Christopher BarrettSome 71% of Britons are against the introduction of dynamic, or surge, ticket pricing for live events, according to a YouGov poll.
Dynamic pricing has been introduced by Ticketmaster for shows by acts including Taylor Swift and Harry Styles. Used widely by the airline industry, the process allows ticket prices to be increased and decreased based on the current market demand.
YouGov said only 5% of its survey’s respondents support the system but the results of its poll suggest younger people are generally less against the idea than their elders – 51% of 18 to 24-year-olds oppose dynamic pricing, compared to 74% of those aged over 55.
Regardless of whether dynamic ticket pricing is involved, 77% of respondents said they believe the price to see live music is expensive, with 44% saying it is very expensive. Some 75% of gig-goers said they had paid more than £50 for a concert ticket, including 36% who spent more than £100 on a ticket and 9% who paid £200 or more.
The report found that 60% of respondents had attended a live concert in the past five years, with 14% attending them recently, but 51% said the price of a ticket had stopped them from attending a gig at least once in the last five years, while 18% said it had happened frequently.
Of the 1,523 respondents, 24% said a fair price for a standard ticket to see a popular act at an arena or stadium concert would be between £50 and £59, compared to 18% for £30-£39, 17% £20-£29 and 16% for £40-£49.