What’s the MAX AMOUNT you’d pay to see your FAVOURITE artist? Or maybe at least a bucket list band you’ve always wanted to see?

Bruce Springsteen fans flocked to Ticketmaster earlier this month after The Boss announced his new tour, with the E-Street Band, in their first tour together in six years. But fans were shocked when they saw the ticket prices for the show. Prices ranged from $59.50 (ok, that’s a GREAT price) up to $5,000 … NOT scalper ticket prices, but thanks to TIcketmaster’s dynamic ticket pricing system. Certain, predetermined ticket prices fluctuate based on demand. This has been the case now for years with the NFL, NHL and concerts in general. Seeing concerts in larger, more in demand markets like New York, LA, Toronto have higher ticket prices for example than secondary markets like Buffalo and Madison, WI. These tickets are listed as “Official Platinum” on the Ticketmaster website.

Despite the warning Ticketmaster includes in front of their larger tours, advertising fluctuating ticket prices, fans were shocked to see the ticket prices and took to social media to voice their displeasure.

Jon Landau, Bruce Springsteen’s longtime manager, spoke to the New York Times tour’s ticket prices in a statement which he said “In pricing tickets for this tour, we looked carefully at what our peers have been doing,” Landau said. “We chose prices that are lower than some and on par with others.”

“Regardless of the commentary about a modest number of tickets costing $1,000 or more, our true average ticket price has been in the mid-$200 range,” Landau added. “I believe that in today’s environment, that is a fair price to see someone universally regarded as among the very greatest artists of his generation.”

TIPS TO GETTING CONCERT TICKETS

In our experience, if you get shut out of tickets when they go on sale for an event, keep looking at Ticketmaster the weeks leading up to your event. Various tickets, including kill seats (these are seats that don’t go on sale initially due to the set up of the show, but every venue has different sight lines so once the stage is in and the show is mapped out, seats management previously thought wouldn’t have a view or be blocked off go on sale).

Artists and promoters have ticket holds that if go unclaimed, become available for purchase closer to event dates. There isn’t an announcement about these tickets, they quietly go on sale, usually for a decent price since the “initial demand” from the on sale has died down. Fans who regularly go back and check Ticketmaster find these tickets.

Wait for resellers to lower their prices the day or two before an event. We’re all flakes at some point. You make a plan months in advance, maybe someone asks you to a show when you’re in a really good mood, but the day before or day of even, your couch is comfy, you have 5 episodes left of that show you’re binging on and a kitchen full of tasty snacks, why would you leave. The days leading up to an event, the resale market is usually oversaturated with tickets forcing resellers to lower their prices (it’s demand-based pricing. More tickets + less time to sell them = lower prices to move them).

 

Sadly most fans will be left dancing in the dark unable to afford concerts going into 2023 and beyond with the rate prices are going up, at least they won’t have to wait in line for the bathroom.

 

 

 

Filed under: Bruce Springsteen, ticketmaster