How Ticket Pricing Will Impact the Future of Live Music in the UK

Experiencing music live has been a clear trend over the past few years especially with Gen-Z listeners. Despite live music profits soaring, there remains a crisis revolving around high ticket prices and grassroot venues struggling to stay afloat.

The global market for live music has been thriving following the Coronavirus pandemic exceeding £22.48 billion globally in 2023 and accumulating over £6 Billion for the first time ever in just the UK. The global market for live music is estimated to reach around £65.454 billion by 2030.

This growth stems from popular artists like Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Coldplay and the Oasis reunion going on world tours, causing desperate fans to look on websites like Ticketmaster to pay high prices.

Rising ticket prices have resulted from ticket selling websites implementing dynamic pricing – the adjustment of prices in response to changing market conditions such as high demand. This practice was adopted by Ticketmaster, enabling artists and promoters in the entertainment industry to charge fans mark-ups as high as 41% over the original ticket face value.

Artists are charging these high mark-ups as a way to combat their earnings on streaming services, as the majority of musicians make just 5% of their income from streaming. Higher priced tickets translate into paying for all the things that make up a tour behind the scenes for an artist like transporting stage crew and equipment to large venues.

Still, dynamic pricing has made the experience of live music more exclusive as only a select few thousand who are willing to pay for high ticket prices to see their favourite artists will continue to buy the tickets. Whether or not this business model is sustainable completely relies on the market of superfans. Over half of UK fans say they have reduced the number of events they attend because of rising ticket prices.

Small Venues Paying the Price

Concertgoers are not the only ones paying the price of dynamic pricing, as grassroot venues in the UK are taking a hit as well. Grassroot Music Venues showcase up-and-coming artists in their communities, employing around 30,000 people and contributing over £500m to the UK economy.

Despite this, The Music Venue Trust reported that an average of two Grassroot Music Venues closed every week in the UK in 2023 and over a third of the remaining small venues currently operate at a loss.  

SUBTV is combating this issue with our live music element, SUBTV Spotted. We are showcasing notable artists at small venues and it is completely free for both the students and host venue. So far, we have hosted successful events across the UK at locations like Liverpool, Manchester and Bath.

The Future of the Live Music Experience

The current state of live music appears healthy despite concertgoers being vocal about their frustrations around high ticket prices. Large venues are still being sold out and grass root venues are sinking because of the increase of demand revolving around mainstream acts over local talent.

Large venues cannot take their customers for granted and expect superfans to continue paying these high prices to see their favourite artists. Grassroots venues have an opportunity to tap into the “experiential market” which is a market projected to reach £7.6 billion in the UK by 2025. Hosting themed events with curated cocktail menus and interactive performances that offer a diverse selection of local artists can boost footfall and revenue for small venues.

If live music is going to thrive long-term, it needs to do more than sell out stadiums. Big venues must stay fan-first, while smaller spaces innovate to survive. Ticket prices aren’t likely to drop—but fans will start seeking value elsewhere. The experience itself needs to be worth it.