As performers realize that their music is as easy to get for free as anything else online, their creative juices will have to turn to the concert arena. Concerts these days are sometimes less about the music than they are the experience. If you’ve seen the lights and stage designs of any of the tours currently commanding high prices, such as Madonna or U2, you have an idea of what’s needed to keep the fans entertained.

Concert ticket prices have risen steadily since 1996, when they shot past other forms of entertainment and inflation. While inflation rose 2.3 percent per year, concert prices jumped 8.9 percent annually, the report said.

The Sunday Times of London reported recently that pop-concert ticket prices are now on par with other cultural highbrow events such as Beethoven concerts.

The industry is changing, not only the distribution of money from recorded music vs. concert ticket sales, but also the secondary market is gaining revenue as people begin to expect higher ticket prices to see their favorite shows.

New technologies are disrupting these established industries. The Internet has single-handedly influenced all sides of the musical genre, with file distribution and even the way people buy their tickets.