I don’t understand why people in the live entertainment business obsess so much about the increased cost of delivering live entertainment and think so little about the crazy upward trend in the price the market is willing to pay.
By looking back a few years, you can see this change very clearly. My example is always Bruce Springsteen. In 1985, I bought the Born in the U.S.A. album and, at almost the same time, I bought a ticket to the Born in the U.S.A. Tour.
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It amazes me quite a bit as to the price of tickets to go watch sports or go to a concert or even the movies. What’s also even more intriguing about this, is that it’s about location, and who or what it is that’s playing. Shucks, in San Antonio I can go watch a Spurs game for about 25 dollars. If I wanted to go to a game in Cleveland against the Spurs, I’m looking at about 160 dollars. I figure it’s all about the big stars in the league or the big concerts as to what you want to watch, but I guess if you really want to watch someone play and you’re willing to put down that kind of money, I’d say by all means go for it. Sure there have been several concerts and sporting events that I have wanted to go to, but you know what, I can always put my money to something better. I believe that is also why some people who aren’t really theatre goers, go to watch a play on Broadway, because there is that one star in the cast, that you wouldn’t want to miss going to see live, because it might be your only chance to. I’m sure it’s at that point that people start becoming a little bit of a fan girl.
This article brings up some pretty fascinating statistics and ideas. I would agree that we underestimate how much consumers are willing to spend on live entertainment. Especially concerts and other live entertainment events but also and most obviously for sports. My Grandpa was a season ticket holder with the Chicago Blackhawks for 40 something years and after they won the Stanley Cup in 2010, ticket prices skyrocketed. Obviously a team that is popular and winning can charge more for tickets because fans are willing to shell out to see the team win. The same is true in live entrainment. Bands start playing small venues with very low ticket prices but once a band hits it big and starts doing serious tours, obviously ticket prices are going to increase. What some don't seem to realize is that fans of anything might grumble when prices go up but ultimately they will still pay. Look at music festivals, early bird Lollapalooza tickets go for $100 but people who miss that chance end up paying sometimes as much as $500 for the weekend. And I'm sure they would pay more if that's what it would take to get in and see their favorite bands play.
It's always reassuring seeing things along the lines of this article. I'm shocked that the prices of tickets have actually quadrupled without any huge arguments. I would expect for customers to demand continuous prices and not let it slowly rise. It's odd, because I actually remember a time when prices were low myself, which is saying quite a bit with how little I've actually experienced and even more so with how few tickets I've had to purchase. I'm curious to see if the industry has pushed the consumers to the point where they will no longer pay more, or if they'll still continue to raise ticket prices in the future.
Clearly the increase in popularity and price is correlated, but I think the question to consider is wether the increase in popularity caused this increase in price, or if the increase in price caused the increase in popularity. Regardless I definitely agree with the author that the important part is that live entertainment is in fact growing in popularity, and in my book, that is a very good sign. I found it fascinating when Jim McCarthy justified possible reasons for this increase in popularity. The idea that live entertainment is now more appealing because the digital world has had a major increase, was so interesting. I do agree that our whole lifestyle has been dominated by media. We're always on our phones, iPads, laptops, even watching TV and movies on large screens. The concept of "live" performance has gotten so scarce that maybe people are realizing they had taken it for granted. Hopefully this interest in live entertainment will continue to grow.
Now that media and art is so easy to access with televisions, computers and phones, people are starting to see the importance in live entertainment. This is an interesting idea because in my opinion the growth in virtual entertainment has caused live entertainment to be less popular. Before, some one could go see a concert of an amazing band for $5 anytime they wanted but now it is harder to find live concerts. When an artist goes on tour it is much harder go because of the pice, but it is also a much bigger deal because this is no longer as common as it used to be. The raise in the prices of live entertainment, I believe, shows that the value is fleeting because now people can get entertainment sitting at home much easier and in a much more affordable way.
That fact that prices for live entertainment can rise and people continue to buy tickets, proves how special live art is. Seeing a performance on a screen or listening to a recording does not match the experience of a live performance. There is so much energy and excitement from watching someone perform right in front of your eyes. It is a lot more personal, even if you are in the very back row. People are willing to pay more to be in that atmosphere and say they actually saw a great performer in the flesh.
I have a theory that a lot of people disagree with that you can measure entertainment, and how entertaining it is, by how much people are willing to spend on it. A sort of "put your money where your mouth is" type theory. I think this article addresses a similar value, looking at the entertainment industry as a whole. I think when it comes down to it, what the article is saying is that Americans have more of a need for entertainment now than ever, and we are doing a better job delivering a superior product than we ever have before. Just in terms of looking at the conclusions in terms of supply and demand economics.
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