How Much Are Michael Jackson Tickets?

Now, before you get carried away let me present to you the price range of Michael Jackson tickets:

It is worth mentioning that one of the most prominent singers of the 20 th century, Michael Jackson, died in 2009, but his music remains popular. He is generally recognized as one of the best entertainers ever with record sales standing at over 400 million worldwide. The live performances were electrifying, energetic, and elaborate, fit for the flamboyant singer and entertainer. As expected, tickets to Michael Jackson’s concerts were always demanded and could cost a lot of money.

As a child performer with The Jackson 5 in the late 1960s and through early 1970s, the ticket price was a few dollars to watch Michael. These early years saw the Jackson 5 receive between $2500 and $10,000 for each performance. The 2009 inflation adjusted equivalent of such amounts is $17,000-$69,000 per show. Very reasonable indeed for one of pop music’s most iconic bands.

While with Off the Wall recorded in 1979, Michael Jackson released a series of mega-hits such as “Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough”, “Rock with You” and ‘Billie Jean’ ticket prices began to soar. For his Triumph Tour in 1981, he produced tickets starting at $30 to $50, which would be $83 to $137 today and this was to support the record breaking album “Thriller”. Still good to see the hottest artist in the world when he’s at his best.

Fares soared only with Michael’s genre-defining 1984’s Victory Tour with The Jacksons. The average ticket price was $30 while the premium ticket cost as much as $120 which if converted into today’s value will be $295. The tour managed to sell out stadiums and place Jackson on the map as an international superstar. Finally, the fans had to pay to see what had been unfolding in the football terrains.

While Michael took things further a notch higher in his 1987 Bad Tour by purposely arranging his concerts in smaller halls and stadiums with the aim of creating scarcity. They planned to have an average ticket price of $40, with a premium ticket price between $100 to $125. Converted to US dollars in today’s value, that’s $163-$506 for 2023.

Dangerous Tour in 1992? Everybody wanted to see the biggest pop star on planet Earth – Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson could now dictate ticket prices like the mega rock bands like The Rolling Stones, U2 and others who normally sold tickets at higher prices than any single pop artist. Ticket costs varied from $50 a mean, to a maximum of $125 for a VIP experience. If translated into today’s money, it would range between $103 and $257.

When the two decades transition from the 80s to 90s, the ticket industry centralized and this helped enhance the norm of premium pricing across music. Singers now asked between $300-$1000 for what used to be good places to sit. By mid nineties, Michael Jackson was unequivocally the king of music live performances, both nationally and internationally.

His HIStory Tour from 1996-1997 not only brought out new merchandise but ticket prices had also risen to a whole new level. The tickets had been standardized with an average of $70 for each performance and for the floor tickets, the cost was between $140 and $170 in each ticket. By 2023 dollars that ranges to $124-$301. Other packages were, a photo session with Jackson, the package for multi-show travelling, package tour jackets and others. Audience willingly parted with their money, and their beloved artiste was keen to oblige.

Again, the last concert Michael performed was HIStory Tour, and it was only in the 2001 Thirty- Anniversary Show at New York’s Madison Square Garden. This is because two concerts were held and all tickets were sold at $250 and $5,000, which is equivalent to $410 and $8,217 in today’s value. By this time, however, fans were used to shelling out absurd amounts of money for Michael Jackson’s live performances, which were becoming all too infrequent these days.

Unfortunately, Michael did not perform on tour or have an extended engagement elsewhere in his entire career again. He was preparing himself for his This Is It intensive concert series of more than fifty performances at the O2 Arena in London in 2009 when he died suddenly. As expected, tickets were available in the market when they were released much to a high cost that people could not afford. Tickets were available for as low as £50 to £75 for the less favorable positions and up to £775 for the better and more preferred positions. Additional costs for a top ticket would have been made up for in today’s US dollars, taking into consideration exchange rates and other charges, almost $1500.

Coupled with Michael’s unprecedented perfectionism and a penchant for trailblazing considering the possibility of high-tech production values that are now available, the This Is It Tour would indeed have redefined the very concept of arena shows. However, as expected, the tickets sales went through the roof, especially after his shocking demise. There were many secondary markets that displayed hypothetical second hand ticket prices in the five/four figure range some even crossed the $100000 mark for each ticket!

Certainly in both the battle for life as in the battle for death, Michael Jackson tickets were a hot, costly item for the fans. Almost all of them had the notion that it was worth the expense of a dollar to watch a specialist. Indeed, there will never be another like Michael- an indelible cultural symbol and the epitome of a performer who elevated concerts as events to cinematic-like performances. It is even hard to fathom what ticket costs could have been if he were alive and had brought artistry to a new level. Unfortunately, for today’s Jackson enthusiasts, the only way to catch him for live performances is by watching videos of his mighty past.