Going to a concert is something everyone should experience before they die. Whether it’s your local band or the biggest artist in the world, it’s something fun and enjoyable everyone can do. Millions of people go to see concerts every year, and some of those concerts definitely aren’t cheap. 

Recently, people have found it difficult to afford concerts with the steep prices of tickets. According to Statista.com, just one-sixth of concert attendees are under the age of 18, which concludes that more than 16 percent of concerts have students in them. With those steep prices of tickets, how are students able to afford them? The small demographic of high-income students makes it hard for students to afford these tickets, especially if they have student loans, car payments and human necessities. Not everyone can spend $300+ on a ticket. 

With tickets costing people their paychecks, it makes it hard for people to financially afford the buy. Unfortunately, you have to take into consideration ticket resellers. Some may ask “What is a ticket reseller?” 

“A ticket resale(er) is the act of reselling tickets for admission to events. Tickets are bought from licensed sellers and then sold for a price determined by the individual or company in possession of the tickets.” 

According to TheGuardian.com, ticket resellers may charge up to 300-500% on tickets. Take, for example, a $150 ticket, after a 400% increase in the price from a third-party seller the cost of the ticket is $600. If you thought students couldn’t afford tickets orgigianlly, then in what world are they going to buy a $600 ticket? Students are robbed of the chance to see their favorite artists because of someone who makes a living on reselling tickets. Despite the cons of resellers being the initial increase in price, there may be some pros. Resellers may not always resell the tickets they caught, so in some instances, they will decrease the price to the normal or below-normal amount the day of the concert.

“I typically try to find tickets from a reseller whenever I can. But every time I try to find them, some of them end up more expensive than the regular price. Half the tickets don’t sell either, so at that point you are just taking seats from people who want to go, but now can’t afford it. It’s beginning to turn into a toxic culture rather than the celebration of an industry,” senior Chase Grable said. 

People struggle immensely just to get tickets for a decent price. Yet, there is only so much we can do. With some states saying it’s illegal to resell, there is no rule about online reselling. With companies like Ticketmaster making it accessible to resell tickets for as much as the person wants, it is hard for people to justify spending so much money on a ticket. Companies not making stricter rules make it hard to stop this culture shock of ticket reselling. 

Yet the companies aren’t the only problem. Some artists, like Taylor Swift, charge thousands of dollars for seats at their concerts, making it impossible to get tickets. Often, artists find it distasteful to resell tickets and find that people should just enjoy their concerts. 

It’s undeniable that artists have a wide range of audiences and with top artists having millions or billions of people listening to them they have to withhold a standard. Yet, they use their massive power to address the wrong things. Artists should work to make their concerts more affordable and enjoyable. Some artists just addressing the issue of ticket reselling or setting a boundary for the tickets could alter whether someone spends their month’s rent on a ticket or a $100.

Ticket reselling is a problem among most, but the root of the problem comes from the artist itself. With artists not addressing the ticket reselling, it assures the people that it’s okay for it to happen and further makes the concerts unaffordable. Whether we like it or not, ticket reselling isn’t going to stop, and no matter how hard people try to stop it, people will continue to do it. The only thing people can do is find a middle ground people can agree on, or have the artist address the topic.