$25 Concert Tickets Won't Help Live Nation Win Back Music Fans

On Thursday, Live Nation announced its annual Concert Week, a promotion that takes place between May 10 and May 16, 2023, in which fans can purchase tickets to select shows for just $25 apiece. This year, the $25 all-in ticket deal will apply to more than 3,800 shows across North America by more than 300 acts, including Janet Jackson, Fall Out Boy, Don Toliver, Maroon 5, Shania Twain, Snoop Dogg and more (you can click here to see the full list of participating events).

But it’s hard to feel thankful for one week of discounts when Live Nation, which owns Ticketmaster, has devoted so much more time to driving up ticket prices. A $25 ticket is nice, but when nosebleed seats typically sell for 10 times that, we’ve got a problem.

Get ready for Concert Week, May 10-16! $25 All-In Tickets to over 3,800 shows. It’s the perfect time to get tickets to see ALL your favorite artists and fill your year with live events.
Head to https://t.co/Imf7LVmRvw pic.twitter.com/ioqsgqzQSs
— Live Nation (@LiveNation) May 4, 2023

The truth is, while fans of artists like Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen try to wrap their mind around spending more than a month’s rent on a ticket, business is booming for the company. According to Variety, Live Nation had a record-breaking quarter in Q1 of 2023, raking in a whopping $3.1 billion in revenue — up 73% from the same period last year — with a record-setting 19.5 million fans attending its events. “The company’s concerts division already has sold almost 90 million tickets for shows this year already, more than 20% ahead of last year, and posted adjusted operating income of $320 million, a 53% increase,” the publication notes.

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All of this money keeps rolling in despite an ongoing lawsuit from Taylor Swift fans over the way Ticketmaster handled the pre-sale for her tour; a Senate hearing looking into whether Live Nation and Ticketmaster hold a monopoly over the live concert ticket market; and pending legislation looking to rectify that. They’re making so much money, they could probably afford to make $25 concert tickets a permanent fixture; instead, they’re letting folks pay $5,000 to see Bruce Springsteen. It’s gonna take a lot more than a one-week discount to fix this and earn back some goodwill from music fans who feel like they’re being exploited.