Will a tour break the billion in sales? Between Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, big shows are returning in the summer of 2023, filling stadiums despite unhappiness over ticket price inflation.
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With her world tour, the country pop star and “Queen Bey” are among dozens of megastars who have hit the road again to meet the high demand for live music following cancellations and postponements due to the coronavirus pandemic. COVID-19.
From Pink to Coldplay, from Bruce Springsteen to Drake, without forgetting SZA and The Weeknd, stadiums across the United States and around the world are filling up with the promise of record-breaking 2023.
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“I’ve never seen so many artists on stage at the same time in the same room,” says Stacy Merida, a professor at American University who studies the music industry.
Elton John before Ed Sheeran
Madonna, a pioneer of contemporary touring with strong sets and costumes, was scheduled to embark on a new tour in mid-July but had to postpone it due to ill health.
As a result, it’s 33-year-old Taylor Swift who sees the billion-dollar sales mark within reach as – at this point – all 106 dates on the “Eras Tour” have been completed. Observers are promising similar success for Beyoncé, who embarks on the North American leg of her World Renaissance Tour.
The previous record belongs to Elton John, whose “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” tour, which began in 2018 and ended July 8 in Stockholm, grossed $910 million as of June 18, according to the Billboard Boxscore-specialized website.
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Before him, pop singer Ed Sheeran’s “Divide” tour (2017-2019) grossed $776 million.
But while Sheeran tickets averaged $100, according to Pollstar.com, a one-way ticket to a Beyoncé or Taylor Swift concert costs at least double that.
Beyoncé and inflation
Entertainment company Live Nation, which merged with ticketing site Ticketmaster in 2010, said it will have sold more than 100 million tickets by 2023, more than all of 2019.
“In a world almost fully reopened, it’s clear that concerts remain a priority for fans,” Live Nation said in its latest published results.
The two dates of Beyoncé’s show in Stockholm in May were even described by one economist as an inflationary factor for the whole country.
But as demand grows, dissatisfaction with the dominance of Live Nation and Ticketmaster is growing.
For years, concert fans have complained about hidden fees, skyrocketing ticket prices and a shrinking supply due to advance booking.
“Monopoly”
The chaos surrounding Taylor Swift’s tour ticket sales has forced Ticketmaster to appear before the US Congress over alleged anti-competitive practices.
“The built-in vertical monopoly has really big price implications,” says Andrew Leff, a music industry veteran who teaches at the University of Southern California.
“If you’re Ticketmaster, you can charge whatever you want, you have no competition and there’s a demand for Taylor Swift or Beyoncé, it’s a game of supply and demand,” he told AFP.
“They can charge whatever they want, and they do.”
In his opinion, however, the concert boom does not necessarily benefit everyone, especially not small groups.
“There are actually two music industries,” he notes: “the 1% music industry and the other 99% music industry.”
The story is well known: touring is expensive, but it’s a lifeline for artists whose copyrights remain slim in the face of streaming.
But the post-pandemic catch-up is driving up demand and prices for everything from room rentals to buses.
Last fall, independent artist Santigold was among the first to speak out about these issues, canceling her tour on the grounds that she “just couldn’t pull it off.” Main causes: Inflation and competition in a saturated market.