Are ticket brokers to blame for the rising cost of concert tickets?
Ticket brokers aren’t to blame, the Dayton-area concert venue managers said. It’s the artists and concert promoters. “I think the artists are demanding more and there are major concert promoters willing to pay more,” Durham said. Promoters pay performers a “guarantee” for walking through the venue door, regardless of how many tickets are sold. “As they were competing and driving the guarantee prices up, somebody’s got to pay the bill,” Siehl said. “And that filtered down into ticket price.” In addition, the concert industry is faced with rising prices for fuel and labor. That, too, is passed on to consumers. Do ticket brokers and online auctions serve to move the concert market further away from average fans? “It is a hot topic in the industry right now; just exactly what to do about that and what the direct relationship is between ticket prices and artist guarantees,” Siehl said. But unlike musical trends, ticket brokers are unlikely to go out of style. “I do believe that there are lo
