As recession fears continue to gnaw at American consumers, there’s one sector that has been seemingly untouched by economic anxiety: live concerts and entertainment.
Amid recent reports that nearly 60% over Coachella attendees bought tickets through a payment plan, new studies have found that Americans are willing to take on debt to snag concert and live event tickets.
The cost of concert tickets has skyrocketed in recent years, with Pollstar finding that the average cost of a concert ticket in 2024 was $135.92. These higher costs don’t appear to have dissuaded consumers, as Billboard reports that credit card holders spent an average of $300 per month on live events between May 2024 and April 2025.
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Gen Z concertgoers are even more willing to spend big when it comes to seeing their favorite artists. A Cash App survey of over 2,000 American adults, conducted by The Harris Poll, found that Gen Z spent an average of $2,100 on concert tickets over the past two year, with 75% of Gen Z willing to pay premium resale prices for live shows.
But all of that spending is beyond many of these young buyers’ means, with 19% of Gen Z respondents admitting to paying more than they can afford for concert tickets.
“Gen Z’s ‘do it for the plot’ approach to life may be eclipsing the Millennial YOLO when it comes to spending on music-centric experiences,” said Lindsay Bryan-Podvin, LMSW, Cash App’s Financial Therapist in a statement. “While saving for a house might feel out of reach, a weekend festival is doable. I love that they’re spending in line with their values like community, experiences, and memory-making, but I always encourage topping off emergency savings while saving for epic shows.”
