Insufficient Funds: Ticket Price Mania!
Ahh, ticket prices. You love to sneak up on us hardworking concert attendees, rendering many of us unable to afford the ever-increasing costs. With the recent announcement of Birmingham metal heroes Black Sabbath hosting a farewell gig, and the hours-long queues fans waited in just to be greeted with a bill reading four figures, isn’t it time all this ended?
The Finer Things in Life
There are many contributing factors to the cost of live entertainment, and sure Black Sabbath are essentially hosting a mini-festival. Still, as a band whose music originated from the gritty working-class factories of Aston, it seems quite ironic that the crowd in attendance will by default be of a higher standard of society. With the cost of living in the U.K. becoming unbearable, the huge abyss between wages and house prices and not to mention the fact that this gig got announced unexpectedly not long after Christmas, I couldn’t help but feel let down.
It is becoming clear that entertainment is a taste of the finer things in life in 2025, the days are gone when teenagers could save up their paper round wage to go and be inspired by the touring band, thus forming their own bands. And arguably, in the economic state the nation is in, it is the working classes who require the most release! Not to discredit the hard graft people put in to afford these prices.
Kids With iPads
Don’t get me wrong, I love a huge festival or a big show. As much as I love Punk and underground culture, there is something so special about a gigantic extravaganza of a live event. I am all for it. But if we look at the atmosphere from some events, you’d have to admit it is starting to wither. This is most clearly seen in football stadiums across the U.K. as the price of season tickets is now astronomical, with some Fulham F.C. fans forking out £6,000 for a season at Craven Cottage.
But fair enough, with Fulham’s location in a more affluent area of London, it is ever so slightly more understandable. Over the border in Wolverhampton, it saddened me (even as a Baggies fan) to hear about families unable to introduce the newer generations to football culture, as they struggled to afford the dough for a season ticket at Molineux. Are we going to enter the 2030s with caviar and champagne being served instead of pies and ale? Are the headbangers going to be replaced by kids with iPads and are parents becoming more concerned about leaving early to avoid traffic than letting their hair down?
Silver Lining
Well, there is one saving grace for us, and that is the grassroots level. I can go and see a great professional band for £5 still, and there is currently a surge in the popularity of lower-league football. This is the silver lining of this great ticket price ordeal! And I urge everyone to act upon it. After all, it was Black Sabbath who started off playing in pubs and community centres. Birmingham and the West Midlands have an abundance of talent on offer, it is up to us to seek it out! Check out what’s going on at your local lower league football team, or at venues like The Flapper, Sunflower Lounge, Night Owl or Hare & Hounds. And I promise you, you’ll be in for a good time!
