26% of the 1,000 Americans surveyed no longer spent money on live entertainment|Amantio_di_Nicolao|CC BY-SA 3.0
Having fun is getting expensive. Tickets to concerts, sports and theme parks have surged in price this year, which analysts are calling “funflation.”
A Wall Street Journal/Credit Karma survey of 1,000 Americans shows
- 60% of them have had to cut down on spending on live entertainment expenses.
- 37% said they struggle to keep up with the increasing prices of their desired events.
- 20% are willing to take on debt to afford their favorite entertainment activity.
Approximately 26% of the survey respondents no longer spent money on live entertainment, up from 16% before the pandemic.
The percentage of cardholders buying tickets to live events has also dipped to more than 10%.
Despite the strain, top acts like Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen and Harry Styles grossed over $100 million in ticket revenue during the first half of 2023.