JAKARTA - Bleachers vocalist and renowned music producer, Jack Antonoff, launched a sharp criticism of the phenomenon of soaring concert ticket prices.
The Grammy-winning musician highlighted the chaos and lack of transparency in the ticket purchasing process.
He openly questioned the business ethics of large corporations that reap massive profits through the resale mechanism of tickets at unreasonable prices.
"If a system is made incredibly complicated, it's because there are parties who deliberately want to make you confused," Antonoff said in a recent interview with Rolling Stone.
"Why is the process of voting in an election so complicated? Why is buying a concert ticket so complicated? Why can't I get a clear answer about where the ticket came from, or even if the ticket really exists?" continued the producer who often collaborates with Taylor Swift.
The New Jersey-born musician added that the promoter and sales platform deliberately maintain a confusing ecosystem in order to exploit the enthusiasm of fans.
"They want us to be confused. They want us to feel panicked," he said.
According to Antonoff, the transaction to purchase concert tickets is ideally simple and transparent, just like the transaction for daily necessities. He compared the ease of purchasing other commercial commodities that are much higher in value.
"It's easy to buy a pair of shoes. It's not hard to buy a pair of pants. In fact, buying a car is not as complicated as this!" said Antonoff.
He also reflected on his disappointment with the industry that had made his name. The 42-year-old musician admitted that he had misjudged that there was still a moral commitment left from the global entertainment industry policymakers towards the fate of underground music enthusiasts.
"I think I made a mistake by assuming that there was morality there, and they would care when they found someone like me feeling disappointed. This is because I love this industry so much, and I really don't believe that music concerts are only for rich children," he said.
Antonoff's criticism further embittered the ticket sales giant, Ticketmaster. The platform under the auspices of Live Nation Entertainment has long been the target of public criticism due to market monopoly and the allowance of scalpers who buy tickets in large quantities to then sell them back with a profit margin that is multiplied.
This situation has worsened after the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) officially filed a lawsuit in September 2025. The FTC accused Ticketmaster of systematic cheating practices in the form of tiered fees.
The corporation has proven to earn triple profits by charging cross-administrative fees, ranging from initial sales by brokers, re-registration processes by brokers, to final transactions paid by consumers.
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