Who sets the price for your concert ticket? The answer will surprise you
The outrage on networks is palpable. People who dream of seeing their favorite artists, like Bruno Mars or BTS, come across prices that exceed 17 thousand pesos. The anger is immediate and the accusing finger almost always points to the same place: the ticket booth.
But Alex Ordaz, director of Ticketmaster México, has an explanation that changes the script. In an interview with EL UNIVERSAL, he dismantles the public’s favorite theory.
“Normally, the cost is decided by the artists based on how they will tour around the world. Ticketmaster facilitates the sale, but does not set the final prices,”
There it is. According to Ordaz, the real casting to set the rate is done by the stars and their teams. It is a global decision, not a local one. Ticketmaster would be, in this work, the stagehand who sets up the stage for the sale, not the producer who decides how much the performance costs.
The eternal debate of the ‘service charge’
Then there’s that other classic that makes us frown: the service charge. That extra amount that is added to the base price and that many see as a simple abusive ‘tax’.
Ordaz defends its necessity with an operational argument. That money, he says, is what keeps the machinery alive.
“These charges allow us to keep the entire ticketing platform running properly and ensure that large concerts can be handled without problems,”
Translation: without that extra, the servers would crash in the digital stampede for tickets to massive events. It’s the (literal) price of having a system that doesn’t crash when we all try to buy at the same time.
The manager was clear on another painful point: high demand. He acknowledged that it is impossible to guarantee a ticket for everyone.
“While I cannot guarantee that everyone will be able to purchase a ticket, I can assure that those who purchase it from us will enter the event,”
An unconsoling ending for those who are left out, but a promise of security for those who do manage to pass through the digital box office. The function always has limited seats. The drama is who gets one.




