An investigation into ticket resales for 20 Maryland concerts found that resellers made over $6.2 million in profits above the original face value. The study was conducted by the National Independent Talent Organization (NITO) at the request of the Maryland State Attorney General’s Office.
The resale platform StubHub accounted for more than 24% of these ticket resales. On average, tickets sold on the secondary market cost fans twice as much as their original face value.
The concerts examined in the study included three events at the CFG Bank Arena, one at M&T Bank Stadium, the three-day Oceans Calling Festival in Ocean City, and 15 shows at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia. All events took place between 2021 and 2024.
NITO’s findings in Maryland reflect similar results from its previous national study on concert ticket resales. NITO represents independent music booking agencies and managers across the U.S.
Key Findings Challenge Ticket Resale Claims
Resellers often argue that consumers can buy tickets from them at prices lower than the primary market. However, NITO found that of the 35,000 tickets resold for the 20 events studied, only 627 (about 1.7%) sold for less than the lowest face value offered originally.
Highlights from the Maryland Ticket Resale Study:
Resale tickets cost twice as much as average face value tickets.
On average, 2,413 tickets were resold per event, with an estimated profit of $129.44 per ticket made by resellers.
Total reseller profit across all 20 events was approximately $6.25 million.
Six shows combined accounted for 19,573 resold tickets, but only one ticket sold below the lowest original price.
A two-night run at CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore saw 8,943 tickets resold, about 37% of total capacity, generating nearly $2 million in profit for resellers. These concerts also had the highest profit per ticket, estimated at $216.
Six events had resale profits exceeding $150 per ticket.
