Seeing your favorite musicians play their top hits live can be an unforgettable experience that lasts a lifetime. But concert tickets can be costly, often crossing the $1,000 threshold. But what are the most expensive concert tickets ever sold?
The most expensive concert tickets ever sold were to the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert, led by classic rock icons Led Zeppelin. Ticket prices averaged several thousands of dollars, with some reaching $14,000 or more. Tickets for Elton John’s 2022 Farewell Yellow Brick Road aren’t far behind.
If you’re thinking of buying a concert ticket to see your favorite artist perform live, you’ll want to start saving now. After all, as this guide will show, some of the world’s most popular concerts come feature astoundingly high ticket prices.
Here are the Top 10 Most Expensive Concert Tickets Ever Sold:
- Led Zeppelin – Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert
- Elton John – Farewell Yellow Brick Road
- Maroon 5 – Hard Rock Live Sacramento
- Justin Bieber – Justice World Tour
- Lady Gaga – Las Vegas Residency
- The Weeknd – After Hours Til Dawn Tour
- The Rolling Stones – 50 & Counting Tour
- Beyoncé – Mrs. Carter Show World Tour
- One Direction – Take Me Home Tour
- John Mayer – Sob Rock Tour 2022
10. John Mayer – Sob Rock Tour 2022
John Mayer has produced music since the late 1990s. However, he didn’t become massively popular until the early 2000s. That said, his popularity hasn’t waned since that time, leading to pricey concert tickets that often sell out in a matter of days or weeks.
Tickets to the 2022 Sob Rock Tour are a fantastic example. Some of the tickets to these shows retailed for about $200. But the best seats tended to sell for $500 or more. So, if you and a friend or loved one wanted to catch this guitar-playing crooner up close, you’d likely need to spend a solid grand on the experience.
You could invest in one of the world’s most expensive birthstones for that price! But, of course, the chance to see your favorite artist play live music might be worth far more to you than any gemstone or precious metal. That certainly seems the case for One Direction fans, who paid a premium price to see them play during their 2013 tour.
9. One Direction – Take Me Home Tour
One Direction’s Take Me Home concert tour had some of the highest-priced concert tickets, with the average price sitting at about $460. Some fans spent upwards of $1,000 for seats close to the stage or backstage VIP passes.
Though this price might be steep, the tour occurred during the height of One Direction’s popularity in 2013. Due to their boy band personas, tweens, teens, and young adult fans alike scrambled for the opportunity to purchase a ticket to one of the Take Me Home shows.
About 300,000 tickets were sold within a day of the tour’s announcement, making it challenging for fans to acquire tickets from that point forward. Buyers who acted early weren’t averse to selling their tickets to late-to-the-party One Direction fans, often re-selling their concert tickets for thousands of dollars.
8. Beyoncé – Mrs. Carter Show World Tour
Beyoncé (full name Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter) has been astounding audiences with her powerful voice since her 1990 debut in the R&B group Destiny’s Child. However, both her fanbase and paycheck have grown immensely since then.
The 2013 Mrs. Carter Show World Tour consisted of more than 100 shows across the globe. Due to the high number of performances, you might assume that ticket prices for this concert tour were reasonably affordable. However, the average ticket price for one of these shows was over $700!
While some tickets were far less expensive (some even selling for less than $100), the best seats at every venue cost an enormous amount. And fans eager to bask in the glow of Beyoncé’s fiery personality and dulcet voice were more than willing to dole out the cash for these premium seats.
Nowadays, you’ll need to spend about $2,000 to enjoy a Runway VIP concert package featuring Beyoncé and Jay-Z.
7. Lady Gaga – Las Vegas Residency
Any musician who’s become famous enough to take on a Las Vegas residency can charge incredibly high prices, and that’s undoubtedly true of fan-favorite Lady Gaga. Though you might be able to score an affordable ticket by booking a show several months ahead of time (and choosing a faraway seat), some tickets cost $900 or more.
These comparatively high prices result from Lady Gaga’s popularity and Las Vegas’ expensive nature. So if you’re planning on visiting Sin City, you’ll likely spend hundreds of dollars on hotel rooms, food, and entertainment, even if your stay is relatively brief.
As a result, tickets to Lady Gaga’s Las Vegas shows will likely remain high for the foreseeable future. But at least they’re not nearly as expensive as a ticket to see The Rolling Stones!
6. The Rolling Stones – 50 & Counting Tour
When The Rolling Stones announced that they would be touring in 2012, classic rock fans around the planet went nuts. After all, the band hadn’t played together in about six years at that point, and its members were rapidly aging. As such, fans knew they might not have many more opportunities to see The Rolling Stones perform live.
Tickets for this tour averaged about $1,000 per person. That’s almost as expensive as the average Louis Vuitton product! But while a Louis Vuitton bag might last several decades, a ticket to one of these shows only granted a few hours of bliss.
Still, The Rolling Stones are one of the most well-known rock bands to emerge during the 1960s. Their influence on modern music is still felt today, making them legends in their own right. So, the $1,000+ price tag for these concert tickets was somewhat reasonable for many fans.
But you don’t need to be a multi-generational rock band to charge incredible ticket prices. Many of the planet’s most popular modern concerts are just as expensive, if not more so.
5. The Weeknd – After Hours Til Dawn Tour
For years, the Weeknd’s music has been blasting out of car radios and headphones. Still, the artist didn’t experience true global notoriety until his performance at the 2021 Superbowl half-time show.
Since then, his popularity has climbed ever higher, leading to jaw-dropping concert ticket sales and sold-out performances. As such, it should be no surprise that his 2022 After Hours Til Dawn tour featured some of the priciest tickets yet.
Rivaling the price for the average ticket to The Rolling Stones concerts, this tour featured shows with $1,020 tickets. Of course, fans hoping to get a VIP experience paid far more. And if you’re a fan of The Weeknd and Justin Bieber, you can expect to spend thousands for a couple of great seats.
4. Justin Bieber – Justice World Tour
Justin Bieber’s concert tickets have a history of selling for incredible prices. Back in 2017, the best seats sold for more than $1,000. But the 2022 Justice World Tour puts those prices to shame.
The highest-tier tickets for this 2022 concert tour average about $1,500 per ticket. Still, this is Bieber’s first tour since the global pandemic, and fans are hungry for the chance to enjoy live music from their favorite artist.
Remember, live events were banned or heavily restricted during 2020 and 2021. So, those hoping to cut loose and enjoy a concert might be unbothered by the high ticket prices associated with top-tier acts like Justin Bieber.
When you consider how much Maroon 5 is charging for a seat at one of their performances, it’s easy to see that the demand for live music is far outpacing the supply.
3. Maroon 5 – Hard Rock Live Sacramento
Maroon 5, fronted by lead singer Adam Levine, has made waves in the pop music industry since the early 2000s. Their shows are known for being colorful, fun, and full of high-cost effects.
But how do you think they afford to throw such lavish concerts? High-priced concert tickets might be an answer. After all, many of their Hard Rock Live Sacramento show tickets cost more than $1,500, with some even breaking the $1,600 threshold.
When this band frontlines with other famous artists, such as Kelly Clarkson, ticket prices skyrocket even higher. Still, it’s not challenging to understand why this band’s concert tickets reach such astounding highs.
Maroon 5 has enjoyed two number-one albums and dozens of top hits, making them one of the most successful pop acts in the last two decades. Due to the earworm nature of their songs, passionate and casual fans tend to buy up concert tickets as soon as shows are announced, leading to incredible ticket re-sell prices.
Despite this success and global popularity, Maroon 5 concert tickets still don’t hold a candle to tickets for Elton John’s performances.
2. Elton John – Farewell Yellow Brick Road
The Rolling Stones aren’t the only legendary musical act to charge astounding prices for their concert tickets. Elton John, a musician best known for his 1970s and 1980s hits, started his ‘final’ tour in 2018. But due to the global pandemic, he was forced to postpone several shows.
But in 2022, the Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour resumed, with new show dates added to compensate for the multi-year lapse. And, to put it mildly, fans have been more than willing to spend their money on tickets for these performances.
Many of the tickets for this tour fall into the $1,000 price range, with some seats costing upwards of $4,500. You could enjoy the views aboard one of the most expensive train rides for those prices!
However, Elton John’s music defined a generation. His personal life and personality were also driving factors toward socially progressive policies and changes. For these reasons, long-term fans and new listeners are equally eager to buy a ticket to his goodbye tour.
1. Led Zeppelin – Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert
The O2 Arena in London is one of the largest venues on the planet, so it’s no surprise that it often hosts the most popular musical acts. In 2007, it hosted the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert, a benefit concert held in honor of Ahmet Ertegun, a world-famous executive who worked closely with many of the most well-known bands and musicians of the 20th century.
But the fact that the concert was held in Ertegun’s honor wasn’t what drew concertgoers.
Instead, the headlining band, Led Zeppelin, was the primary reason why tickets quickly sold out. Until that year, the classic rock band hadn’t played together in almost three decades, making the live performance exceptionally rare.
Though less than 20,000 tickets were available, more than a million people attempted to buy a spot at the concert. As you might imagine, this limited supply and high demand led to insane ticket prices.
As the concert date neared, many of those lucky enough to procure a ticket (originally priced at $250) were auctioning off their concert access to passionate fans for thousands of dollars.
Even the band got into the auction process, offering three tickets for a starting bid of $10,000. Some of these re-sold tickets sold for more than $14,000, making the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert tickets the priciest ever sold. If Led Zeppelin ever decides to do a world tour, there’s a good chance that the tickets will be similarly expensive.
Why Are Some Concert Tickets So Expensive?
There are a few reasons why some concert tickets are so expensive. Still, the primary factors that influence ticket price are demand and rarity.
Musicians and bands that are incredibly popular attract hundreds of thousands (sometimes millions) of fans, significantly reducing the availability of concert tickets. Due to this high demand, musical acts may raise the price of their tickets to ensure that only to highest-paying fans gain entry.
However, some bands, like The Rolling Stones, rarely go on tour nowadays. So, when they do, long-term fans are often more than willing to pay high prices for the opportunity to see them play live.
Overall, the priciest concert tickets are related to top-tier performers who rarely perform live.
Are You Ready To Buy Concert Tickets?
The most expensive concert tickets ever sold were to the 2007 Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert, headlined by Led Zeppelin. Tickets to this event sold for thousands of dollars, some even reaching $14,000!
Due to high demand, many upcoming concerts also feature astounding ticket prickets, often varying between $200 and $4,000. So if you’re hoping to catch one of these shows, you’ll want to start saving your hard-earned cash.
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