The Los Angeles area was overflowing with concerts this summer. As a Los Angeles resident, I was ready to go into the online waiting queues for tickets, no matter how many hours it took, since there were so many artists I loved coming to town.
Then, I saw the prices and had no choice but to shut my laptop in dismay and tell myself, “There’s always next summer.”
I have not been listening to country singer Morgan Wallen for long, but when I saw that he was performing in San Diego July 14 and 15 at Petco Park, I wanted to jump at the chance of seeing him. His tickets through Ticketmaster started around $200 each, not including service fees, if you wanted a decent view of his concert.
Once I realized Wallen was out of the question for my college-student budget, I thought I would give Post Malone’s show at the Glen Helen Amphitheater in San Bernardino on Aug. 19 a try. I initially squealed when I saw his tickets started at around $30 a piece, until I realized that was a very low price for a top-charting artist. Once I saw that those tickets were for the lawn seats, which meant behind the actual venue and right in front of the vendors, I realized why the seats were so cheap. That was not the experience I was looking for, so I was back to the drawing board.
I found I was encountering the same problem with several artists. Taylor Swift and Beyonce ticket prices were out of the question with my salary and even asking for concert tickets for my birthday felt like an outlandish request due to their high pricing.
Taylor Swift’s “Eras” Tour six-night stay at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood in early August ranged from $400 to $7,000, the latter putting you on the floor of the stadium to get you as close to the singer as possible.
The Ticketmaster website said on their website that because Beyonce is one of the world’s most popular musicians, fans should expect to pay a lot. Tickets could average $948.66 to see her perform live.
Beyonce might be one of my favorite performing artists of all time, but I was not about to drain my bank account to see her, even if she has the vocals of an angel.
That begs my question, “Are these concert ticket prices worth the memories you make there?”
I am 21 years old and have never been to a concert. Every time I try to go to a concert, I see the prices and start going in that endless round-and-round circle of, “Should I do it? Is it worth it? Do I really want to spend that much money?”
I am embarrassed to say that I am now a senior in college and have never experienced what it is like to sing your heart out with your favorite artist in a live performance. It is not by choice, if it were up to me, I would have gone to several by now. I simply cannot afford these concert prices and I know I am not alone.
The fact is that college students do not make enough money to be able to afford going to concerts.
According to ZipRecruiter, as of Aug. 28 this year, the average working college student makes $15 an hour. That might seem like a decent amount for a student, but once you factor in money for groceries, housing, gas, school supplies and extracurricular expenses, the money goes fast. The only way to go to a concert is to cut corners on spending for the following months to make up for the money spent. Most students do not have the means to do that.
Most concert venues offer cheap ticket pricing, but you have to sacrifice a decent view. Those tickets come with a warning of a view obstruction. The cheapest tickets seat fans behind the stage completely in a stadium venue. If you want to be able to see the artist, or even the large screens most venues have, you have to sacrifice your money.
Concerts are meant to be an experience between the artist and the fans, for both parties to enjoy. How can fans enjoy a show when they’re spending an entire paycheck to see a two-hour concert?
One of my favorite artists of all time, Pitbull, is having a concert on Nov. 30 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Performing with him will be Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin. This lineup is leaving fans like myself buzzing with excitement, but not enough to spend money on tickets ranging from $250 to $2,000 on Ticketmaster.
The bottom line is that it is time to make concerts affordable again.
Taylor Moore can be reached at taylor.moore@laverne.edu.
Taylor Moore is a senior broadcast journalism major and Campus Times social media editor for Fall 2023. In her fifth semester on Campus Times, this is her second time serving as social media editor. She has also served as LV Life editor and staff writer.
