PEOPLE IN IRELAND love live music, but two thirds say the high cost of tickets is a barrier to them attending concerts, according to research commissioned by the Irish Music Rights Organisation. 

IMRO published a report on research into the state of the Irish music industry today that showed that the average adult in Ireland spends almost €1,000 per year on music related products and services, and that the industry as a whole contributes €1 billion to the economy annually.

Live events are the most popular way people spend money on music, generating €786 million annually, IMRO’s report said. 

On average, Irish adults spent €757 on music events last year. 

Big venue concerts accounted for the largest share, with people spending €298 on tickets.

This was closely followed by music festivals, which drew an average spend of €194. 

While people spend plenty of money on music events, the IMRO report said that “many members of the public are feeling the pinch”. 

Two thirds (66%) of adults flagged the cost of tickets as the main barrier to attending gigs. 

Almost half (49%) also cited high accommodation costs as an issue when considering going to music events.

Hotels have angered the public and been called out by politicians for hiking room prices around the times of high-profile performances. The upcoming Oasis reunion tour has been no exception and was highlighted by Tánaiste Simon Harris last year. 

“I would encourage everybody to engage fairly in relation to this. The issues around price gouging, around hiking up things at the time of major events, doesn’t actually help anyone but ends up giving our city bad reputation,” he said.

Coldplay fans felt the sting of high accommodation prices when the band played in Croke Park last year. 

Ticketmaster, which dominates the market for concert ticket sales, has also come in for criticism from music fans for its use of “dynamic pricing”, which increases the cost of tickets based on demand. 

The cost of tickets for the upcoming Oasis tour caused enough outrage among the public that a bill is now in the works that would make dynamic pricing illegal.