Martijn Mulder on who earns the most from the 10 Harry Styles concerts

Staff salaries and expenses

‘Whether it's the smallest pubs or the largest arenas, ticket sales generally go to the artist,’ says Mulder. Organisers and sellers, MOJO and Ticketmaster, also receive a percentage of the ticket price in the form of service charges. The artist also has to pay their staff, such as band members, technicians, managers, roadies and stylists, who are all on the payroll and also need accommodation and catering. In addition, there are costs for logistics, set-up, stage design and stadium hire. But an artist pockets about two-thirds on average, so Syles still has no reason to complain.

Amsterdam profits

The ArenA also profits from such tours, but the price is subject to intense negotiation. Martijn Mulder says that artists have a lot of power and that stadium rental prices are compared to get the best deal. But the real winner is the city of Amsterdam and its surroundings. Music fans spend on average four to five times more money on accommodation, transport and restaurants than on their concert tickets. That means hundreds of millions in revenue for the local economy.

“The music industry is a winner-takes-all market”

However, there has also been a lot of criticism of the latest tours. Styles visits relatively few cities on his world tours. It is not the singer himself, but his fans who have to travel all over the world, according to the critics. In addition, many people find the tickets very expensive. According to Mulder, this has to do with a major change in the music industry.

Superstars such as Harry Styles save a lot of money by not travelling all over Europe, but by playing multiple shows in one location. Due to the rising costs of touring, artists are increasingly opting for this approach. The high ticket price is due to the enormous demand, says Mulder. "The music industry is a typical winner-takes-all market. Artists represent a symbolic value and people pay to see Styles in real life. In addition, live music has become much more valuable. Spotify gives us non-stop access to music for relatively little money. People are willing to pay a lot of money to see an artist live."

Demand exceeds supply

For a long time, artists sought a balance between maintaining a good image, whereby concerts remained financially accessible, and making a profit. In recent years, there has been more emphasis on the latter. It is therefore expected that Harry Styles' ten concerts will sell out in no time. ‘In that respect, it makes sense to charge this price,’ says Mulder. This means that even with tickets costing hundreds of pounds, demand still exceeds supply.