[MUSIC] In each module in this course we have been considering questions about the way that music is assigned value. And so, in our live music module the question is, what is a live performance worth? The price of concert tickets has skyrocketed in the past few decades. Now, local shows are often times still very affordable. The musicians that you can go and see at your local coffee shops or smaller clubs. But for the big arena shows, amphitheater shows, festival tickets, have become very, very expensive. And so if you ask why, the answer, like so many other answers you're going to find among different parties in the music industry, depends on who you ask. Now of course the first rule of capitalism is that you charge when you can get. And so of course anyone can charge whatever they want for a ticket, but these steep prices do keep some regular folks out of the loop. And sort of price some acts out of the reach of regular people with regular salaries. So I wanted consider some of the changes that have happened in the industry that have caused this upward spiral in prices of large-scale concert tickets. First of all, in an era where artists are making a smaller percentage of their income in recorded music, they need to make up for that loss of income in other areas of their career. And live performance, for some artists, can be a way that they can boost their income through touring. In addition, the cost of touring increases with the size of your entourage that you've got. And some people would also argue that in a world where attention spans are smaller than they used to be, spectacle is more and more necessary. And so, while in the 1960s or 70s, you might go see The Rolling Stones or The Grateful Dead and it's just some guys on a stage. Today, you go and see The Rolling Stones and there's huge video, and pyro, and lots of production that adds to the cost of the tour. So in order to make ends meet, a lot of artists these days are doing more private and corporate shows. And those kinds of shows have become a bigger piece of the puzzle for some artists in order to make ends meet while they're touring. Fewer artists these days are turning up their noses at large paydays that are offered by doing private events. This is different than the way that it used to be, where a lot of artists said no, this is my art and I'm not going to take money from a corporation and do private shows for people, I want to connect with my fans directly. Fewer and fewer artists can afford to make that choice these days. In addition to the high cost of production, there is a lack of competition in large venues, and this also helps to drive up prices. There are large corporations who own the venues, the promotion companies that sell tickets into those venues, and the ticket sellers that sell tickets to the shows that are put on by those venues. In some cases, even the management companies that book acts into these venues are connected through corporate relationships with the venue and everything else having to do with a concert. This is a kind of vertical integration that means that there's very little competition in most markets in the United States in the large venues. So access to large, prestigious venues is limited to just a few players. In addition to that, the secondary market is something that has boomed because of new kinds of technologies. This is a sort of online updated version of your typical scalper that has been around since the very early days of live performance. These days, a large percentage of tickets are sold to resellers and brokers before the average consumer has a chance to buy them directly. In addition, there are ticket-buying bots that scoop up tickets as soon as they're on sale and then resell them at a markup. There is some ethical and legal gray area with this. In one case, these ticket buying bots were used by companies that were actually owned by the parent ticket selling company, and so the sort of up-charge was happening within the corporation itself. Now all of this, and the sort of upward trend in the price of tickets, means that there are other ways that live performance is growing in reaction to these high ticket prices. Now, if you are lucky enough to be a very wealthy person and money is no object, what you find in a lot of places is that there is a new kind of luxury package experience that is offered for a lot of t he sort of high end, big artists, big concerts. As I mentioned before, there are private and corporate gigs that can happen, where if you've got a lot of money you can have personal access to famous musicians. In addition, there are VIP packages that are sold at a lot of venues, where you get to meet the artist, maybe have a photo op. You get the best seats in the house, maybe you have a catered dinner or a box, other treats that can be sold if the price is right. Now, if you're not a wealthy person who can afford this VIP luxury experiences, there are also other ways that you can enjoy the music of your favorite, maybe classic rock bands. The rise of cover bands and tribute bands in popularity can be directly linked to the increase in ticket prices. So if you can't afford, I guess I don't want to name any names, but if you can't afford a ticket to your favorite classic rock band, you can maybe go see a tribute band that's going to play all those hits that you love so much. It's cheaper than the original, it feeds your need to hear your favorite music. You can see the musicians in a smaller, more intimate venue, and it can be kind of a fun experience. In addition, if you can't afford these big ticket shows, the advent of YouTube, the Palladia Channel, the streaming service Qello, all of these sort of sources can show high quality concert footage. As you can watch in the comfort [LAUGH] of your own home, sitting on your own couch, as well. It's interesting for me to see the ways that these other kinds of experiences have grown in popularity because of high ticket prices in some of these large venues. Now, as always, amazing musicians play all the time at local venues that are smaller. The cover charge at these small clubs locally is often [LAUGH] $0, or $5, or $7. And many of the best shows that I've ever seen in my life have been in these smaller venues. And so, I encourage you to check out some of those things as well. [MUSIC] [SOUND] >> [APPLAUSE]
