I wanted to buy tickets to see Stromae in November and it's gotten crazy expensive compared to before. Have prices really gone up everywhere or is it just because of inflation? Are there cheaper times to book?
Prices have gone up everywhere, it's not just you! It's a mix of inflation, platform fees that have gotten crazy, and promoters cashing in on the demand - for Stromae specifically, he's a really in-demand artist so obviously it costs more. For cheaper periods, usually it's by booking really early when tickets first go on sale or last minute like a few days before if there are unsold seats left, but for an artist like him honestly I don't really think there'll be any good deals!
I looked at ticket prices recently and honestly it's gotten a bit insane, but it's more nuanced than just "inflation + scammers". Platform fees are definitely monstrous (sometimes 30-40% of the ticket price), but there's also the fact that buzz-worthy artists like Stromae demand way higher fees because the demand is there. Promoters know they're gonna fill the venue so they jack up the base prices. It's not really that it exploded everywhere either - small local concerts stay reasonable, but anything that's a popular artist? Yeah, it's gotten aggressive.
As for cheaper periods, honestly it's complicated. Generally the first tickets put on sale are a bit cheaper, then prices go up as it starts to fill. Sometimes there are off-peak releases or pre-sales for subscribers, worth checking. But if something's doing well and it's a star right now, you can't really count on prices dropping. What really changes things is the platform - shop around directly with several (Ticketmaster, Ticketswap, etc) because fees vary wildly from one to the other. Sometimes you save a decent amount by going through a reseller instead of the official one, even if it's less reassuring.
When I wanted to buy tickets for my mates last year, I noticed that the hidden fees easily made up 30-40% of the final price, and that's before the promoter even takes their cut. What's also changed is that artists like Stromae are doing fewer dates than they used to, so demand gets concentrated, and the platforms know it well - they're playing on that.
Log into answer.
