Concert prices make The Minds of 99 superfan rethink front row

Concert tickets are becoming increasingly expensive, prompting even a dedicated The Minds of 99 fan to reconsider whether she can afford the best places, Danish broadcaster DR reports.

Cecilie Bøtkjær Graversen, 19, has seen the band 19 times with a group of women who travel around the country to attend its concerts.

She says ticket prices for the band’s new tour reached almost 1,000 kroner for the best positions. The cheapest tickets cost 535 kroner for two stadium concerts in Horsens next summer. The tour will also include Parken stadium in Copenhagen.

“It has become a little expensive. We bought tickets for their new tour yesterday, and the prices were being discussed. You start considering which tickets to buy, and whether you should stand at the front,” Graversen says.

One reason for the higher prices is that musicians now earn considerably more from live concerts than from streaming, says Esben Marcher, director of industry association Dansk Live.

“The overall picture is that streaming provides wide distribution of music, but it does not necessarily generate large revenues. Those revenues therefore have to come from live performances,” he says.

Touring has also become more expensive, partly because transport and equipment rental costs have increased.

Marcher is not currently worried about ticket prices, but says concert organisers must ensure that people can still afford to attend concerts in the future.

“Going to concerts is a popular activity. Danes currently have a lot of money available, but that can change, and it is important to bring future concertgoers in as well,” he says.

Graversen agrees.

“It is unfair to those who do not have the money to attend concerts because tickets have become so expensive,” she says.

A special analysis prepared for Politiken by Statistics Denmark showed that in 2024, a trip to a concert or theatre had risen by about 50 per cent more than overall consumer prices.