Ticket prices have risen by 190% between 2017 and 1995, almost as much as college tuition
Britain’s West Country on the eve of the summer solstice prompted your columnist to reflect on the serendipitous, socialist past of live music. The road passed by Worthy Farm, which 50 years ago hosted the first Glastonbury festival, costing £1 a ticket. Back then its owner, Michael Eavis, a dairy farmer, had the mad idea of inviting the Kinks, whom he loved to listen to while milking, to headline a one-off gig, agreeing to pay them £500.
In the intervening years, the music industry has changed almost beyond recognition. Glam rockers have given way to punks, goths, ravers and rappers. Vinyl was overtaken by compact discs, then streaming. Recently Spotify and other platforms have given rise to a magic-mushrooming of “indie” artists, challenging, at last, the hegemony of the big-three record labels, Universal, Sony and Warner. As the money drained out of record sales in the 2000s, live music became the industry’s reliable earner.
If one company gets the credit—and blame—for taking the socialism out of rock ’n’ roll, it is Live Nation. The Los Angeles-based firm helped pioneer the global consolidation of tour-promotion, venues and ticketing. With $11.5bn in revenues last year, it is the world’s largest live-entertainment company. In 2010 it bought Ticketmaster, the biggest ticketing agency. Sales have grown each year since. Its customers, 98m of them last year, dig deep to see their favourite acts.
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