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Spartan Scoop

ARE CONCERTS STILL WORTH IT?

How concerts have drastically changed over the years
Goth+Babe+Concert+at+The+Wilma
Lexi Bartholomew
Goth Babe Concert at The Wilma

Concerts have been around for hundreds of years. Being around people to simply enjoy tunes together has always been a beloved activity. I mean who wouldn’t wanna spend just a little bit of cash to see their favorite artist?

Over the past few decades the standards for everyone participating in concerts have been changing frequently and will continue to do so. 

How should the audience and the performer behave during their show?

There aren’t necessarily rules you have to follow to attend a concert. Obviously there are safety and security requirements, but there’s nothing on paper that says something like, “You cannot record the entire show”.

You will be majorly judged by everyone actually enjoying the moment though. 

If the artists  performing express something that they don’t want the audience to do; usually it just goes for the people up front in the pit, especially if the venue is huge. People can be extremely disrespectful.

That is not always the case, some musicians always have a bone to pick. 

In the most recent drama, Doja Cat is a great example of this.

Doja has never been afraid of expressing herself however she wants without caring what people say about her. Which means she’s been doing nothing but hate on her own fans and even her old music

With the release of “Paint the Town Red”, the first single off of her newest album, Scarlet, , she got lots of mixed responses.

First Doja sold her soul to the devil. Fans are very upset with her mention of satanism. The other backlash was that it sounds like it could be on the Planet Her album.

All while the rest of the fan base will have that song in their spotify wrapped. 

Doja said this about Planet Her and  Hot Pink, 

Planet Her and Hot Pink were cash grabs and y’all fell for it. Now I can go disappear somewhere and touch grass with my loved ones on an island while y’all weep for mediocre pop.

— Doja Cat

She is not the first and will not be the last artist to hate on their own profession. Other artists have just been extremely entitled during their touring.

The line of whose fault it is, the audience or performer, is very blurry and depends on the person as well. 

Several artists like: Lorde, Steve Lacy, and Miranda Lambert have stopped shows to yell at the crowd because they’re doing something they don’t like.

There’s always something to complain about. Despite that people are never going to stop attending and paying for concerts. 

There’s not been a record of ticket prices inflating, but hardcore underground fans are the angry ones.Noah Kahan tickets are ranging from $63 to over $1,000. The granola girls are not happy about this.

No kidding Noah Kahan is going to sell out right away; he’s been one of the biggest growing artists since Stick Season came out. 

As for popular concerts selling out really fast, comes the people who only know the one song that was trending on Tik Tok. This makes die heart fans very upset. Saying things like, “They don’t even know the whole set list, why even come?” or “I know every single lyric, I should’ve been the one to get pit tickets.” 

Once again, there’s always something to complain about. 

Yes, it can be annoying if you went to the concert because you idolize the person and love all their music, but why hate on others? 

Maybe it was in their home town and it was a fun way to enjoy their Friday night. You don’t have to know every song to enjoy a music performance.

Other than performers and audience members causing unnecessary problems, there are good reasons for not wanting to go on tour or watch someone’s show.  

A memorable show that altered how musicians handle safety during concerts was Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival. 

In 2021 during Travis Scott’s Houston show, 10 people died because they were trampled and 25 were sent to the hospital. Scott got all of the backlash, because never once did he stop the show or acknowledge that people were getting crushed. 

His apology follow was a black and white video that he posted on his Instagram story. From that point on performers take audience safety a lot more seriously. 

(This is not to say that performers prior to this haven’t taken safety precautions during shows.)

Artists like: Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, and many more have stopped shows to make sure a fan is getting medical attention if needed. Even if it’s just a singular person. 

This is great to see in the media, especially with big artists at huge venues. It’s important they humanize themselves and the audience. The audience doesn’t always do the same for them though.

There have been many times where performers get stuff thrown at them or most commonly just people absolutely screaming their heads off at them. There is an obvious line though. An example of something for good laughs is Drake getting extremely large bras thrown onto the stage. 

Other light hearted things like certain signs at Harry Styles concerts are heart warming, but that is not usually the case.

Clairo is a recent example of this.

She will be performing and someone in the crowd will yell something sexual at her or during an inappropriate part of a song to interrupt. In reality, sometimes it’s hard to see celebrities as humans, because of their social media presence.

It’s important to note how much social media has affected touring and how the standards for both artist and audience have changed. 

Not only has the behavior changed, but it is costing performers a whole lot more money.

It has come out that concert venues are taking between 10 to 40 percent of artist merchandise sales. Even if the artist has their own people handle merch, the venue still gets a cut. The entitlement is very apparent. 

In reality, people will never stop attending concerts or festivals nor will musicians stop touring. There’s nothing wrong with that. 

It may just stop certain artists from wanting to perform or even creating music in general. That’s not something new though. 

Nowadays, everyone just thinks the world around them will just accommodate their opinions. In reality that’s just not how that works, especially if you think a world pop star will listen to your twitter rant. 

About the Contributor
Lexi Bartholomew
Lexi Bartholomew, Reporter
my spotify playlists are cooler than yours