When Harry Styles announced a fall residency at Madison Square Garden, 43-year-old Tara Bess knew she had to be there. She didn’t want to spend hours camping for a prime spot in the general admission area, so Bess bought a VIP ticket for $1,400 from a resale ticket site, which allowed her to enter the arena early and secure a spot at the barricade. To afford the trip from her home in Florida, Bess worked a second job as an Uber driver and saved up for nine months.
Bess is part of a growing number of fans who are shelling out for VIP tickets or other perks in order to secure prime concert seats and increase their chances of interacting with their favorite artists. Fans are paying thousands of dollars not just to see their favorite artists live, but to get closer to the performance and have a more exclusive experience. Ultimately, the experience is up to the artist and can include exclusive merchandise, meet-and-greets or access to the soundcheck.
Typically, a higher percentage of a VIP ticket goes back to the artist than a standard ticket. Those earnings can be a welcome boost for artists as revenue from album sales have declined in the streaming era. The live music industry is noticing the opportunity.
Superfans spend 80% more on music each month than casual fans, according to Luminate, a music data company. A 2025 Goldman Sachs report estimated that appealing to superfans could earn the industry an additional $4bn per year. Fans who don’t purchase VIP tickets still have a chance to make it to the barricade of a general admission area by showing up early.
Some venues discourage fans from camping overnight or may announce that lines won’t be honored until the morning of a show. Some venues have started offering fans the option to skip the entrance line for an additional fee, similar to theme parks. At some concerts, this means the first rows are filled with people who have paid more to be there.
Despite the demand, the trend is more typical of larger, corporate-owned venues, said Stephen Parker, the executive director of the National Independent Venue Association. Many venues are wary of charging for these extras at a general admission show. The extras can rankle fanbases as competition for the best spots of a show has led to concertgoers who don’t pay for VIP tickets to show up earlier and earlier.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
