CONCERT ticket prices are going through the roof and not just for the super wealthy who pay thousands of dollars to see the best acts from the front row. Fans of all types are paying more to see their favorite musicians.

The average price of a ticket to the 100 most popular tours in North America has almost quadrupled over the past two decades, from $25.81 in 1996 to $91.86 through the first half of this year, according to researcher Pollstar.

Some of that increase was out of necessity. As piracy eroded music sales, artists began to lean heavily on concerts. Stars like Beyoncé and Taylor Swift can make more in a couple nights onstage than they can from a year of album sales. But something else was going on, too. Ticket sellers like Ticketmaster and AEG’s AXS saw fans would pay almost any price for their favorite acts, especially stars who only come around every few years.

“We all undervalued tickets for many, many years,” said Joe Killian, who runs a media consulting firm and founded a concert series in New York’s Central Park.

Just ask Bex Paul, who saw Pink perform live 11 times this year, traveling across Europe for multiple stops on the pop star’s tour. The London native had to start saving for it five years ago.

Paul fell in love with Pink as a teen, and first saw the singer, whose real name is Alecia Beth Moore, in 2002. As the Truth About Love Tour wound up in 2014, Paul and her girlfriend opened a bank account and began saving — 100 pounds ($122) here, 200 pounds there.

“We had no idea what the ticket prices would be,” she said.

It was much higher. For Pink’s U.K. fans, prices have climbed more than tenfold since 2002.

Higher prices have been good for the concert business. The live music industry surpassed $8 billion in revenue in 2017, and is on pace for another record in 2019.

Pink’s tour was the second-best-selling in the world in the first half of 2019, and No. 1 in North America, the top market.

It’s not just tickets, either. Music fans also face skyrocketing prices for food, beverages and merchandise. The average fan spent $20 at events in 2016 staged by Live Nation, the world’s largest promoter. This year, that figure is expected to reach $29, an increase of almost 50%.

If artists’ growing reliance on live music has led to any guilt about about appearing greedy, the rise of ticket resale sites like StubHub took care of that.

Ticketmaster and others have since developed the ability to change pricing at any moment, enabling artists to charge more upfront and keep more of the dollars that went to scalpers. They can also reduce prices closer to show time if tickets aren’t selling, or create special windows for true fans.

Still, promoters run the risk of alienating artists’ best customers. That’s especially true as more performers arrange VIP experiences, like collectible signings and meet-and-greets, for well-heeled customers. Jay-Z and Beyoncé, for example, charged almost $2,000 for such experiences.

“Big acts led the way,” Killian said. “They understood there were always people willing and wanting to pay more.”

For Pink’s Beautiful Trauma tour this year, Paul and her girlfriend spent an average of $170 each per show, and a total of more than $7,300 for travel, tickets and food, exhausting the money they saved.

But not every artist has embraced the new philosophy. Ed Sheeran booked the highest-grossing tour of all time while charging less than $100 a ticket, making him one of the cheapest of the top tours. He is adamant that his show be affordable to all his fans.

But Sheeran also offers a different kind of show than Beyoncé, Swift or Pink. He stands on stage, often alone, strumming a guitar while Beyoncé, on her latest tour, performed in front of dozens of musicians decked out like a high school marching band. The cost of mounting such shows has more than doubled as artists push the limits of the live experience, according to industry experts.

Pink’s approach to touring changed after her performance at the 2010 Grammys, when she sang “Glitter in the Air” while drenched in water and twirling high above the crowd.

Acrobatics are now an integral part of her set. She started many shows of the Beautiful Trauma tour hanging from a chandelier, singing while upside down, and then ascending to the top of the light fixture.

“You definitely get your money’s worth,” said Paul. “You can see what your money has gone into.” — Bloomberg

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