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Planet Money

Everything's more expensive!! Pet care!! Concert tickets!! (Two Indicators)

with Malia Bamsuin, Lauren Wayne, Alan Sorensen, Adam Hetchko

Published November 5, 2025
View Show Notes

About This Episode

This episode presents two Indicator stories on the rising cost of living, focusing first on concert ticket prices and then on veterinary care. The hosts examine how ticket reseller bots, mispricing by artists, and the secondary market contribute to high concert prices, as well as how one state is trying to regulate resales. They then explore why veterinary costs have risen much faster than general inflation, highlighting Baumol's cost disease, higher input and labor costs, corporate ownership pressures, and stronger emotional bonds between pet owners and their animals.

Topics Covered

Inflation Consumer price index (CPI) Live events Tariffs Labor and workforce issues Private equity Insurance Baumol's cost disease Veterinary services Ticket reselling

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Quick Takeaways

  • Concert ticket prices have risen faster than overall inflation, driven in part by underpriced primary tickets and a highly active secondary resale market that includes bot activity.
  • Reseller bots can buy hundreds of tickets at once, create fake "spec" listings, and leave venues doing manual cleanup while some fans arrive with invalid tickets they overpaid for.
  • Economist Alan Sorensen argues that secondary markets perform an economic function by correcting mispriced primary tickets, even though the result can feel unfair to fans and artists.
  • Maine has enacted strict ticketing laws that ban bots and speculative tickets and cap resale markups at 10%, sharply reducing bot activity at one independent theater.
  • Veterinary services costs have increased about 41% over five years, far outpacing the roughly 25% rise in overall consumer prices.
  • Veterinarian Adam Hetchko cites more expensive medications, medical supplies affected by tariffs, and sharply higher labor costs as key drivers of rising vet bills.
  • Baumol's cost disease helps explain why labor-intensive services like veterinary care, childcare, and nursing become more expensive over time compared with goods like TVs or software.
  • Private equity ownership has increased profit pressure in many vet practices, while pet owners' stronger emotional bonds-intensified during the pandemic-make them more willing to pay for high-end care.
  • High vet costs are causing many pet owners to skip necessary care, which distresses veterinarians who entered the profession to help animals, not to deny treatment.
  • Preventive checkups, building a relationship with a vet, and considering pet insurance are suggested ways to manage pet health costs, even as premiums themselves are rising.

Podcast Notes

Introduction: Rising costs and the two Indicator stories

Opening vignette about concert ticket prices

Introduction of musician Malia Bamsuin and her perspective on ticket prices[0:28]
• Malia Bamsuin is described as a composer, bassist, and singer-songwriter who plays genres from jazz to rock and recently performed two shows with Yo-Yo Ma.
• She recalls a few years ago seeing other bands charging around $150 for tickets and feeling that was an extremely high price.
• Malia told herself she would never charge more than $150 because she wanted to remain accessible to people who could not afford such high ticket prices.
• She frames pricing as a way to choose an audience rather than letting her success limit her crowd to a certain income bracket.
Contrasting view from Live Nation's CEO and an example of extreme ticket prices[0:58]
• Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino is quoted as saying that concert tickets are underpriced and have been for a long time.
• The hosts note that Rapino's stance is hard for music fans to accept given current prices.
• As an example, they cite Bruno Mars concerts in Las Vegas where the cheapest Ticketmaster seat the host found was $850.
• They quip that ticket prices are going "to Mars," emphasizing the extreme level of pricing.
Framing concert tickets as an economic puzzle[1:36]
• The hosts observe that concert ticket prices have risen faster than overall inflation.
• They characterize the ticket market as an economic puzzle that troubles fans, venue owners, and artists.

Hosts, series context, and structure of the episode

Introduction of hosts and Planet Money / The Indicator connection[1:52]
• The show welcomes listeners to Planet Money and introduces the hosts, Darian Woods and Waylon Wong.
• They describe themselves as hosts of Planet Money's daily podcast, The Indicator.
Context: rising inflation and special series on cost of living[2:03]
• The hosts note that inflation is up, consumer prices are rising, and job growth is slowing, leaving Americans feeling financially squeezed.
• They explain they are doing an occasional special series on the rising cost of living.
Overview of the two stories in this episode[2:08]
• Story one will examine how the strange economics of the ticket market has given rise to reseller bots, which are blamed for higher prices but also perform a function in economic terms.
• They plan to go through arguments for and against ticket bots and why it is so hard to eliminate them from the ticket market.
• They mention traveling to one state that is actively trying to battle the bots.
• Story two, after a break, will explore why pet care costs have surged and will dig into economic theory to explain it.

Ticket reseller bots and the secondary ticket market

Venue experience with bots at the State Theater in Portland, Maine

Introduction of venue operator Lauren Wayne and her description of bots[3:58]
• Lauren Wayne, who runs the State Theater in Portland, Maine, says she can recognize when ticket reselling bots show up because their activity is easily recognizable and causes a lot of pain and suffering.
• She notes the venue is historic and has previously been a vaudeville house, an adult film theater, and a dinner theater; it is now a concert and event venue.
• In recent years, running the theater has meant constant battle with ticket bots.
How Lauren spots bot activity and the concept of spec tickets[4:22]
• Lauren says one red flag is seeing tickets listed on secondary resale sites before her own on-sale date.
• Those early listings are called spec tickets-tickets advertised on platforms like StubHub and SeatGeek that do not actually exist yet.
• The transcript notes that both StubHub and SeatGeek have policies against spec tickets, yet such listings still appear.
Bots buying large blocks of tickets and operational consequences[4:48]
• Once ticket sales begin, Lauren looks for signs like 500 tickets being purchased overnight.
• She emphasizes that these tickets are purchased by bots-automated technology, not people-grabbing whatever they can.
• Her venue holds fewer than 2,000 people, so a bot purchasing 500 tickets wipes out a large share of tickets that could have gone to genuine fans.
• When this happens, her staff must manually void the fraudulent purchases, refund the money, and return the seats to primary inventory, which is time-consuming.
• Another issue is that resellers sometimes still manage to offload those tickets to fans, even though the venue has voided them.
• Fans who unknowingly bought these invalid tickets may show up on show night and be denied entry, which Lauren calls the saddest situation-especially when it's a fan's favorite artist.
• She notes these buyers may have paid three or four times face value for tickets that ultimately do not work.

Blame, regulation, and the role of resale platforms

Federal law, industry blame, and StubHub's position[5:47]
• The hosts mention there is a federal law intended to curtail illegal bot activity, but it has not solved the problem.
• They say there is widespread finger-pointing about the secondary market, with resellers who run bots seen as obvious villains.
• Big online resale platforms like StubHub are criticized for not doing enough to police bot activity while still benefiting financially from those sales.
• The reporters say they reached out to StubHub but did not receive a response.
• They reference a recent Axios interview in which StubHub's CEO said the company has publicly lobbied to stop bots, and the company's website promises customers their money back if tickets are invalid.
FTC and state accusations against Ticketmaster and Live Nation[6:52]
• The Federal Trade Commission and seven states have accused Ticketmaster of contributing to the problem.
• Ticketmaster is said to control 80% or more of the primary ticketing market for major concert venues.
• Ticketmaster also runs a resale platform, allowing customers to resell tickets on its own site.
• In September, the FTC sued Ticketmaster, alleging it coordinated with resellers and profited from marked-up ticket sales.
• Ticketmaster and Live Nation deny the government's accusations and say they have invested over a billion dollars in ticket security and anti-bot technology.

Economic perspective on mispricing and the role of secondary markets

Alan Sorensen on underpriced primary tickets and strong resale activity[7:18]
• Economist Alan Sorensen from the University of Wisconsin-Madison is introduced as someone who has studied ticket markets.
• He argues that tickets are often mispriced in the primary market, especially for music concerts where artists have some control over prices.
• Sorensen says many artists think setting low prices helps their fans, but this can lead to "funky" outcomes, including a very active resale market.
Market equilibrium explanation and uncomfortable implications[7:56]
• The hosts explain that in a perfectly efficient free market, goods sell at an equilibrium price where supply meets demand.
• If an artist sets ticket prices below that equilibrium, the secondary market will tend to correct the mispricing.
• Sorensen says that if a ticket trades for $250 in an open free market, then that effectively is the market price, even if it feels like it "shouldn't" be that high.
• He acknowledges that many aspects of ticket markets are problematic despite this market-clearing logic.
Who captures the surplus when tickets are underpriced?[8:43]
• When an artist sets face value below what fans are willing to pay, fans can end up buying tickets at higher resale prices.
• In those cases, the extra money above face value goes to resellers instead of to the artist or venue, which can feel unfair.
• Sorensen says he tried to think of how an artist could ensure that any surplus genuinely goes to fans rather than resellers.
• He imagines an artist charging high ticket prices but then giving lots of valuable items or experiences to attendees, effectively returning surplus value to genuine fans.
• The hosts jokingly refer to an extreme version with a wild t-shirt cannon that delivers more valuable rewards than t-shirts.
• They suggest in jest that someone should give Sorensen a research grant to test this kind of pricing and giveaway model.

State-level efforts to combat ticket bots and price gouging

Maine's new ticketing laws and specific provisions

Role of the National Independent Venue Association and Lauren's advocacy[9:20]
• The National Independent Venue Association is introduced as an industry group that has helped pass ticketing laws in Maine over the last few years.
• Lauren Wayne says she was part of the effort to pass these laws in Maine.
Key elements of Maine's ticket law[9:38]
• The new law bans the use of bots to buy tickets.
• It also makes speculative tickets-those advertised by resellers but not actually owned-illegal.
• Maine now has a 10% resale cap on live event tickets, limiting the markup above face value.
• Lauren says the cap is important because it cuts down on price gouging but still allows regular fans who can't attend to resell their tickets as long as they stay within 10% over face value.
• StubHub now asks Maine-based sellers to confirm that their ticket prices comply with the legal limits.
• At Lauren's theater, customers can report suspicious activity that may violate the law by filling out a form that goes to the state attorney general's office.
Observed impact of the law on bot activity[10:02]
• Lauren recalls that before the law, her employees had to manually scrub ticket transactions to cancel bot purchases.
• She reports that since the law went into effect in September, she has not had to do that manual scrubbing.
• She views this as great news but notes that bots have likely moved on to other states with looser laws.
Call for broader adoption of tough ticketing legislation[10:35]
• Lauren argues that each state should enact tougher ticketing laws because bot operators will gravitate to the easiest, least-regulated markets.

Practical workaround and lighthearted close to the ticket segment

Avoiding online ticketing fees at Lauren's theater[10:39]
• Waylon tells Darian that at Lauren's State Theater, you can avoid ticketing websites-and associated fees-by going in person to the box office.
• She notes that in-person purchases at the box office have no fees.
• Darian jokes that he will get his tent ready, implying he'd camp out to buy tickets in person.

Introduction to rising pet care costs

Connecting pandemic pet love to higher costs

Shift in pet-owner relationships during the pandemic[10:50]
• The hosts observe that during the pandemic, people fell even more deeply in love with their pets, or at least many did.
• They say that increased demand for pet care is contributing to higher prices, but note that there is more to the story than demand alone.
• They tease that after the break they will explore what lies behind the rising cost of care for pets of all kinds, not just furry pets but also feathered or scaly ones.
Promise of an economic theory to explain rising pet-care costs[11:17]
• The hosts say they will use an economic theory to help explain what is happening with pet care prices.
• They mention that Adrian and one of the hosts will pick up the story after the break.

Veterinary costs outpacing overall inflation

Data on price increases and skipped care

Comparison of overall inflation and vet service inflation[13:14]
• The hosts say that paying for health care is not just a problem for humans; pet healthcare costs have been surging.
• Using Consumer Price Index data, they note that overall prices in the economy are about 25% higher than five years ago.
• Over that same period, the cost of veterinary services increased by about 41%, a much steeper increase.
Evidence that high costs are affecting care decisions[13:35]
• They cite a recent Gallup survey finding that most pet owners say they have skipped necessary vet care because of the cost.
• The hosts pose the question of what is driving these soaring veterinary costs.

Inside a veterinary practice: rising costs and Baumol's cost disease

Veterinarian Adam Hetchko's work and rising operating costs

Adam's practice, case example, and love for the job[13:41]
• Veterinarian Adam Hetchko says he loves the unpredictability of veterinary medicine, where he might treat a dog, a cat, a snake, and a flying squirrel in one afternoon.
• He says he does everything but emphasizes that surgery is his specialty.
• He describes recently helping a pet that had a foreign body obstruction after eating a toy.
• Adam runs an independent veterinary practice in Cleveland, Ohio.
• When asked, he explains the case involved a dog that swallowed the squeaker disc from a stuffed animal, which became lodged and required surgery.
• He identifies the dog as a lab named Callie and reports that she is doing great now.
Adam's awareness of cost pressures and his priorities[14:52]
• Adam acknowledges that the rising price of veterinary services is a real problem.
• He says his sleepless nights come from wanting to deliver the best service at the best value, even though some cost drivers are outside his control.
Breakdown of rising operating costs: supplies, medications, and labor[15:23]
• When asked directly what is behind the soaring cost of vet care, Adam says the costs of operating a practice have risen significantly.
• He notes that medications are more expensive in part because of tariffs.
• Medical supplies such as bandages, gowns, and syringes have also become more expensive for similar reasons.
• Adam gives a specific example: a box of exam gloves now costs more than twice what it did just a year or so ago.
• He identifies labor as perhaps the biggest cost pressure, including wages for veterinarians and support staff like nurses and office managers.
• He says labor costs have gone up significantly in recent years, and in many vet practices labor now exceeds 50% of total costs.

Baumol's cost disease explained and applied to vet care

Overview of Baumol's cost disease and contrasting sectors[15:50]
• The hosts introduce Baumol's cost disease as a classic economic idea that Adam's situation exemplifies.
• They say this is one of their favorite economic theories and describe it as an econ-nerd deep cut.
• Baumol's cost disease was developed in the 1960s by economists William Baumol and William Bowen, nicknamed "BB and BB" or the "two BB kings."
• The theory divides the economy into sectors where productivity rises quickly due to technology (like manufacturing) and sectors where productivity is hard to increase because work is inherently labor-intensive.
• They explain this helps account for why big-screen TVs and software get cheaper over time while services requiring human labor become more expensive.
Examples of labor-intensive services and the implication for wages[16:32]
• The hosts say there is currently no robot or AI that can watch a child, administer an IV, or unclog a toilet at a practical level.
• They add that they would not trust a robot to remove a plastic squeaker disc from a dog's insides-at least not yet.
• They argue that if society wants people to take jobs as caregivers, nurses, plumbers, or animal surgeons, wages in those jobs must rise over time.
• Otherwise, many people who might have chosen such roles would instead pursue more lucrative jobs in higher-productivity sectors.
• They summarize Baumol's cost disease as the idea that the price of labor-intensive services tends to rise because wages must keep up with other sectors even if productivity gains are limited.

Additional factors: corporate ownership and culture of pet ownership

Private equity and profit pressure in veterinary care[17:26]
• The hosts note that Baumol's cost disease explains part of the story but not all of it.
• They mention that veterinary care has increasingly been taken over by private equity firms in recent years.
• According to a 2023 study they reference, vets who work in corporate-owned practices face significantly more pressure to generate profits than vets in independent practices.
• They point listeners to a previous episode they produced about private equity and pet care for more detail.
Stronger pet-owner bonds and increased willingness to spend[17:46]
• Another factor they cite is that many pet owners are now simply willing to spend more on pet care.
• Adam says he has noticed a cultural shift in pet ownership compared to a few years ago, which he attributes to pandemic lockdowns.
• He explains that during isolation, pets were often people's only social interaction or companionship, helping them through challenges and strengthening the human-animal bond.
• Once that bond is strengthened, Adam says people change how they view pet care and become more invested in providing it.
• The shift to remote work also meant many people spent all day with their pets for the first time, becoming more attuned to every hiccup or odd behavior.
• Adam believes this heightened attentiveness has made many owners more willing to pay for the best care they can afford to keep pets healthy.
• He notes that pet owners are driving some of the cost increase because they are seeking more options and more services, including high-end diagnostics and procedures.
• These services can include annual blood tests, sonograms, and procedures that may cost thousands of dollars.

Consequences of rising vet costs and advice for pet owners

Summary of cost drivers and impact on access

Recap of forces pushing prices upward[18:56]
• The hosts recap that vets are facing higher costs for supplies, medicines, and employees.
• They reiterate that some vets are under pressure from corporate owners to be more profitable.
• They emphasize that some pet owners are willing to pay a premium for a premium level of care.
• At the same time, they stress that many people are being priced out of veterinary services, echoing the earlier Gallup finding that necessary care is being skipped.

Emotional toll on veterinarians

Adam's feelings when accused of being "in it for the money"[19:33]
• Adam says the situation is stressful because he and his team want to do everything they can for each pet.
• He finds it hard when they cannot provide all the desired care, especially when clients say, "You're just in it for the money" or "You don't care about my pet."
• Adam says such accusations cut him deeply because they conflict with why he chose the profession.
• He explains that when he was seven years old, he chose this path to help animals and support the human-animal bond, not for financial reasons.

Practical suggestions for managing pet health costs

Building relationships and preventive care[20:10]
• Adam advises pet owners to get to know their vet and bring pets in for regular checkups.
• He suggests that routine visits help spot health issues early, before they become more serious and more expensive to treat.
Considering pet insurance and its costs[19:59]
• Adam also recommends that pet owners consider buying pet health insurance.
• The hosts caution that pet insurance policies themselves are not cheap, often costing several hundred dollars per year.
• They note that, like pet care in general, pet insurance premiums are trending upward over time.

Production credits and closing

Credits for both Indicator stories

Acknowledgment of producers, engineer, fact-checker, and editors[20:22]
• The hosts explain that these episodes were originally produced by Angel Carreras.
• They say this episode was produced by Cooper Katz-McKim and engineered by Robert Rodriguez.
• They credit Sierra Juarez as the fact-checker.
• They note that "Canon" edits The Indicator and name Alex Goldmark as executive producer.
• The episode closes with the usual NPR sign-off and thanks to listeners.

Lessons Learned

Actionable insights and wisdom you can apply to your business, career, and personal life.

1

Markets tend to correct underpricing, so if a product or service is set below what demand will bear, intermediaries and secondary markets will often capture the difference rather than the original provider or end customer.

Reflection Questions:

  • • Where in your work or life might you be underpricing something valuable and unintentionally leaving surplus for middlemen rather than the people you want to benefit?
  • • How could you redesign your pricing or distribution so that any extra value created flows to the stakeholders you care about most?
  • • What is one price or policy you could review this month to ensure it better reflects actual demand and your goals for who captures the upside?
2

Regulation that targets abusive practices in one jurisdiction often pushes those practices to less-regulated areas, so durable solutions require system-wide thinking rather than isolated fixes.

Reflection Questions:

  • • In what situations have you seen a problem simply move somewhere else when a narrow rule was introduced instead of being solved?
  • • How could you map the broader system around a challenge you face so you can anticipate displacement effects and unintended consequences?
  • • What is one policy, rule, or process you influence that you could revisit this week to make sure it addresses root causes rather than just relocating the symptoms?
3

Services that depend heavily on skilled human labor are likely to rise in cost over time relative to goods, so long-term planning should account for steadily increasing prices in care-oriented sectors.

Reflection Questions:

  • • Which recurring, human-intensive services in your life or business are you assuming will stay affordable even though their costs are likely to keep climbing?
  • • How might your budgeting or strategy change if you explicitly planned for above-average price growth in areas like health, education, or personal services?
  • • What proactive step could you take this year-such as building relationships, investing in preventive care, or setting aside reserves-to better manage future service cost increases?
4

Values like accessibility and care for your audience or clients need to be balanced with the economic realities of costs and demand; ignoring either side can produce outcomes that conflict with your original intent.

Reflection Questions:

  • • Where are your ideals about being affordable or generous potentially clashing with the actual economics of what it takes to deliver quality?
  • • How could you make your pricing and value-sharing more intentional so that your practices reflect both your financial constraints and your desire to treat people fairly?
  • • What is one conversation you could initiate this week-with customers, partners, or your team-about how to align your prices and offerings with your mission and constraints?
5

Investing in preventive relationships and safeguards-like regular checkups, trusted advisors, or appropriate insurance-can reduce the risk of being blindsided by large, painful expenses later.

Reflection Questions:

  • • In which areas of your life or business are you mostly reacting to crises instead of building preventive relationships and routines?
  • • How might establishing a stronger relationship with a key professional (such as a doctor, vet, or financial advisor) change the kinds of problems you face over the next few years?
  • • What is one preventive action-an appointment, policy review, or small insurance purchase-you could schedule this week to lower the chance of a major unexpected cost?

Episode Summary - Notes by Casey

Everything's more expensive!! Pet care!! Concert tickets!! (Two Indicators)
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