Gen Z Embraces Payment Plans to Afford Soaring Concert Ticket Prices

For today’s music fans, going to a concert isn’t just entertainment — it’s a cultural priority. But as ticket prices continue to skyrocket, many younger fans are finding themselves caught between their passion for live music and the realities of their wallets. The solution? Payment plans that spread costs over time, a trend that has gained major traction with Gen Z .

The Rising Cost of Concerts

The numbers tell the story: the average concert ticket price rose from just $25.81 in 1996 to $135.92 in 2024, according to Pollstar. Major festivals and arena tours are even more costly. A weekend pass for Coachella starts at around $600, single-day Lollapalooza tickets are at least $189, and average seats for stars like Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, and Kendrick Lamar hover around $200 .

For older generations, these prices are frustrating. For younger fans, however, the stakes are different. Gen Z tends to prioritize experiences over material goods, and the fear of missing out (FOMO) drives them to secure tickets, no matter the cost.

The Payment Plan Solution

Enter payment plans — essentially a layaway system for live music. Fans can secure tickets with a small down payment and then split the balance into monthly installments. Plans are sometimes offered directly by festival organizers and ticket sellers, or through third-party providers like Klarna, Affirm, PayPal, and Zip .

At Coachella 2025, where headliners included Lady Gaga, Post Malone, Benson Boone, Green Day, and Travis Scott, Billboard reported that more than 60% of the 80,000+ attendees used the festival’s payment plan option .

A Fan’s Perspective

For fans like Olivia Lima, a 29-year-old photographer from New Jersey, financing live music has become a necessity. Lima has attended hundreds of shows, often using payment plans to make it feasible.

Last fall, she set her sights on a My Chemical Romance concert in Philadelphia. Despite logging onto Ticketmaster as soon as tickets went on sale, surge pricing kicked in, and the cheapest available option was $273 including a payment plan fee. “It was around the holidays, and it just made it easier on my pocketbook,” Lima explained.

Though she dislikes inflated ticket prices, she accepts payment plans as a way to keep music in her life. “Music has gotten me through the good, the bad, and the ugly. It’s worth it,” she said .

Beyond Tickets: The True Cost of Live Music

Tickets are only one part of the equation. For festivals especially, transportation, lodging, food, and merch can add hundreds more to the final bill. That makes spreading costs out even more appealing.

Coachella’s payment plan, for example, required just $50 upfront, with the remainder split over several months. The $41 fee represented about 8% of the ticket cost — far less than the 20%+ annual interest rates common with credit cards. However, if a payment was more than 10 days late, the order was canceled and the customer issued credit for future events .

The Trade-Offs of Financing Fun

While payment plans make tickets more accessible, they are not without risks. Buy-now-pay-later services typically evaluate payments based on credit scores, which skew lower for younger fans still building financial history. Missed or late payments can incur penalties and limit future access to tickets.

Still, many Gen Z fans see the trade-off as worthwhile. For them, concerts represent more than entertainment — they are spaces of connection and community. “Festivals and concerts are places where people from all walks of life come together,” Lima reflected. “There’s a touch of magic in that” .

Why This Matters

The surge in payment plan usage highlights both the inflation of live music costs and the determination of fans to stay connected to their favorite artists. For the music industry, it’s both a challenge and an opportunity: while high prices could alienate some fans, flexible payment options keep the live music economy thriving.

For younger fans, the bottom line is clear. They may need to budget, juggle payments, or even skip some festivals — but when it comes to their favorite concerts, not going is simply not an option.

Would you use a payment plan to see your favorite artist live? Share your thoughts in the comments below. For more insights into live music trends, keep following ChicagoMusicGuide.com.