The cheapest available ticket for Macklemore’s solo October concert went from $108 to $157 over three days
Macklemore’s ticket prices have surged following his removal from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour after the rapper spoke publicly in support of Palestine.
According to ticket-tracking company TicketData, the cheapest available ticket for Macklemore’s October concert at Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre rose 45% over three days, climbing from $108 to $157. TicketData founder Keith Pagello told CNBC the increase would not have happened without the events surrounding Macklemore’s departure from Sheeran’s tour.
Macklemore was removed from the remaining US dates of Sheeran’s tour after making pro-Palestinian comments during a performance at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium on September 4. He later said he had been told stadium owners had threatened to cancel shows if he remained on the line-up.
The fallout has also affected Sheeran’s ticket market. Resale prices for nine of the 10 remaining venues on the Loop Tour have declined, according to TicketData, although Pagello cautioned that falling prices are common as concert dates approach and may not necessarily be connected to the controversy.
There has, however, been an increase in resale activity for Sheeran’s upcoming shows. TicketData reported that tickets have been changing hands at a higher rate than at previous tour stops at a similar point in their sales cycle.
The dispute has continued to escalate, with all of Sheeran’s other supporting acts, including Finneas, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe and Beoga, withdrawing from the remaining dates after Macklemore’s removal.
Sheeran has maintained that Macklemore’s departure was the promoter’s decision rather than his own. Meanwhile, Macklemore announced that he would donate $1 million from his net earnings from the tour to organisations supporting Palestinians.
The ticket-market changes add a financial dimension to the growing fallout surrounding the tour, although the available data does not establish whether the shifts are directly attributable to the controversy.
