When I hear that my favourite artist is coming to Toronto, first I feel excited—but then, dread sets in.
Not because of anything related to the artist, but I already know buying tickets will be a nightmare. Fans have described this as the “Ticketmaster War,” a term that originated online due to the difficulty in obtaining tickets for their favourite artists.
No matter how big or small an artist might be, getting tickets in this city will never be an easy thing. You are fighting not just fans, but worse—scalpers! As soon as I hear that one of my favourite artists is finally coming to Toronto, I check the available dates, clear my schedule, and save money for tickets—only to face difficulties actually buying them.
From being so high in the queue and waiting an hour for an online lineup, to prices just getting jacked up due to “high demand”, concert planning usually never goes well.
Prime examples of this are Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, which took place in November of last year and featured six shows in Toronto, or Ariana Grande’s 2023 tour in Montreal. As they are both huge artists in high demand, buying tickets would definitely not go as smoothly as one would expect.
By the time I reached the ticket-buying queue for both shows, there was nothing left, or the prices were over a grand. Why should we have to spend so much money in order to see and hear our favourite artists? Shouldn’t Ticketmaster re-evaluate and lower prices?
The CEO of Live Nation, Michael Rapino, disagrees and has recently stated that concert tickets are underpriced. As if we are barely scraping by with prices now.
Raising ticket prices will not only decrease the number of people attending concerts but will also lead artists to cancel shows or tours. For working-class, dedicated fans, this may force them to prioritize tickets over necessities.
Rapino also mentioned back in September at CNBC and Boardroom’s Game Plan conference that he thinks concert tickets are priced too low.
According to an article by Vice, Rapino said, “In sports, I joke it’s like a badge of honour to spend 70 grand for a Knicks courtside seat. They beat me up if we charge $800 for Beyoncé”. He added that the average concert ticket is only $72. Has he seen resale prices? Anyone who fails to buy tickets directly from Ticketmaster often turns to resell sites such as Stubhub or SeatGeek, where, at a minimum, you’ll see resale tickets priced at $200.
Going back to the Eras Tour, average resale prices in Toronto were close to $2,000. That’s around a month’s rent for someone living in the city. It gets to a point where many think, “Do I have to sacrifice paying my rent to go to my favourite artist’s show?”
No one should! Entertainment should be accessible to all, but post-COVID show prices have been steadily increasing. Face value tends to be affordable, but service fees and greedy resellers are ruining the concertgoers’ experience.
Rapino’s comparison of concerts to sports games doesn’t make sense either. Although both involve buying tickets to watch someone play/perform, the experiences themselves are not comparable—it’s like saying sugar and salt are the same thing.
To expect people to pay $ 7,000 for courtside tickets and then use that as justification for raising concert prices is, honestly, unfair.
A new possible solution may help with this. On October 22nd, Doug Ford announced he wants to revisit the bill capping ticket prices so resellers can’t overprice. This began when the Toronto Blue Jays reached the World Series and resold tickets for a minimum of $1,000 each.
Back in 2019, this bill was supposed to be passed until Ford voted against it. It’s ironic that Ford only notices how bad reselling is when it personally impacts him.
Even though this won’t stop or de-influence Michael Rapino, the set capping amount will make it more feasible to attend the shows of your favourite artist, and you won’t have to miss out because of the absurdity of reselling.
Overall, tickets shouldn’t get a price increase unless the Live Nation CEO decides to limit or stop reselling, and tickets are ensured to go to genuine fans, not individuals seeking to profit quickly.
If ticket prices remain unchanged and the provincial government passes the bill, we will definitely be able to attend more shows and be out more!