Ticketmaster Boss Says Concerts Are Underpriced

Live Nation chief executive Michael Rapino set off another backlash this year with his claim that concert tickets are still “underpriced,” despite continued complaints from fans about triple-digit face values, dynamic-pricing jolts, and enormous service charges.

His remarks, at CNBC and Boardroom’s Game Plan conference, rekindled an age-old debate over who realizes the value of live music — and about whether consumers have already been stretched to their breaking point.

What the Live Nation C.E.O. Actually Said on Pricing

The case is simple for Rapino: Top-tier tours are complex, high-cost productions, and music tickets remain heavily behind premium sports pricing. He compared eye-watering amounts people pay (or donors cough up) for courtside seats to the ruckus when artists do the same thing, and charge a few hundred dollars for good seats at concerts. He also said there is “runway” for prices to go higher, pointing out an average concert ticket price in the low $70s as one way music is a good deal compared with other live entertainment.

That framing doesn’t go over well with fans who watch sold-out shows and “platinum” pricing put seats well beyond entry-level prices — often before resale even becomes a factor. And it intersects with an economic reality in which many have come to feel that live music is a luxury, not a night out.

How Concert Ticket Prices Already Reached New Heights

Industry data doesn’t perfectly jibe with a $70-ish average. Pollstar’s latest year-end reports showed that the average ticket price for the Top 100 Tours was comfortably above $100 in what began to look like a post-pandemic surge in demand and production scale. Meanwhile, the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that in-person admission fees have risen dramatically over time, outpacing most categories on the consumer price index.

At the high end, blockbuster tours regularly reach four figures on the secondary market. SeatGeek and Vivid Seats say the median resale price exceeds $1,000 for some dates of megastars’ stadium tours, while prices in certain cities go much higher. Though resale is not the same as face value, it reflects the market pressure that dynamic pricing is intended to capture — often pushing up official prices in real time.

The Economics Behind the Industry’s Pricing Argument

Rapino’s point points to a real tension: When official prices are set too low, resellers reap the difference. The justification for the industry’s stance to charge more at the primary level is that, because of it, more of the economic value will shift toward artists, crews and venues at large rather than ticket scalpers. Touring has also served as artists’ leading income source ever since streaming rewrote the economics of recorded music; bigger shows mean larger payrolls, freight bills, insurance and staging costs.

But for consumers, the all-in price at checkout is what counts. Dynamic pricing, VIP packages and service fees can turn a $150 seat into a transaction of $230 or more in seconds. Despite Live Nation’s promise to endorse “all-in” pricing displays — a White House crackdown on junk fees is also part of the mix — many fans say that transparency hasn’t made tickets more affordable. The sticker shock is the narrative.

Antitrust Scrutiny and the Backlash Over Ticket Fees

Rapino’s remarks also come as the company has been under increasing regulatory scrutiny. In 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit charging monopolization in the live events market and asking for structural remedies. While Live Nation has disputed those claims, the case has heightened protests by lawmakers and consumer activists who say that the Ticketmaster–Live Nation ecosystem leaves buyers little choice and leverage on fees.

Following the high-profile ticketing debacle for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, Senate hearings focused on capacity, bots, and market power. The company highlighted investments in anti-bot technology and said the demand for marquee artists sometimes overpowers any system. Yet the episode further solidified an impression: When demand is red hot, fans alone are left to shoulder the sting of dynamic pricing and add-on fees.

Is Live Music Really Underpriced for Today’s Fans?

When held up against the inventory of elite sports — courtside, 50-yard line or Super Bowl seats — most concerts will seem “inexpensive,” he says. But that’s not how most fans think about value. A Lakers game is among dozens each season with uncertain results; a stadium show, for all its spectacle, is something that’s created and then re-created every night. Consumers don’t measure the checkout total next to corporate suites in Madison Square Garden; they measure it against their monthly budget.

A more down-to-earth benchmark is median income and average entertainment expenditure. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ data on consumer spending indicates households are already spending more on live events than they did pre-pandemic even as costs of living have increased more broadly. For some people, the calculus is easy: Two halfway decent seats, plus fees, parking and concessions can eat up a week’s wages.

What Comes Next for Fans and Touring Artists

Larger face values, it is likely, could put some purchasers beyond the reach of the primary market altogether, and instead limit sales to wealthier fans and corporate clients. Artists could also reply with further tiered pricing, verified fan presales or only face-value transfers to discourage scalping. Some are already testing price floors and fan-to-fan caps in order to keep prices reasonable without leaving money on the table.

The bigger question is trust. When fans feel that prices are based on actual theater production costs and reasonable margins, rather than opportunistic spikes and opaque fees, they can trust that they’re not being had — or excluded. Right now, goodwill is thin. So whether concerts are “underpriced” is not a question of imbalance against the costs of luxury sports tickets, but more about who can find a way to pay as an ordinary fan with deep enthusiasm — for those fortunate souls on your gift list for whom a night at The Stone Pony or Lincoln Financial Field (home of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band) could be potentially life-altering. By that measure, the market already feels redlined.