The most expensive summer music tickets

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There are signs that the equilibrium is close to its tipping point. As ticket prices have increased, sales have gone down. The total number of tickets sold dropped from 37.6 million in 2004 to 36.1 million last year, while average prices were the highest ever, up 8.8 percent from 2004, according to Pollstar.

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To restore that fleeting balance between supply and demand, Ticketmaster has invented its own gauge of ticket values. Through Ticketmaster Auctions, promoters, artists, and venues now have a tool to determine fair market value for tickets, not just by section. Customers bid online by seat. Bonnie Poindexter, a spokesperson for Ticketmaster, says it's yet another way that promoters are keeping the money in legitimate hands and out of scalpers'. And it's catching on quick. Since 2003, when the service was launched, use has taken off. In 2005, Ticketmaster saw a 687 percent jump as clients are putting more tickets at more shows up for auction.

But just because a band’s tickets are listed for a reasonable price on Ticketmaster.com doesn’t mean you won’t pay more. Rock band Radiohead’s tickets are listed on the Web site for $41. Bryan Mendez, a 25-year-old Radiohead fan, says his girlfriend was supposed to surprise him with tickets to the show at Madison Square Garden in New York, but she was shut out of the online ticket sales. He immediately checked eBay and Craigslist.com, and the tickets were already selling for between $200 and $400 each. “Ticket prices are just ridiculous,” says Mendez. “I’ve been going to concerts since 1995 when tickets were $15 each, and since then they’ve just been going up and up and up.”

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When all is said and done, it seems that the profits from these high-priced tickets are going increasingly to the artists and producers, and less to the scalpers. But even with the possibilities furnished by the Internet, it's costing just about everyone more to see their favorite concerts this summer. No wonder iTunes has a hit on its hands with its 99-cent downloads.

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