Ed Power: Are concerts like Coldplay and Taylor Swift worth the high ticket price for fans?

Big stars are tentatively seeing how far they can raise prices without damaging their image. Ed Power questions how this will change the concert-going experience for fans

Nothing breaks the FOMO fever like realising a concert is just a concert and that missing Taylor Swift or Coldplay isn’t the end of the world. Picture: Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images

Remember when going to concerts was fun? It’s been a while. Nowadays, seeing your favourite artist on stage feels like a mix of extreme sport and an exercise in pulverising your bank account – and that’s after navigating the digital purgatory that is Ticketmaster. By the time you get to the show, your wallet decimated, your nerves frayed, you may ask: is it worth it?

As we emerge from the pandemic, what’s increasingly clear is that the touring industry is determined to recoup what it lost during those two years away. Or at least that is true for that handful of top artists everyone wants to see – including Coldplay, whose quartet of 2024 Croke Park dates sold out in a heartbeat during presale, with more tickets to be released in the general sale on Friday morning.