2026 has been a monumental year for major music artists to announce tours. Bruno Mars, Harry Styles and Noah Kahan are just three of the many popular musicians to have released music albums this year. While fans are excited for the opportunity to see their favorite artists live, many are struggling to obtain tickets.
“Me and my friend were trying to get tickets for Bruno Mars as soon as he announced his tour,” senior Leena Eid said. “The starting prices were over $200 for one ticket, which was really high compared to what prices used to be.”
Ticketmaster is the leading platform for buying event tickets, including concerts, theater shows and sports. As artists release presale tickets, there are fees attached to each purchase that increase depending on the demand. The fees can be almost a third of what the original price actually was, making it hard for people to obtain tickets.
Every artist that goes on tour has the option to avoid charging these extra fees, but most don’t because it makes them more money. This is very contradictory because concerts should be focused on the music and experience, but instead are centered around money and the worry that fans won’t be able to attend their favorite performances.
“The last few concerts I’ve tried to get tickets for don’t even have available tickets for under $200, and that’s not including the extra fees,” junior Sydney Spriggs said. “It sucks because I love concerts, but spending money isn’t worth it.”
Many people have started buying tickets on other platforms, such as SeatGeek and TickPick, to avoid the extra costs. Although this is beneficial for the second-hand buyers, this is also causing more people to buy tickets from TicketMaster and sell them for more money, creating an unfair cycle.
Luckily, more artists are speaking up about the ridiculous fees being placed on their fans. Folk-pop singer Noah Kahan and pop singer Olivia Dean refused to sell their tickets through TicketMaster unless the fees were waivered, and had success with their terms. As more fans speak up about the costs, more artists will hopefully be willing to listen and support their tour by putting their supporters first.
