In addition to accusations that Ticketmaster coerces artists into using its services through its merger with Live Nation, an events promoter with operational control over many of the nation’s top venues, Oliver pointed out that a vast majority of concert tickets are often held back from the general public. They are instead sold to ticket brokers, who resell them at an enormous markup, often on sites like Ticketmaster.
In some cases, tickets can appear on Ticketmaster at a markup of 1,000%. In those cases, the fact that an artist set the price of tickets at or below market value has little to no bearing on the final cost to concertgoers.
While Ticketmaster has denied accusations that it puts pressure on artists to use its services and has said that it spends considerable resources to “weed out bad behavior” by ticket brokers and others, the fact remains that the company profits greatly from fees negotiated with the venue, often owned or operated by its own Live Nation, and then profits a second time when ticket brokers resell tickets on their site at a markup.
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On the other hand, Elevation Worship, which refers to itself on its website as a ministry of Elevation Church, does generate significant revenue through views and listens on YouTube and Spotify, the sale of albums and merchandise, and, presumably, concert ticket sales.
Furtick, who in addition to his pastorate at Elevation Church is the author of multiple books and a principal songwriter for the worship band that has sold over 2.5 million albums in the United States, has a net worth of approximately $50-60 million, according to some estimates.
Elevation Church is currently in good standing with their accreditation from the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA), an American financial standards association representing Evangelical Christian organizations and churches.
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ChurchLeaders has reached out to Elevation Church for comment and will update this article in the event of their response.
