Let’s say you want to see Billy Idol at Maine Savings Amphitheater in Bangor in August.

You Google “Billy Idol Bangor tickets” on a Thursday in April. A top search result is StubHub. You click. The prices go up to more than $500 for the section closest to the stage. Yikes.

Can you get a better deal somewhere else? You check Ticketmaster, where front row seats are also selling for more than $500. Before you buy, you double check the actual website for the Maine Savings Amphitheater. But tickets there are advertised at $43 to $241.

What’s going on here?

Anyone who has bought a ticket to live entertainment in the past few years has likely racked up as many questions as they have credit card debt.

Did you spend hours trying to get a ticket to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour? Have you started to buy a ticket, but bailed when you saw the fees? Have you arrived at a concert only to learn that the ticket you bought is fake?

We talked to industry experts, arts professionals and concert promoters to demystify what third-party ticket sellers are doing and to help you get the best seat for your buck. We also got the details on a bill in the Maine Legislature that aims to tamp down predatory practices. Here’s what we learned.

Why are concert tickets so expensive?

The way artists make a living has changed radically over the years, mostly because of the onset of streaming in the early to mid-2000s that shifted the economic market for musicians from album sales to all the extra stuff (concerts, merch, etc.).

“Musicians made most of their money from selling albums,” said Michael Cauvel, associate professor of economics at the University of Southern Maine. “Now artists can’t make any money from selling music, and so the bands are putting out albums to get people to come to their tour because the tour is the only way that they make money.”

Lauren Wayne, president of the State Theatre in Portland, said that artists not only have to pay their staff and business manager, but also the tour bus, gas, hotels and food. All of those costs are part of the calculation in deciding how much to charge you, the fan.

Where does the money go?

The two largest concert presenters in Maine said that 75% to 95% of a ticket’s cost goes to the artist, though it varies from show to show.

Wayne broke down the rest. “Some of that’s going to the ticketing platform — because they don’t work for free,” she said. “Some of it is going to the venue to help pay for the expenses, including production staff, bar staff, security staff, house staff, performance rights and licensing fees.”

“The margins are horribly slim, and a lot (slimmer) after the pandemic because everything is so expensive,” she added.

The Federal Trade Commission approved a rule in December that will require live entertainment venues and short-term rentals to disclose the full price, including fees, up front. It takes effect in May. The Maine Legislature is also considering a couple of bills related to transparency in pricing. (More on that below.)

What is ‘dynamic’ and ‘platinum’ pricing?

Dynamic and platinum pricing are similar, and both require artists’ approval.

Dynamic pricing is when ticket costs change in real time, based on supply and demand.

Platinum pricing is somewhat more stable and gets you the best seats. Some fans are OK paying higher prices in exchange for less competition and time spent waiting in a queue.

Both strategies are meant to combat ticket resellers. Artists know scalpers make a lot of money off tickets to their shows. Dynamic and platinum pricing enables artists to get this money, rather than the third-party seller.

Andrew Mall, associate professor of music at Northeastern University, said these pricing structures can also benefit fans who are patient. His biggest tip? “Wait. Dynamic pricing will usually go down — if it doesn’t sell out,” he said.

What’s the deal with ticket resellers? What about bots?

Alex Gray from Waterfront Concerts in Bangor and the State Theatre’s Wayne said the real enemy for concertgoers is the secondary market — resellers, third-party brokers and scalpers.

Bad actors often use “bot” software to buy huge swaths of tickets and resell them for much higher than face value. Both promoters said they work with Ticketmaster to cancel sales made with bot technology that often prevent real fans from being able to afford a ticket.

In 2016, the Better Online Tickets Sales Act (the “BOTS Act”) was signed into federal law. It was supposed to prevent the automated buying of tickets by bots, but concert promoters said it’s rarely enforced.

Reselling tickets is not illegal. Selling counterfeit tickets is.

This problem came up last year at the State Theatre during a sold-out Gracie Abrams concert. Wayne said young women were left crying at the box office when they realized their tickets were counterfeit, and they couldn’t use them to get into the show. The State Theatre went out of its way to help those fans.

“We actually held tickets aside to account for those people, but that was on our dime and Gracie’s dime,” she said.

How can I be sure I’m buying tickets from the right place?

It’s always best to start on the actual venue’s website. That way you’re sure you’ll be connected with the venue’s official ticketing partner. This could be a platform such as Ticketmaster, Eventbrite, TIXR or PortTix. But if  you just Google the show you want to see and click on the first result, you run the risk of connecting with a reseller like StubHub, Vivid Seats or SeatGeek.

Maggie LaMee, director of finance and administration at Ogunquit Playhouse, said the theater regularly gets calls from patrons who are upset because they spent hundreds of dollars on a seat.

The theater’s first show this season is “Come From Away,” and the most expensive tickets on the playhouse website are $160. But a top result in a Google search for “Come From Away Ogunquit Playhouse tickets” is StubHub, where tickets for the show top out at nearly $700.

“If you think that a ticket is too expensive, call the box office,” LaMee said. “Talk to a human who can give you the correct answer, and don’t be duped.”

How can I save some money?

Fans can sometimes avoid some or all fees by buying tickets in person at local box offices, such as the State Theatre and the Maine Savings Amphitheater. At Aura in Portland, for example, there’s no fees if you buy your ticket at the venue’s sports bar.

Can I safely resell a ticket?

It varies from show to show, but sometimes fans can post extra tickets on Ticketmaster’s site. Some artists and venues put restrictions on transfers as a safeguard against predatory resellers.

Another option is the platform CashorTrade. In 2009, Dusty and Brando Rich of Vermont launched the site so fans could safely buy and sell tickets for face value or less. Fans also have the option to trade tickets. There are no fees for sellers, and buyers can either pay a small fee or purchase a membership.

“This was not a business plan that was drafted in a boardroom,” Dusty Rich said. “This was two fans trying to protect the community and the events that we loved and held dear.”

Are elected officials doing anything about ticket costs and resellers? 

Senate President Mattie Daughtry, D-Brunswick, originally sponsored LD 913 to spare Mainers from sticker shock. The bill would require sellers to disclose the total price of a ticket, including all mandatory fees.

Daughtry recalled trying to buy a ticket to see The Chicks perform in Bangor a couple of years ago. While she thought she could afford the ticket, when she actually got to the checkout page, the total was out of her price range.

“It goes from being something that is a nice splurge that I’m able to do, to my family saying ‘This is fiscally not within reach,’” Daughtry said.

Wayne and others worked with lawmakers to expand Daughtry’s bill. The amended version would also prohibit the use of bots, deceptive URLs and speculative tickets. It would require resellers to refund customers for fake tickets. And it would cap the price of a resale ticket at no more than 10% above face value.

“It’s such a great thing for consumers, it’s a great thing for local businesses,” Wayne said of the bill. “It’s a pretty big deal.”

All but one member of the Committee on Housing and Economic Development supported the amended bill, which now goes to the full Legislature for a vote. The Maine attorney general would be responsible for enforcing those rules if they become law.

“It’s a great deterrent to companies that are coming into the state and taking advantage of fans,” Wayne said.

What’s happening at the national level?

In March, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at ending price gouging for live entertainment.

The order directs the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Attorney General’s Office to uphold competition laws and price transparency in all stages of ticket buying. It specifically called for more rigorous enforcement of the BOTS Act.

Mall, the Northeastern professor, said that order could help fans — in theory. But he questioned whether a downsized federal government under the Trump administration will actually have the resources to increase enforcement.

“It doesn’t ask anyone to do anything new,” Mall said of the order.

What about that lawsuit against Live Nation and Ticketmaster?

The Justice Department sued Live Nation last year over claims that it illegally monopolized markets in the live music industry, which the company disputes. Live Nation has owned Ticketmaster since 2010, and the lawsuit seeks to break up the concert giant.

Douglas Ross, a professor at the University of Washington School of Law, said the Trump administration does not appear to be abandoning the case, which will likely take years to resolve. Even if the federal government wins, the court might decide not to split up the company as requested. Instead, a judge could allow the company to remain intact, but order it to follow certain actions.

“Live Nation could lose the battle and win the war,” he said.

If a judge does force Live Nation and Ticketmaster to split, the potential impact for fans is unclear.

“DOJ says the venue will be able to get Ticketmaster to compete with other competitors, and the price of offering Ticketmaster services will come down, and that will end up helping consumers,” Ross said. “Obviously, Live Nation says something along the lines of the opposite, which is that there are real efficiencies in having this vertical integration between the promoters and the ticket services supplier, and that these efficiencies ultimately result in lower costs not higher costs.”

“That’s the point of the trial, to see who — at least in the view of the district court judge — is telling a version closer to the truth,” Ross said.

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