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  • 11 hours ago
Artists are canceling tours because of unsold tickets, a phenomenon now known as 'blue dot fever.' We break down the factors behind the soaring prices, from dynamic pricing and scalping to the industry dominance of companies like Live Nation and Ticketmaster.

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00:00What is Blue Dot Fever? Artists are cancelling concert tours because of unsold tickets.
00:05People are calling it Blue Dot Fever, a reference to the blue dots that mark
00:09available seats in a venue's seating chart. The Times said that there are signs that consumer
00:14tolerance for high prices is breaking and a correction is taking place. The average
00:18ticket price has increased from £71 in 2019 to a peak of £100 in 2024.
00:25Just after the pandemic, there was such pent-up demand that it was really easy to tour and
00:30everybody was making a lot of money, according to JR Linde. Now there's a little bit of coming back to
00:36earth. Rolling Stone is blaming three factors for the sky-high ticket prices. Supply and demand,
00:42as reflected in the controversial practice of dynamic pricing, as well as rampant scalping,
00:47and one dominant company, Live Nation, controlling every source of revenue, including beer, food,
00:53parking, and ticket master service fees. Many artists are also finding that their cultural
00:59capital is dwindling. Nathan Green, the CEO of New Level Radio, told Newsweek that some artists are
01:05getting booked into rooms too big for where they sit today. Older artists banking on nostalgia are
01:10struggling the most. Both the Pussycat Dolls and Zayn, formerly a member of One Direction,
01:15recently cancelled their U.S. tours.
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