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Remember the “Great Ticket War” for Bruno Mars earlier this year? Or the gridlock that seemed to paralyze Jakarta when Coldplay rocked Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) last year?
It’s almost become a given: When the biggest names in music descend on Jakarta to fill stadiums, ticketing is bound to be a headache. And that’s just for the Western headliners. We haven’t even touched on the loyalty and fervor of K-pop fans, with their lightsticks and arsenal of merchandise.
According to Sandiaga Uno, former minister of tourism and creative economy, 3,000 regional, national and international concerts were held in 2024 alone, generating an economic turnover projected to hit Rp 178 trillion (US$11 billion).
But it seems not every major concert is a guaranteed sellout.
Not hotcakes
In November, after a week of sluggish sales and protests from Lilies (Lisa’s fans), the promoter for Lisa BLACKPINK’s fan meet slashed ticket prices. The Big Diamond seat dropped from Rp 5.9 million to Rp 3.87 million, a Rp 2 million markdown. The least expensive ticket, the CAT 5 Tribune seat, fell from Rp 1.85 million to Rp 1.35 million.
Jakarta’s 2025 concert lineup is packed with star power, but tickets aren’t flying off the shelves.
Green Day sold out three of five ticket categories, and The Script sold four of eight. Both concerts are set for February and have been selling tickets since August.
Cigarettes After Sex, performing in January, sold out two of five categories. Meanwhile, The Corrs have so far filled one of 10 categories for their February show.
Maroon 5, on the other hand, sold out all official tickets, but 228 remain available through reseller platform Viagogo.
Does this reflect waning star power or the current state of Indonesian consumers?
Longer hemlines, shorter cash
In the 1920s, economist George Taylor proposed the hemline index theory, linking skirt lengths to the economy: Shorter hemlines reflected economic prosperity, while longer ones signaled downturns.
This theory played out during the Roaring Twenties, when hemlines rose along with stock prices. But skirts lengthened during the Great Depression in 1929 and stayed conservative until wartime fabric shortages shortened them again a decade later.
Think of shorter skirts as a metaphor for abundance, meaning the freedom to splurge on luxuries. If hemlines are now dropping below the knee, does that mean Indonesians are tightening their belts?
Reports of a shrinking middle class suggest as much. In Jakarta, where the average monthly salary is Rp 5.6 million, middle-class consumers, those spending Rp 2 million to Rp 9.9 million per month, are increasingly squeezed.
A person earning Rp 5.6 million and spending Rp 2 million on necessities has Rp 3.6 million left. That might cover a CAT 3 nosebleed seat at a Coldplay concert, but not much else.
A game of ‘would you rather’
The choice between Chris Martin and coconut milk isn’t easy, but for some, it’s a no-brainer.
Take Melody Therik, 22, who recently grappled with this dilemma. She chose to attend an NCT 127 concert, spending nearly Rp 4 million from her allowance. It was her second time seeing the group in Jakarta.
“I’m a big fan, and the Indonesian Arena venue is worth it,” she explains.
“When a concert is coming up, we cut back on GoFood. I’m afraid these prices will become normalized.”
However, Melody has skipped other concerts, saying this is a common discussion among her peers.
“What we earn, like regional minimum wage (UMR), is not enough,” she says.
“It’s hard to find jobs as fresh graduates, so many of us take internships that pay far below UMR.”
Jakarta’s UMR currently stands at Rp 5.07 million.
“So basically, if you buy a concert ticket, you can’t eat or do anything else. The sacrifice is crazy,” she laments.
Rising prices, rising supply
The concert-goer’s dilemma isn’t helped by the fact that ticket prices have shot up substantially.
Coldplay’s 2023 Jakarta tickets ranged from Rp 800,000 to Rp 11 million, compared to Rp 700,000 to Rp 2 million in 2017. That’s a 14.3 percent increase for the most affordable tickets and a staggering 450 percent hike for the priciest ones.
Similarly, Bruno Mars tickets this year reflected a 216.7 percent increase for the lowest category and 206 percent for the highest, compared to pre-pandemic prices.
Ticket scalper Muhammad Farhan adds that the sheer volume of events may also play a role.
“Compared to the beginning in early 2022 or 2023, now, the hype has indeed decreased,” he says.
“After the pandemic, there were still only a few artists performing, so automatically, many people still wanted to watch these artists. But there are now more concerts and events, so the trend has decreased.”
In other words, both supply and prices have risen, defying the typical laws of supply and demand.
If George Taylor were alive today, he might quip that people are buying fewer concert tickets because they need longer skirts—and more fabric costs more money.
After all, would you pick Linkin Park over dinner at Mr. Park?
