$500. $1,000. $5,000.
This is how much it can cost to see Taylor Swift, Beyoncé or Bruce Springsteen live. And that’s before adding on any other expenses, like transportation, lodging or merchandise. Going to a live concert used to be a lot less expensive than it is today, yet many concertgoers are still willing to pay these eye-popping prices for tickets.
In your opinion, how much is too much to spend on concert tickets? Are these prices worth it to see your favorite artists live?
In “Concert Ticket Prices Are Soaring, and Busting Gen Z’s Budgets,” Melissa Rohman writes:
Ignacio Vasquez spent the last year saving money for tickets to Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter tour, which will kick off next month. Mr. Vasquez, 20, a full-time student from Modesto, Calif., was on the lookout for tickets to one of the tour’s five shows at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles for him and his sister.
“I went to go see Beyoncé on the Renaissance tour, and since I knew this was coming up, I knew I had to be saving,” Mr. Vasquez said.
On Feb. 11, Mr. Vasquez got on Ticketmaster’s online queue for the BeyHive presale, offered exclusively to those who signed up on Beyoncé’s website. After waiting his turn, Mr. Vasquez was surprised to see tickets listed at a minimum of $600 each and many at more than $1,000.
In recent years, concertgoers have paid eye-popping prices for tickets to see popular artists like Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and Oasis on tour. But Gen Z fans — those born between 1997 and 2012 — are paying much more for concert tickets than previous generations did when they were young adults. In 1996, the average ticket price for the top 100 tours was $25.81, or about $52 adjusted for inflation, according to data compiled by Pollstar, a trade publication that covers the live music industry. By 2024, average ticket prices had risen to $135.92. The live music industry has put today’s young adults in an impossibly expensive position.
For Gen Z, spending on concerts can be a budget buster. In a survey of 1,000 Gen Z respondents published last year by Merge, a marketing agency, 86 percent admitted to overspending on live events. Fear of missing out, or FOMO, was cited as a top reason. Another survey by AAA, the automobile owners group, and Bread Financial, a financial services company, found that Gen Z and millennials were willing to spend more and travel farther to attend live events than older generations are.
Students, read the entire article and then tell us:
Do you enjoy watching musicians perform live? Have you ever gone to a concert? What was the experience like?
How does attending a live show change the experience of listening to music? Do you prefer seeing big stars perform in stadiums and arenas, or less well-known musicians playing in smaller venues? Why?
In your opinion, what are concert tickets worth? How much is too much to pay?
What is your reaction to the people in their 20s profiled in the article who have been saving for months, or even going into debt, so they can buy concert tickets?
If you could see any musician perform live, who would it be and why? How much would you pay?
Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.
Find more Student Opinion questions here. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate these prompts into your classroom.
