looking at some old ticket stubs i was really not surprised to see how much concert prices have gone up..
december 2002 thievery corporation was $20...it seemed like many of my stubs from the first half of the 00s where in the $25 range.. prices really seemed to have taken off in the late 00s....
I'm not sure if that has to do with the new DC gilded age some are living or industry trends in general or the new DC market with multiple venues bidding for a limited number of artists.. ..probably a combination of all those factors
- inflation: everything is more expensive now
- artists rely on touring revenue more than ever to make a living. back in the early '00's they were still selling a few albums...
- are you comparing apples to apples? Thievery is "bigger" today than they were in 2002, so they can command a higher price. so looking at today's $45 ticket and saying "i used to pay $20" might not make sense, they're no longer the same band.
officially at least inflation has been really low the past decade.. i think there has been concern about deflaltion..that is how low it has been..
of course some things have gone way up but some things have gone way down.. everything is not more expensive now.. a laptop that used to cost $1000 in 2002 would cost you $350 now..
there is no doubt that concert tickets would be expected to go up.. i just think they have far outstripped just about anything else but maybe i'm wrong
i remember the stooges at the 930 in 2007 at $40 seemed to me at that time really pricey.. now it would seem cheap
moreover, you also, assuming you buy tickets online, have to factor in that ticket charges have at least doubled..... i bought a hives ticket recently for $35 and with ticket charges it was $45
and thievery is exactly the same boring band.. same sitar player, same reggae boyz etc... and in late 2002 they were coming off their two most acclaimed albums.. everything since then has been a bit of a downer.. but i get your point that their fanbase expanded at least until say last year... now its contracting..