I’m not cheap. OK, maybe I’m a little on the tight side, but definitely not cheap.
Maybe.
It’s just that I’m one of those oddballs who likes to get what he pays for. Take concert tickets. When I was in high school a few years ago, I went to two or three concerts a month. The first one I ever went to featured Gladys Knight and the Pips and The Temptations. It was a great concert. The cost of a ticket was $8. Because we lived in Philadelphia there were always concerts downtown, at the sports arena and local colleges and other places, including a coffee house in Bryn Mawr called the Main Point. It had a $4 cover charge.
From Jimi Hendrix to Jethro Tull, they all showed up. The best concert I ever went to was Bonnie Raitt, Buddy Guy, the Allman Brothers Band, Santana and Chicago. The price of a ticket was $8.
I know what you’re thinking. Those were prehistoric times. Considering inflation over the years, that $8 ticket in 1968 would cost $72 today.
Which brings me to Taylor Swift. First, let me stipulate that I think she’s great. Her music isn’t my style, but that’s OK. She could sing “Babalu” and play the bongo drums and I wouldn’t care.
It’s just that I think she is taking advantage of her audience. The average price of a ticket for her concerts was $1,088 and the top price was $3,071.
No wonder she’s a billionaire.
She’s not alone in taking her fans to the cleaners. According to the Loudwire website, between 2017 and 2021, tickets to a Bruce Springsteen concert averaged $508, and Lady Gaga concert tickets averaged $337. For those who wanted something a little more edgy, Metallica tickets averaged $229. Prices varied according to the city and venue.
Which leaves me with one inescapable conclusion: Yikes!
One of the reasons I like music today is I was able to go to concerts as a teen. I’d save the money I made washing dishes at the Woolworth’s luncheonette and working as a janitor during the summer and go to concerts with friends. A good time was had by all.
I wonder if entertainers today are erecting a wall between them and their fans. Obviously, many fans are coughing up huge piles of cash to go to their concerts. And I don’t begrudge any musician making money from their hard work and talent.
But I would have a hard time arguing that Taylor Swift is 12,400% better than Jimi Hendrix or Chicago were in 1968, as the comparative values of their tickets imply.
The only thing that’s for sure is times have changed. When I was a teen, the minimum wage was $1.60. A slice of pizza cost 15 cents. A soda pop was a dime. A gallon of gas was 34 cents.
So is it greed that makes things more expensive these days? I suppose it depends on your definition of the “G” word. Is being a smart business person the same as being greedy? Moreover, what, exactly, is a “fair” profit?
As they say, these are questions for the ages. All I know is I’d never spend $1,000 for a concert ticket – unless The Rolling Stones put on a private concert in my living room and Mick Jagger personally gave me singing lessons.
Carl Sampson is a freelance editor and writer. He lives in Stayton.
