Ticket prices were sky-high in 2023, and it was never more apparent than during some of the biggest headline-grabbing events on the calendar. Tickets to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and Adele’s Las Vegas residency went for big prices according to multiple online ticket distributors, while the Super Bowl headlined on the sports side.
Tickets to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour were a blockbuster across the globe, notching 13 of the 20 best-selling events of the year (ranked by average ticket price sold) according to ticket resale marketplace Ticket Club. The only higher average price paid per ticket than the best Eras Tour show – which took place on May 26 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, was Super Bowl LVII. That game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles in Arizona saw an average sold ticket price of $5,491.
Multiple of the best’-selling Swift tickets in 2023 are for shows next year, with four of the Top 20 consisting of October 2024 Eras Tour stops at Caesars Superdome and Hard Rock Stadium in Louisiana and Florida, respectively.
The most expensive average Swift ticket cost a staggering $3,107 for her gig at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, followed by her show at Boston’s Gillette Stadium for $2,894. Out of all 20 top-selling events, her cheapest average ticket price was $1,890; on average, Swifties had to hand over more than $2,000 per ticket.
Adele’s Las Vegas residency scored three spots on the list for shows in September, October, and November of this year. Fans paid anywhere between $1,898 and $1,944 to see the star take the stage.
“It’s not shocking, given the frenzy we saw surrounding the sales process and the cultural phenomenon it became, to see that Taylor Swift tickets were all over this list,” Ticket Club spokesperson Sean Burns said in a statement to TicketNews. “The process of selling them was so rocky and supplies perceived to be so scarce, that fans were willing to pay a major premium to be able to say they were there for those concerts – and it looks like we can expect more of the same in 2024.”
According to Gametime, a ticket resale platform specializing in last-minute sales, data revealed that fans had to shell out an average of $1,011 to see Adele’s residency, while those hoping to catch Swift were met with a similar average price of $958. This data is based on last-minute sales, showing what fans were willing to pay just before or day-of the show.
Weekends with Adele, which took over Caesars Palace in the Sin City, offered an exclusive experience for fans with a stripped-down setlist in an intimate setting. Adele said she had the chance to experience “hilarious, soulful, wild and heartbreaking interactions” with her fans, noting that the residency shows helped her “fall back in love with performing live again.”
This marked the British “Rolling in the Deep” singer’s first tour since 2017 after the original run was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When tickets first went on sale, it was reported that 100,000 tickets for the residency sold-out within six hours, setting a record per-show average gross of $2.2 million. The residency was extended through 2024.
According to Forbes, Swift’s first leg of the tour brought in $190 million, and it’s still set to make stops across Europe, Asia, and Australia before heading back to North America next fall.
The tour caused such high demand that Ticketmaster had to cancel a public sale due to “insufficient remaining ticket inventory” following 2 million tickets sold during the presale. Fans were met with hours-long queues, service delays, and website crashes, leaving millions of fans empty-handed. The entire fiasco sparked class action lawsuits against Ticketmaster and its parent company, as well as an investigation into the pair’s merger by the Department of Justice.
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Both Swift and Adele were among the top-selling tours of the year, however, concert tickets in general have spiked in 2023. Live Nation reported a revenue boost during its third quarter earnings, bringing-in $16.9 billion year-to-date, however, fans across all genres are feeling the burn. Sky-high “platinum” and “dynamic” prices for acts like Olivia Rodrigo, Morgan Wallen, Bad Bunny, and Noah Kahan have led to frustrated fans as Live Nation and Ticketmaster continue to dominate the industry — acting as venue owners, operators, ticket sellers, and promoters simultaneously.
An analysis from Bank of America predicted that live music will continue to drive consumer spending and the “funflation” will remain in place in 2024, with live events prevalent now more than ever. Yet, at some point, these prices have to fall. Industry insiders are predicting that ticket prices are currently in a bubble — and it’s only a matter of time before it pops, causing an entire reset.
