Alarm: concerts cost more and more. The controversy broke out with tickets for Lady Gaga at the Assago Forum, on 19 and 20 October, which touch 230 euros. But already in the years earlier – we say from the return of the pandemic, even if the increase began around 2016 – similar episodes had been seen, from Madonna to Kendrick Lamar, settled on two zeros figures, doubled compared to those with which until recently it could be accessed by the live of the great international stars. But do not think only of foreigners: just see what numbers travel to ours who fill stadiums (from Vasco Rossi to the various nuclear tactical penguins, Elodie, Marracash), Palazzetti, Arenne, even clubs, where in the face of modest arrangements it is rare to go under 30 euros. And then the solutions introduced in recent seasons: areas reserved under the stage at increased prices, VIP Packs (complete with gadgets and aperitifs), seats behind the stage; All ways, here, to see how much you are willing to spend, to scratch some euro more. But how did we end here?

The only source of artists

Let’s put it this way: the increase in prices is real and the concerts are becoming a luxury good because the live are the only, true source of gain of the artists today; Thus, compared to thirty years ago, the cachets, that is, the amount of engagement of a certain singer, which allows you to bring the concert in question to the city, have doubled. The great agencies, promoters and the rest of the concert industry chain must, here, return: and therefore the price rises.

Until the nineties, the concerts had not had this centrality in the economy of the artists: hundreds of thousands of records were sold, on physical supports (CD, vinyl) that also cost thirty thousand lire, that is, the equivalent, then, of an entrance ticket for one of the many summer lives that were organized; The main source of sustenance was the body, the live activity was collateral, with very large and capillary tours, without the anxiety of today’s sold out. Then the online piracy of the early zero destroyed this model, making the physical copies market superfluous. The streaming has, yes, saved the music from the black hole, but it is not much more profitable, if it is counted that Spotify pays just $ 0.04 every ten streams. Of course, there is the return of the vinyl, but the physical supports – on which the profit margin, however, is wide – represent only a souvenir for fans, an object to be allocated to the instores and firmacopias, no longer the fundamental vehicle with which you come into contact with music. And, again, there are social networks, the possibility, for the artists, to sign partnerships and play, basically, from influencers and promotional faces, but it is a voice, even here, small, or in any case to be kept in balance with everything else. Instead the concerts are not: they are the only form of entertainment that the Internet, the social networks and streaming have not fallen, feeding, on the contrary, a certain fomo that made the live industry fly.

A separate chapter deserve international stars. With the exception of some names, with an established historian behind him, from Springsteen down, most of them, especially the new ones, does not have a sufficient audience, in Italy, to support these lives: we are an autarchic country in tastes (the listening charts demonstrate this), which does not reward foreigners who, in turn, have the same cachet exorbitant, so it ends up that the prices of the tickets for their concerts are even higher, To be sure to be able to go back to us. What then, “concerts”: often we speak of a unique live, given the geographical position of Italy (“out of hand” compared to the rest of Europe) and the absence of adequate structures, with the result that, usually, only Milan is involved in winter, while in the summer, at most, it is also up to Rome. AHIA.

A system full of cracks

In any case, even considering only the Italians, the system cracks are already evident. Ok the highest prices, but artists also have to answer with shows up to par. And just have gone to a concert in the last year to see how big the investment has been, starting from the visuals, customs cleared everywhere. Problem: professionals in the sector – those who allow you to design, set up and take home A concert – they are less and less, decimated by the pandemic and a state that has not recognized their professional value, especially for workers. The operators are, therefore, few and relatively expensive, with evident consequences, also here, on the habits of the fans: not only the concerts become exorbed, but the presales are open two years in advance (there are events announced in the stadiums for 2026, Tiè), to collect that money intended for professionals, who already work on those projects today.

And then the agenda is simply full. The racing to gold is beautiful that game, the fear of staying behind is great, so the bar rises: many try to perform in the stadiums, almost all at least in the buildings. Always according to the game of prices in Rialzo. But we are in a period of economic crisis, inflation eats our purchasing power and, literally, there is no room for everyone: not in tastes, but just in the pockets. In fact, it will already be necessary to make choices. And someone remains cut out. The first ads of “reprogrammed” tours are already coming in smaller places, “canceled” for “reasons independent of the will of the artists”, formulas rather than legitimate to say that there have not been quite tickets. The bubble is about to explode, perhaps. Certainly, if not the singers first will not take a step back, it is desertification.