The live music industry has become big business in recent years as artists strive to cash in on the shifting landscape within the sector.
It was once the case that record sales accounted for the biggest proportion of their income, but the launch of streaming services has thrown a spanner in the works.
While elite level acts can keep the cash tills ringing from digital downloads, live concerts are where they now make the biggest proportion of their income.
A recent study by Betway highlights that point to perfection, with fans forced to dig extremely deep if they want to watch their favourite acts live.
For example, boyband BTS have performed just six concerts in the United Kingdom in the past five years and tickets were hard to come by.
Standard ticket prices for a gig at Wembley Stadium ranged from £45-160 each, but thousands of fans were left frustrated as they quickly sold out.
This left many people turning to resale websites to source tickets and the costs involved in heading down this route were truly staggering.
The cheapest ticket price on resale sites was a whopping £678.94 and plenty of sales were completed at a much higher rate than that amount.
While some big name artists seemingly do little to prevent live tickets from being sold on resale sites, many bands work hard to ensure their fans get a fair deal.
For example, Manchester indie legends James actively encourage their loyal followers to use authorised resale sites if they are searching for tickets.
These connect fans with spares at face value, thus ensuring that the bulk of people who attend their gigs are not out of pocket.
Their efforts have clearly not gone unappreciated, with the band recently playing a sell-out gig at the Castlefield Bowl to mark the 30th anniversary of their iconic Alton Towers show.
Expensive prices on resale sites are not the only issue music fans face when they are attempting to purchase tickets for live concerts.
Several of the leading ticket websites have introduced ‘dynamic pricing’, which adjusts the price for tickets up or down based on demand.
British rock band Coldplay came in for plenty of criticism when this methodology was applied to ticket sales for their gigs at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester.
Standard ticket prices ranged from £55-120, but some fans were offered standing tickets at more than £525 by the algorithm-based system.
Coldplay’s ticket aren’t the only ones sold using this mode of pricing, tickets for Taylor Swift, Harry Styles and Bruce Springsteen were also subject to it.
With many fans now priced out of watching global superstars perform live, they have started to turn their attention to acts further down the pecking order.
Up-and-coming bands such as Red Rum Club, The Royston Club and The Reytons have regularly sold-out mid-size venues while charging affordable ticket prices.
Music acts of this nature are committed to staying true to their roots and ensuring that the good nature of the fans who support them is rewarded.