Why Are Concert Tickets So Expensive? ARCH ENEMY's MICHAEL AMOTT Weighs In

In a new interview with Jorge Fretes of Spain's GoetiaMedia, guitarist Michael Amott of Swedish/Canadian/American extreme metal titans ARCH ENEMY spoke about the rising prices of concert tickets. According to recent report by Pollstar, concert tickets have seen an overall 27.38% increase in cost since 2019. This data also showcases a worldwide increase in concert ticket pricing, with the average ticket costs ranging from $40.80 at club venues to $124.47 at stadiums. In 2024, the average cost to attend a concert was $135.92, Pollstar reported. That's up from 1996 when the average ticket cost $25.81. Michael said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "When I started going to shows, they were extremely cheap and affordable. But I think times were different then. And now costs — I mean, I see the budgets for our tour, for example, and there's a lot of costs. [Laughs] You're fighting to not be in the red. To make these budgets work, it takes a lot of effort and a lot of planning."

Michael continued: "The musician is always the last person to get paid. There's a whole chain, there's a whole line of people that get paid before we do. And that's something that people have to think about as well. These venues are expensive — they're expensive to start with — and then there's a P.A. and there's catering and there's trucks. There's just so many things involved, it's crazy. And the costs have gone up — that's just how it is. And the sad thing is the new prices are here to stay; they're not gonna get lower. That's the sad reality of it, and it sucks. I wish everything cost 10 bucks, like it did when I grew up. I saw a lot of killer bands for, like, 10, 20, 15 euros — amazing shows that I still remember to this day. But that was more the underground scene, I would say. I would go to England and see NAPALM DEATH, EXTREME NOISE TERROR and CARCASS and one more band — DEVIATED INSTINCT or something like that — in one night for, like, seven euros or something like that. But nobody got paid back then, I guess. Nobody got paid back then. [Laughs] That was a different time."

Amott added: "I don't know what to say. For sure, concerts are expensive, and I'm sure there's a lot of competition as well. And everybody's trying to put on a bigger show, a more impressive show. What's popular in metal now is a lot of these cosplay bands that dress up and stuff like that; they have masks and do big shows. That's very, very popular at the moment. We're not really competing with that, 'cause we don't do that. We just kind of just play music. I like to think us more in the vein of a SLAYER or a [IRON] MAIDEN or something like that. We're trying to put on a great killer metal show, but not so the theatrical.

"But what can you do? I don't know. There's a lot of reasons why the prices have been going up. And I think it's the same if you go and buy a loaf of bread and butter and some cheese. It probably costs more than it did 10 years ago."

In a March 2024 interview with Mexico's ATMósferas Magazine, IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson was asked if he thought the skyrocketing concert ticket prices were having a negative impact on the music industry. Bruce said at the time: "Well, two things. One, it depends what the show is and kind of who the audience are. I mean, I'm not gonna go around and say specific artists, because most of the artists that are charging, like, 1,200 dollars a ticket — like in Las Vegas, if you wanna go and see the U2 show, I think it was 1,200 dollars per seat in the sphere. I've got no interest in paying 1,200 dollars to go and see U2 in the sphere — none. A hundred bucks, maybe. But for me, what's important is to try and keep, on the one hand, the right type of tickets at the right price. So by that I mean the right type of tickets, I mean, the tickets that are in front of the stage, which everybody says should be the most expensive tickets. Actually, no, they should be the most reasonably priced tickets, 'cause the people who are gonna go there to the front of the stage are gonna be people who are real fans, people who are kids, people who can't afford the crazy money, but they are the people that need to be down the front; they're the people that are gonna keep this music alive. And then you get the people that they might be fans, but they wanna bring their wife and they don't wanna get too hot and sweaty and all the rest of it. So, there's some seats at the top or something else like that, what they're gonna pick, and those get priced differently."

Bruce continued: "I understand how promoters try and do it to try and not lose money, because promoters are part of the whole ecosystem. Without promoters, there would be no shows. The promoters have somehow gotta make their money back. So, it's a delicate balance, but in general, ticket prices have gone through the roof. And some of the ticket prices that people pay, well, some of the prices people pay, for me, it's insane. I would never pay that price, but then again, I'm probably not a fan of that particular artist. People who are, maybe they think it's worth it. I mean, certainly with my shows, we've always tried to keep the ticket prices within the normal, normal boundaries. And the same with MAIDEN."

According to Live Nation, 151 million people attended one of its shows in 2024 — a 50% increase in concert attendance compared to 2019.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Labor Statistics' consumer price index data showed that admission to movies, theaters and concerts jumped 20% since 2021.

Some of the increased cost when it comes to concert tickets is due to dynamic pricing — the tactic of raising prices the more people purchase tickets, and then lowering the prices once the demand dies down.

A December 2024 report by CouponCabin found that concertgoers attended an average of seven shows in 2024, and most planned to see more in 2025.

The survey of more than 1,000 music fans found that nearly 36% said they would spend $100 to $499 on concert tickets in 2025, while more than 17% planned to spend up to $1,000.

ARCH ENEMY's twelfth studio album, "Blood Dynasty", was originally released in March of this year via Century Media Records. The "Blood Dynasty (Deluxe Edition)" will be out October 10, and it comes with three bonus tracks, one of which, "Lachrymatory", is previously unreleased.

Upon the release of "Blood Dynasty (Deluxe Edition)", ARCH ENEMY will embark on a European headlining tour with support from AMORPHIS, ELUVEITIE and GATECREEPER.