Registration costs €3,50, but you get that amount back in drink tokens.

This talk will be in English.

Why are concert tickets so expensive? The future of live music under pressure

A night out often costs twice as much today as it did a few years ago. Is this an inevitable consequence of rising costs, or is live music becoming a luxury product? Who actually sets the price of a concert ticket, and how do we ensure that live music remains accessible?

Since the pandemic, the demand for live music has skyrocketed. At the same time, costs for organizers have risen sharply—covering wages, energy, transport, security, production, and insurance. Additionally, dynamic pricing, secondary ticket markets, and international competition among artists and festivals are creating new challenges.

For concertgoers, this raises very specific questions:

• Why does a ticket for the same artist cost so much more today?
• Why do ticket prices fluctuate?
• Why do some concerts sell out within minutes?
• Why do tickets immediately appear at higher prices on resale sites?
• Can a concert venue like AB still offer affordable concerts?

This issue affects not only the music field but also broader societal themes such as inflation, consumer behavior, digitalization, and cultural policy.

Panel Members:

Laura Clays has been the spokesperson for Testaankoop since May 2022, where she oversees media relations. She also represents Testaankoop behind the scenes in dealings with companies, civil society and political stakeholders, as well as in panel discussions and lectures. She studied law and journalism and previously worked for ROBtv.
Emma Hessels is a singer-songwriter who has been captivating audiences across the country, show after show, since being selected as a laureate of Sound Track 2023. Until recently, Emma worked in Ticketing & Customer Service at AB. Alongside general customer service and event management, she was co-responsible for Solidair Ticket, an initiative through which AB aims to lower financial barriers to attending its events.
Jan De Loecker is Professor of Economics and a Research Professor (BOF) at KU Leuven, a Fellow of the Econometric Society, a former Research Associate at the NBER and a Research Fellow at the CEPR. He earned his PhD in Economics from KU Leuven in 2006. From 2006 to 2008, he joined the faculty at NYU, before moving to Princeton University, where he was a full-time faculty member from 2008 to 2017, including a tenured position from 2014 to 2017. He has also been a visiting professor at Yale University and Stanford University. His research focuses on industrial organisation, international economics and development economics.
Jan Digneffe is the director of the Belgian branch of FKP Scorpio, an independent concert promoter headquartered in Hamburg with offices in ten countries. He previously worked as a booker for Clear Channel (now Live Nation) and, in 2022, founded Live is Live, a three-day music festival held in Middenvijver Park on Antwerp’s Linkeroever. His upbringing had a lasting influence on his career and outlook: his father was a prominent socialist trade unionist in the railway sector, as well as a passionate music lover and DJ.

Margot Otten, who will moderate this talk, is a radio journalist from Brussels. For BRUZZ, she produces the "in Brussel" segment, featuring two stories from the city each week. She also works for VRTNWS, contributing to radio news and the podcast "Het Kwartier."
Margot also creates audio walks in various parts of the city under the name "Stadsoren," featuring stories and memories shared by city residents.