What's behind big ticket prices

Rituals of relaxation in America are taxing consumers' pocketbooks more than ever before. Despite the shaky economy, the cost of summer entertainment continues to rise.

The uptick is evident from movie theaters, where the average ticket price ($5.85) has jumped 3.5 percent this year, to Broadway theaters, where the top price for a musical ($100) has risen $10 since last summer.

Many experts credit the rising prices – which, in many cases, exceed inflation – to the bounty of disposable cash held by many baby boomers, some of whom are now prioritizing leisure after decades of putting work first.

Higher prices are yielding larger profits. But not all fans are taking the hikes in stride. Attendance is flagging at many events as consumers grow more sensitive to skyrocketing ticket prices.

A close look at the cost of three summer entertainment options – rock concerts, baseball games, and amusement parks – reveals a variety of causes for the price boom.

With concerts and baseball, price pressures result partly from performers' rising salaries. Growing construction and insurance costs represent one reason for the boost in amusement-park fees.

None of the industries, however, base ticket prices solely on their own expenses. Price tags are set according to what people are willing to pay.

Price hikes are easier to carry out in entertainment industries, say experts, because consumers are not as cost-sensitive and competition is minimal.

"A handful of suppliers dominate these industries," says Elise Prosser, a professor of entertainment marketing at the University of San Diego. "When one company like Disney raises its prices, all the amusement parks ratchet them up...."

In 1975, Gail Lourenco paid $7.50 to see Sonny and Cher perform. Last week, the Warwick, R.I., housewife shelled out $55 to watch Cher in concert in Boston.

Ms. Lourenco is not dismayed by the jump in price. "Like everything else, you have to pick and choose your favorites now," says Lourenco, who goes only to a concert about once every three years.

Still, she believes that $55 seems a bit steep. Adjusted for inflation, her 1975 ticket would now cost $25.90. Sonny and Cher, she says, were no less popular in 1975 than Cher is today.

Experts point to the mid-1990s as a turning point for ticket pricing. Top bands watched as fans began paying scalpers hundreds more than face value for top seats. Many bands reacted by raising prices 100 percent and more.

The average ticket price for the top 50 concerts this year is $50.81, about double the average of a decade earlier, according to music-industry research firm Pollstar.

For the most part, fans have kept buying. The Rolling Stones, for example, are charging between $50 and $100 for mediocre seats for their 32-stop world tour this fall. The cost of front row seats: $350. Most shows are already sold out.

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