Something that has been irking me lately is the enormous rise in prices of concert tickets. With the economy in a recession, businesses failing and jobs in short supply, how does someone afford a pricey night out? Let’s review the possibilities.

Inflation is an actuality and probably a minor contributing factor to the rise in ticket prices. According to www.usinflationcalculator.com, the rate of inflation change from 2001 to the present is 26.3 percent. That means if a ticket cost $100 in 2001, we should hypothetically be paying about $126.25. As may be evident, however, we are paying way above this price for a full-on authentic concert experience.

As economist Alan Krueger explained in a Princeton University news publication, the average price of a concert ticket in 2001 was about $40 with the average high-end cost at $60. Billboard.biz posted some numbers to show that the average cost per ticket in 2010 was $55. Don’t forget that these prices include every show and every seat in the house — you could be spending $55 that might be so far away from the stage that it better come with complementary binoculars (probably for an extra fee).

In 2000, I remember my parents spending $180 on a ticket for Britney Spears’ Oops! … I Did It Again World Tour. Mind you, the ticket was purchased from a scalper, but the seats were in the 15th row at the Nikon at Jones Beach Theater. For just a regular ticket to go see Britney this summer at her upcoming Femme Fatale Tour, it would cost $372.75 for a regular seat, probably not even remotely close to the 15th row.

We could blame gas prices as another determining factor when calculating the price to see your favorite artist live — they are traveling the country and have to transport the stage equipment from city to city. How much this affects the price of a ticket is probably left up to the extravagance of the show. The more elaborate the set design and the costumes are, the more there probably is to transport across the states.

Arguably, the most dependent factor of the need for an artist or act to expect us to shell out so much dinero to see them live, is that the music industry took a turn ever since AOL Version 6.0. As the use of file-sharing services became readily available, making music accessible and free to the common consumer, CD sales decreased dramatically and people found no reason to pay for music anymore. If an artist is not selling CDs, they need to be raking in money in some other aspect of their craft.

So as a punishment for illegally downloading their music, there is a trade-off because the only way to experience something that is marketed as “live” is to be there in person.

Ironically enough though, 2010 witnessed a decline in ticket sales because of the exorbitant prices, according to Billboard.biz. The supply is there, and so is the demand (as long as the supply is priced right).

One of the biggest problems again is the fact that to go to a big-name show there still are no cheap seats. Just to be lucky enough to get a glimpse of Britney as the size of a tootsie-roll and receive a complementary nose bleed is going to set you back $116.05. And in the end, is it even worth it to spend that much money on a live show where the only live thing happening is mediocre dancing?

We need to go back to a time where a concert ticket didn’t have to cost you a whole month of starvation.