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Can anyone explain why classical concerts are cheaper than otjer concerts? I can afford to go to see lang lang but artists such as barbara striseand charge five times as much. Why

Easiest question ever: Less demand.

And I say be glad..I'd rather cut my own hand off and replace it with a hook, and insist everybody starts calling me Captain Hook, before I pay to listen to that garbage.

Firstly, if you are lucky to live close to major metropolitan areas you can usually find a lot of great classical music cheap - or even free - if you are willing to take a risk.

Second, a symphony orchestra and everything to house it in don't come cheap and it's often their only major source of (non-donated) revenue.

Thirdly, are you sure? Last time I've gone to major pop/rock concerts it's cost me an arm and a leg. More than going to the NSO.

Go ahead, you deserve it :P

As someone already said demand (and supply). There are low cost venues for live music as well as the high end. I enjoy live music much more than recorded music. Especially so these days, when the norm for recorded music is spliced together edits.

Anyway, at the high end, there are big tickets out there. A friend of mine complained about the local symphony raising their subscription price so high that they had to cut it. The price of entertainment is up over all (ball games, movies, plays). However, there are still cheap places to hear live music.

As for Streisand, she is a special case. She can charge whatever she wants and get it. Because she is always threatening that this is her last tour, her fans have that too to consider. That said, someone like Celine Dion charges a big price too and there are over a 100 shows a year. The market charges what the market will bear.

At the low end, the sad news is that many venues no longer pay performers (non-classical). Performers pay to play, or get paid in tickets. For example, a band pays $500 and gets 100 tickets. If they can sell all the tickets with a face value of $12, they make a decent payday. If they sell half, they are about at break even. Less than that, and they are in the hole. So while the demand is 99% non-classical, the pay rate is distressingly low for many.