“We Live for Live Music”: Dynamic Pricing is Driving Fans to the Local Music Scene

Darkness descends on the arena, the first strums of a guitar roll out over a screaming crowd, a single light falls to the middle of the stage and everything stops. Because the grainy live stream just cut out for the tour you never got tickets to. 

Everyone has that one show they never managed to get a ticket for, whether that be down to sheer demand or hiked up ticket costs as a result of dynamic pricing. First introduced by airlines in the 1970s, dynamic pricing is a technique to suit prices to market demand - if more people want something, it gets more expensive. Ticketmaster themselves have said the system is in place to discourage re-sellers snapping up a whole block of tickets and selling at an even higher price, so they instead sell them at a much higher price.

The scheme is optional for artists. Oasis have received a backlash for opting-in to dynamic pricing resulting in their tickets being sold at double the set value for people sitting (or standing) right next to each other. It was introduced by ticketmaster in 2022 and since then Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, and Tom Grennan are among a group of artists who have opted-out of dynamic pricing for their UK tours. 

Robert Smith has been a lead figure in the system’s criticism. In an article by The Times recently, The Cure’s frontman said, “We didn’t allow dynamic pricing because it’s a scam.” He added, “[it] would disappear if every artist said, ‘I don’t want that.’” 

But artists, in the general sense aren’t saying that. Some are taking a stand against the ‘scam’ but some continue to opt-in and it’s turning music into a privilege. “It absolutely changes my opinion on artists,” said Becky Jones, a local music journalist. “Music should be for everyone, the only reason for dynamic pricing is to extract more profit from the fans, it makes music infinitely less accessible.” 

It’s no secret that there’s a lot of money in the sector - worldwide, the live music industry brought in over 30 million dollars according to statista. Audio Engineer, Ben Springall said, “dynamic pricing is just a way for management to get an even bigger bonus then play dumb when they’re asked about it.” He added, “It’s rare for the dirty money gathered from dynamic pricing to filter down to the acts and even more rare for it to filter down to the crew.”

There’s a case that with these increased prices, value for money is completely obliterated and fans start to look at the artists with distrust. “Which is true!” Ben said, “the whole situation leads to an audience that feels cheated.” He also points out the issue of scammers. With fans so desperate for a chance to get into the arenas, the high prices redirect them to unofficial resellers offering lower prices and seemingly better deals. “I don’t see ticket sellers being able to get away with dynamic pricing for very long. I’d argue it’s profiteering which is a very illegitimate business practice that needs to be dealt with quickly. If it remains a problem, there will be less people at gigs - they’ll be outside with a fake ticket.”

Ticketmaster merged with Live Nation in 2010, together they dominate the entertainment industry. It’s estimated that Live Nation controls over half of the promotion sector and Ticketmaster, almost three quarters of the ticketing industry. With these numbers, they have a monopoly meaning they are arguably in control of the growth and progression of the sectors - what they do, others would likely follow.

The rift between artists and their audience that dynamic pricing has caused could dramatically change the sphere of live music in the future. Ben thinks nothing has changed in terms of the artists’ passion and talent but said, “the issues arise from the money rolling into the wrong pockets.” He predicts “growth will likely slow for larger venues but smaller venues could actually benefit if they continue to price competitively and maintain a trusting relationship with fans.

Change is already making its way into the industry. Breadbin Productions are Cheltenham based music promoters whose main goal is to put their bands first, “we make sure they get paid as much as possible and our company often takes little to no money from events.” Tommy and Jamie rely on local support to host accessible events, “we saw other promoters charging more on the door and paying bands less. We wanted a change."

“We also noticed the increasing ticket prices of larger festivals and gigs. We don’t believe that live music is for those more privileged. We live for live music. We want to share that experience with as many people as possible.”

Becky added, “the best gig you’ll go to won’t be in an arena, it’ll be in the dingiest pub in the sketchiest alley. When small venues start making more money then hopefully the arenas will see they don’t quite have all the power.”