Why So High?

CCTV posted a story on its website pointing out that ticket prices for Chinese shows are often much more expensive than ticket prices for shows by the same artists in the West, citing Justin Bieber’s recent Shanghai appearance as an example.

The cheapest seat in Shanghai was 480 yuan ($79) while a Bieber show in Chicago last July had the equivalent price of 275 yuan ($44).

Foreign artists have extra expenses when traveling overseas, but even that doesn’t make up for the disparity between Chinese concerts and those in other Asian markets.

Beijing-based concert presenter Live Planet told CCTV that when artists from Taiwan or Hong Kong play on the mainland they often set their own tickets prices, but Western artists who don’t know China ask the local presenters to set prices.

Live Planet carries out market research to select the proper-sized venue and then sets ticket prices accordingly, usually by targeting a region’s white collar demographic.

This is easy because most foreign acts “don’t make a great deal of money from mainland tours,” says Live Planet.

They are more interested in promotion and building a fan base.

The real culprits are brokers, who arrange for travel and hotels but often charge huge commissions to the organizers, forcing them to increase ticket prices accordingly.

The best solution would be more foreign artists and thus more competition, which would lower commissions and also force venues to be more reasonable with rents.

As it stands, everyone is simply trying to make as much money as possible without thinking whether it helps or hurts the business.