\n<\/p>\n
\n\tBack in the Nineties, Pearl Jam famously sued Ticketmaster<\/a> in an unsuccessful effort to rein in the runaway costs of attending a concert. These days, many are raising the same concerns \u2014 like Doc McGhee, Kiss\u2019 longtime manager. In the late 1970s,\u00a0when he was a young man on the rock scene, top concert tickets<\/a> cost $10 to $11 (or about $50 to $55 in today\u2019s dollars). Last year, according to Pollstar,<\/em> the industry trade that monitors touring, the average ticket price had soared to around $132. That\u2019s an increase of 38 percent just since 2019, when they cost a comparatively affordable $96.17. \u201cIt\u2019s up to us,\u201d McGhee says. \u201cUntil people say, \u2018We\u2019re not going,\u2019 the prices are going up.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThis summer, that appears to be true. Entry to one of Harry Styles\u2019 30 dates at Madison Square Garden could cost you as much as $1,000; Alan Jackson\u2019s sold-out touring finale at a Nashville stadium is prompting scalper prices of more than $5,000.<\/p>\n \n\tIndustry veterans say that sky-high ticket prices are due to three key factors: supply and demand, as reflected in the controversial practice of dynamic pricing; rampant scalping; and one dominant company, Live Nation<\/a>, controlling every source of revenue, including beer, food, parking, and Ticketmaster service fees, at its 61 amphitheaters and more than 200 other venues in North \u00adAmerica. Many hoped the U.S. Department of Justice\u2019s 2024 antitrust lawsuit<\/a> would break up the world\u2019s biggest promoter, but a March 9 settlement<\/a> suggests that is unlikely to happen.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t(In court, Live Nation disputed nearly every criticism made by sources in this story. \u201cThere is no evidence in the record that Live Nation or Ticketmaster drives higher ticket prices or that breaking up the company would lower them,\u201d Dan Wall, the company\u2019s executive vice president of corporate and regulatory affairs, says in a statement to RS. \u201cIf the DOJ or states had credible evidence, they would have presented it. They haven\u2019t. After years of investigation and access to extensive data, there is still nothing tying our structure to higher prices.\u201d)<\/p>\n