"Sold out": artists are selling fictional success to increase revenue

“Sold out” is a sign seen on many concert dates. But is the message real, or just a way to sell the image of the performance to charge more for festival appearances? The topic is explored in Spain by the newspaper “El País”, which explains that in certain cases, tickets “sell out” before even a number of tickets close to the venue's maximum capacity has been sold. But why? Sold-out venues are, in theory, the greatest quantifiable sign of an artist's or musical group's success. Selling out venues across the country is one of the main criteria used by those who define festival lineups, even when the performance in question actually makes a loss. Any concert has a list of associated expenses. According to the investigation's findings, many “sold-out” shows yield a marginal profit or even result in a loss, as the volume of tickets sold remains below the maximum. The goal is clear: to sell the image of the artist or band to secure a spot in the lineup of one or more festivals, especially during the summer months, and to command higher fees, as the value is set in advance regardless of the final festival results. This way of working has perverse consequences for the industry, driving up artists' fees faster than ticket sales increase. Festivals often rely on large investments from major companies or public funding from local councils, forcing organizers to raise ticket and concession prices. Consequently, smaller festivals are being crushed by larger ones, as they lack the capacity to meet the aggressive rise in artists' fees while remaining financially sustainable. Shows generated more box office revenue in 2024 despite price hikes.