Concert Tickets Cost More Than They Did Pre-Pandemic

Tickets to the 100 most popular tours in North America now cost 17 percent more, according to new data

Photo: Rick Clifford

BY Alex HudsonPublished Jul 15, 2022

Do concert tickets seem awfully expensive lately? It's not just your imagination: data shows that tickets for major concerts cost significantly more than they did pre-pandemic.

As of June 2022, a ticket to one of the 100 most popular tours in North America costs $108.20 USD — which is up 17 percent compared to the average ticket in 2019, according to Pollstar [via The Globe and Mail].

This seems to be at least partly connected to an increase in demand: those top 100 tours attracted 5 percent more ticket buyers, resulting in 25 percent more revenue.

Additionally, The Globe and Mail found that prices have likewise gone up on ticket sale platform SeatGeek. The average Canadian concert ticket costs $162 USD in 2022, compared to $145 USD in 2019 (but down from $198 USD last year, when touring was just getting started after the lockdowns of 2022).

As costly as these prices may be for consumers, artists similarly face new financial challenges — including the risk of cancelling shows due to COVID cases. Daniel Romano's Outfit just released a concert film as a way to recoup some of their losses following cancelled shows due to COVID cases in the band.

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