Growth in ticket prices, 1996–2025

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Live entertainment comes at a cost.

© BillionPhotos.com, Sirichai Puangsuwan/stock.adobe.com; Photo illustration Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

From the mid-1990s through the mid-2020s, the cost of live entertainment rose sharply in the United States, outpacing broader measures of consumer inflation. Data comparing average ticket prices for the top 100 concert tours and general admission at Walt Disney World versus the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) illustrate how expensive it has become to enjoy live entertainment.

While overall inflation increased steadily and theme park admission rose at roughly twice the rate of CPI, concert ticket prices followed a different trajectory. For much of the late 1990s and early 2000s, a general admission ticket to Disney World actually cost more than the average ticket to a top concert tour. Over time, however, concert prices caught up—and in the years following 2020, they surged past theme park admission, widening the gap between live music and other forms of entertainment.

This shift reflects not only changes to the economics of live music, but also the scale and spectacle of it all. Major concert tours increasingly evolved into large-scale productions, featuring elaborate stage design, advanced lighting and pyrotechnics, and supporting performers, all of which added to production costs. At the same time, Ticketmaster—since 2010 a subsidiary of Live Nation Entertainment (LYV)—expanded its service fee and revenue-sharing arrangements with venues and promoters, helping turn ticketing into a shared revenue stream. Exclusive venue contracts also reinforced its role in distributing tickets for major tours.

As live performances became a more important source of revenue for artists and promoters, these factors contributed to a sustained rise in ticket costs, widening the gap between general consumer prices and the cost of attending major concerts.