Concert Cost is Worth the Experience

Concert Cost is Worth the Experience

Emily Holleran
For The Clock
ejholleran@plymouth.edu

Prices for concert tickets are getting steeper by the year, and with the rise in cost there is a fall in the number of people attending. There are, however, a great number of people who still scramble desperately in the deep void of the internet to find a single ticket for musical artists such as Adele or Justin Bieber. Tickets for an Adele concert on the popular ticket reseller site StubHub, had the prices ranging from several hundred dollars to several thousand. The most surprising thing about the price is that people actually buy these tickets solely for the reason to bask in the glory of whoever is on stage. This raises the question, is the price of tickets nowadays worth the desired experience?

Recently, I had a friend text me asking if I wanted to go with him to an upcoming Sia concert in May. Now, I’m not an avid fan of Sia, but I like a few of her songs, so I decided to give it a go. The excitement was contagious as we planned a day both of us could attend, but it wasn’t until I learned the ticket price of $71.00 that I began to have reservations. Sure it’s not a lot compared to other musical artists, but I’m a struggling college student. In the end, I decided to save my money with the slight pang of regret that I would miss out on a fun time. It didn’t bother me too much though, because I wasn’t a devoted fan of Sia, compared to other fans out there who sell their souls to buy a ticket.

As one of the biggest Justin Bieber fangirls out there, my other friend has a special “concert fund” where she saves money specifically for her one and only, Justin Bieber. This summer she is attending a concert in May for $600, and a concert in July for $150. These prices are actually considered cheap for Beliebers, as the most recent VIP ticket package is $2000 per person. For that amount of money I would expect to live with him for a week, even his own followers agree. It’s safe to say my friend’s “concert funds” are wiped out, but she has absolutely no regrets. To her, spending money on her self-proclaimed husband is comparable to another person splurging money on something that gives them happiness. If you think about how much you spend on say, clothes or videogames for a year, it makes concert tickets seem cheap.

A classmate of mine revealed, as we all shared something interesting about ourselves, that she has attended 47 concerts in her lifetime. Everyone took a collective gasp, especially when she continued to say most of the concerts featured boy bands like One Direction or 5 Seconds of Summer. This dedication confuses me, who declined a $71.00 ticket. How does one afford that many concerts? To the people who are passionate concert goers, the emptiness of depleting your cash is filled with the pure delight of seeing it all worth it, until post-concert depression hits of course.