If everyone wants a ticket, should organisers simply release more?
Concert tickets go on sale, sell out in minutes, then appear on resale sites at eye-watering prices. For fans, it’s frustrating. For business students, it’s supply, demand and pricing in action.
A recent New Zealand example involving Electric Avenue Festival saw some resellers advertising tickets for up to four times the original price. Organisers then announced an extra 4,000 passes, reserved for local residents.
The same business questions apply to concerts and festivals everywhere. Start the conversation with your students:
Why might fans be willing to pay several times the original price?
What could happen to resale prices if more tickets become available?
What might limit an organiser’s ability to release more tickets?
Then let students put the concepts into action with our Sold Out! When demand exceeds supply topic-based activity board. Turn the discussion into a practical task as students identify clues that demand exceeds supply, explore the promoter’s options and explain their decisions.
