smith, my son was slightly fixated.

@charliech + 1

Mahler,

 I agree- “ I would argue that she just handed him ammo for the next skirmish they have.”

The man should have his stereo system.

With a few exceptions this thread is a text book example of old people talking about young people and passing judgement.

@jasonbourne71 Her music traditionally appealed to younger audiences who can relate to her lyrics.  I think, like a lot of other bands, she's been able to engage her audience in a way where being a fan becomes part of their identity.  I think other bands have also done that really well (either intentionally or not) and that makes them very loyal.  Also, her music is fundamentally good.

I would not characterize myself as a fan and I'm certainly not in her demographic, but I think her album folklore is excellent.  

She (or her team) has really been able to spin some gold, though.  Like many artists, she didn't own the masters to her earlier albums, and they were sold to someone she didn't like without her getting the opportunity to purchase them.   So she re-recorded those records so she'd get all the money from those versions (and potentially screwing over that guy she didn't like). 

She also was one of the few (the only?) celebrities to question the viability of FTX and refused to endorse them.

Taylor Swift Rejected Crypto Exchange FTX's Sponsorship Offer Over Unregistered Securities Concerns – Featured Bitcoin News

So I think she gets a lot of respect, not only as a pop artist but as a good business person.

I just saw Iggy Pop a few weeks back in SF and the tickets were only $120 each. Ticket economics are getting out of hand with some artists. Shoot, Dave Chappelle just had a pop up show and they were only $100 until people found out. People are the worst. 

Folks get what they want. If they want to get Taylor Swift tickets all the power to them. If they want to buy stereo equipment they should. How is there a connection between the two? If you want to spend money on material things, great! If you want to spend money on experiences, fantastic! Why do you need ammunition to buy what you want? And it doesn't cost $1,000 per ticket for the concert. There are less expensive tickets. I got four tickets for $1,200 including Ticketmaster fees. Was it worth it? Absolutely.

To me I would not pay 1000 dollars for any event.  Music or sports and I love them both. Some will. I saw U2 play at Woolsey Hall in New Haven for 15 dollars and the band made an announcement at the end of the concert that we could go down the street to see Dave Edmonds at Toads for free if we showed our U2 tickets. Two great concerts in one night by two great artists. Saw Mink Deville and Los Lobos the following week for  7 dollars. Best show I ever saw. Times change. Priorities and decisions……

The artist takes only about 15% of the gross.  All sorts of other people have muscled in, including the taxman.

Not for me.

I bet you,, it sounded like "Being There".  Not like this recorded stereo stuff.

For me, except for symphony Hall concerts, I have gotten to dislike most live concerts.

My daughter went to TS....   her future husband, a great guy got her a pair .   He has great taste in music, so he stayed home.   No idea what it cost, but I'm sure it was ridiculous 

I remember my first concert...  Kinks at Worcester Centrum 1983.    $13.50 for floor seats.

Nice! They should have also left a 28% tip.

Here in Texas moderately popular Korean KPop girls group, “Twice” have mid priced tickets at $200 each.  More popular groups like the boys group TxT go for much more.  Both are cycling through my area over the next weeks… both daughters going to Twice….TxT too expensive for them.  So, these are tickets for folks that mostly sing in Korean…. BTW.. lots of great Korean music and much in English..

I would not watch Taylor if she was playing in my back yard. But I would pay $5000 to go watch Rory if he were still alive! The price is what ever someone is willing to pay. No one is being forced to go so who cares. A fool and their money!

I agree that the “lower tier” artists need and deserve our support. 
A decent show should cost $100 or less in my book, but I know that’s not the new normal. 
The Stones Exile tour in ‘72 was opened by Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, then Stevie Wonder (!), all for a whopping $7.50.

What would $8.00 around about 1970 be today corrected for inflation? For that price I got to see Lara Nyro at the Fillmore East for what seemed at the time to be exorbitant New York City prices. I mentioned in a previous post Miles Davis was opening for her at that show so we probably got our moneys worth. Good seats too.

Don’t remember any Fillmore shows that cost any more than that. Don’t imagine any of us hippies back then could have even imagined coming up with a thousand dollars for any ticket. Perhaps if Jimi and Janis were to come back for one more show next week it might be worth springing for at that price.

Mike

There are great pickers & singers in almost every nook and cranny in the U.S. Spent your time and money looking for them.

And the rest on a good playback system. No crowded bathrooms. Parking is free and the snacks are at grocery store prices.

How much is parking and a beer at the TS concert. Plus any merchandise they have for sale. I bet they bought something! 
 

The whole economy would crash if they we're waiting for this dinosaur to buy anything like that. 

1k is cheap, i've seen tickets go for 3k. people are nutz these days, a dollar is not a dollar anymore.  with all these internet contents, the media, hype and buzz make people feel like they are missing out.  my only bucket list ticket item i would spend that much for is probably to watch a superbowl game, and thats a big maybe too. 3-4k to watch in the nose bleed.  i would have to drink so much beers to hit "accept & purchase".  maybe she's that good and people need to hear her sing.

I paid ~$200 for Paul McCartney 10 years ago. $250 for Van Morrison last year. ~$50 for M. Ward 3 times. So there, when a ticket is a 1000 bucks, it's not the musician but the hype and the middle man.

@jasonbourne71 that's funny. I understand why she is popular. I can't say I heard her songs more than 10 times in my life though - intentionally 

If you think this is bad check out F1 ticket prices. Market Economics.

Maybe I am out of the loop because I have never listened to any Taylor Swift songs! Why does she have such fan appeal?

Nathaniel Rateliff is touring, tickets in LA cost $400+ while in Vienna, Austria they would cost $80. I told my Austrian friend to go "for me" as I can’t afford the LA prices. Someone is making a lot of money on concerts here in the US and it’s not the musician.

I've still got ticket stubs from the $5.00 dollar concerts attended back in the 70s:-) I can see paying a few hundred for the VIP meet n greet tickets for a favorite artist. But 1k,just no.

Artists like Taylor Swift who can negotiate a higher take are the exception, not the rule.

Most artists (which are not at TS level) are being squeezed by ticket sales organizations and venue operators as well as streaming music providers.

Capitalism at play.  It's not the creator or worker but the one who owns the property who can leverage the most percentage.

I am disappointed with the current trend that those who don't work are so quick to spend money that someone else earned.  they didn't decide to spend $2k in a vacuum.  all their friends are doing it.  Not surprisingly, few breadwinners are.

Jerry

In contrast, tickets to Joe Henry’s upcoming show in Portland are twenty bucks, Iris DeMent forty. Seeing NRBQ---one of my all-time favorite Rock ’n’ Roll bands (they are actually much more than that)---when they came through town awhile back set me back only thirty, I think it was. They were fantastic, by the way. Same with Mary Gauthier, in the same room.

I’ve always appreciated the fact that my musical tastes are for the most part of cult audience artists, not only for the low ticket prices, but also for the fact that their shows are held in small, intimate settings. A win-win! I got comp tickets to see The Stones in The Staples Center in the early-2000’s, and my woman and I lasted only three songs. It was ridiculous; not only did The Stones suck, but watching the show in that gigantic "room" (with a gigantic video screen behind them) was like watching a basketball game. I felt no emotional involvement what-so-ever with what was taking place onstage. The sound also sucked, REAL bad.

When I was a kid it cost me only three bucks to see Hendrix, Cream, The Kinks (a LOT of fun!), Procol Harum, Albert King, countless other greats. In the 80’s and 90’s you could attended a show by John Hiatt, Rockpile, Dave Edmunds or Nick Lowe, Lucinda Williams, The Blasters, Marshal Crenshaw, The Pretenders, Squeeze, Richard Thompson, and many others for ten bucks.

A thousand bucks for a ticket to a show?! Absurd, imo.

My neighbor has a pair of tickets, for the Cincinnati show, for sale on our neighborhood listserv for $2500 ea. I'm not biting...