LISTEN: Music Fans Shrug Off Ticket Price Hikes to Keep Summer Concert Business Humming

'Strictly Business' is Variety's weekly interview podcast featuring conversations with industry leaders about the business of media and entertainment

By Andrew Wallenstein

Andrew Wallenstein

President and Chief Media Analyst

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The global live music business is chugging along through its busy summer season as strong as ever, defying even what has long been its biggest challenge: ticket-price sensitivity.

Consumers consistently cite cost as the biggest barrier to attending concerts. But the percentage of respondents on Luminate‘s U.S. Music 360 survey who cite ticket prices as a deterrent has trended downward from 59% in the first quarter of 2024 to 53% in the same period two years later. The survey and Luminate’s latest special report, “Live Music 2026,” is the focus of this week’s episode of Variety podcast “Strictly Business.”

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