# Explain the Taylor Swift concert ticket brouhaha to me please **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [November 18, 2022, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-taylor-swift-concert-ticket-brouhaha-to-me-please/975156 "2022-11-18T17:30:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2022, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-taylor-swift-concert-ticket-brouhaha-to-me-please/975156/81 "2022-11-27T23:30:22Z")
Hearing about the fiasco on “All Things Considered” this afternoon reminded me of this classic photo of what happened at the box office at Shea Stadium when tickets for a Grand Funk Railroad concert became available. I don’t think the fire marshal, etc. would allow anything like this now. > **[Girl who already bought her ticket for Grand Funk Railroad concert at...](https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/girl-who-already-bought-her-ticket-for-grand-funk-railroad-news-photo/97312490?adppopup=true)** > > Girl who already bought her ticket for Grand Funk Railroad concert at Madison Square Garden is passed over the heads of others to reach exit. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2022, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-taylor-swift-concert-ticket-brouhaha-to-me-please/975156/82 "2022-11-27T23:35:42Z")
That is scary and part of the reason I hate large crowds. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2022, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-taylor-swift-concert-ticket-brouhaha-to-me-please/975156/83 "2022-11-27T23:43:47Z")
I wonder how many of the people in that picture have shown it to their grandchildren. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2022, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-taylor-swift-concert-ticket-brouhaha-to-me-please/975156/84 "2022-11-27T23:51:39Z")
Oops, Madison Square Garden, not Shea Stadium! What was I thinking? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2022, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-taylor-swift-concert-ticket-brouhaha-to-me-please/975156/85 "2022-11-28T16:42:17Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > That is scary and part of the reason I hate large crowds A few years ago I saw Gogol Bordello. Toward the end, people were climbing up on the stage, then running and diving into the audience. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2022, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-taylor-swift-concert-ticket-brouhaha-to-me-please/975156/86 "2022-11-28T18:59:40Z")
Another factor that at least has to be considered about concerts getting so expensive: going to a big concert, especially in a stadium, is a way better experience than it used to be. I don’t know enough about live sound to know why, but I’ve noticed that the sound at big concerts is way better than it was even in the 80s and 90s. I’ve been in the upper deck for shows where the sound was so muddled by the time it got to me that I could barely tell what song was being played, and other times I’ve been up close and it was so loud that I could barely make anything out (especially without earplugs). In the last decade it seems like the sound is pretty great from every seat. Also, giant video screens have made it possible to get the full experience of live music but to also see what’s happening on stage. I can remember taking binoculars to concerts in the 80s and 90s, and it’s really not necessary anymore. It also allows for theatrical elements that were hard to pull off in the past. You might have had your Pink Floyd or Genesis trying to make a real show out of a concert, but most of the time it was just a band playing on a stage, which might look like tiny specks from the cheap seats. You might say that concerts in the past were better as pure musical experiences, and I’d happily give my left nut to have seen Zeppelin or Queen in their prime. But a stadium (or even an arena, really) is no place for a pure musical experience like that. I imagine seeing them like I see them on TV, close up and sounding great, but in reality those legends probably would have been tiny specks playing songs I could barely tell apart from my shitty seat. If previous tours are any indication, Swift’s show this time around will be the biggest production anyone has ever seen, and should be great from any seat in the house. It makes sense to me that people are willing to pay more for that. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2022, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-taylor-swift-concert-ticket-brouhaha-to-me-please/975156/87 "2022-11-28T20:25:26Z")
> [@DoctorJ](#): > > Another factor that at least has to be considered about concerts getting so expensive: going to a big concert, especially in a stadium, is a way better experience than it used to be. > > I don’t know enough about live sound to know why, but I’ve noticed that the sound at big concerts is way better than it was even in the 80s and 90s. That’s very true, and I should have remembered that because I am a baseball fan. Baseball tickets are way more expensive than they used to be too, but the quality of the facility you are seeing the game in is incomparably better. Every stadium constructed since 1989 is ludicrously superior to either the one it replaced or the overall average of stadia before; the places major league teams played in in the 1960s or 1970s would today be considered comically insufficient. The ones that still exist from then have all had as many upgrades as their physical structure can allow. I don’t have as many direct comparisons for concert venues, but the first concert I ever saw was Genesis, at Exhibition Stadium, a facility known for being comically shitty in every possible respect. > [@DoctorJ](#): > > You might say that concerts in the past were better as pure musical experiences, and I’d happily give my left nut to have seen Zeppelin or Queen in their prime. I don’t think one can honestly say that. There are many fine and talented musicians today, and from what I can tell the overall production values of their shows can border on the amazing. ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2023, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-taylor-swift-concert-ticket-brouhaha-to-me-please/975156/88 "2023-09-28T23:27:24Z")
Not only this, ticket prices to the upcoming Chiefs/Jets game have increased 40% since Taylor said she was going to be there. > **[Taylor Swift is a fan and suddenly, so is everyone else. Travis Kelce jersey...](https://www.kctv5.com/2023/09/26/taylor-swift-is-fan-suddenly-so-is-everyone-else-travis-kelce-jersey-sales-jump-nearly-400/)** > > Sales spiked on the same day that Swift was spotted in Kansas City, watching the Chiefs play the Chicago Bears alongside Kelce’s mother, Donna. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2023, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-taylor-swift-concert-ticket-brouhaha-to-me-please/975156/89 "2023-09-29T12:33:31Z")
I know some folks are bothered by it, but I think this “budding romance” is cute. They would make some very pretty babies. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2023, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-taylor-swift-concert-ticket-brouhaha-to-me-please/975156/90 "2023-09-29T12:55:44Z")
The best part of this romance is that – for some reason – it’s driving right wingers absolutely insane. > **[Taylor Swift Has Broken Conservatives’ Brains](https://newrepublic.com/article/175850/taylor-swift-broken-conservatives-brains)** > > The singer’s recent appearance at a Kansas City Chiefs game mostly caused a delightful stir—except among those on the grievance-sozzled right. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2023, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-taylor-swift-concert-ticket-brouhaha-to-me-please/975156/91 "2023-09-29T12:58:25Z")
Yes I saw one of them call her homely. :show me that you know you don’t stand a chance with Taylor Swift in so few words: ---
**Author:** ![gregorio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@gregorio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gregorio)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2023, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-taylor-swift-concert-ticket-brouhaha-to-me-please/975156/92 "2023-09-29T15:22:03Z")
How sharp are her knees? ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2023, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-taylor-swift-concert-ticket-brouhaha-to-me-please/975156/93 "2023-09-29T15:54:45Z")
> Blockquote Finally, as a teen in the 1960s, it was a point of pride to have the latest Steppenwolf album. People would actually come to your house to listen to it. You rarely lent the albums you paid your entire week’s allowance for at the local record store. The pride and status of having the latest The Who album has been completely replaced by seeing the remaining members wheeze around on stage live at the local hockey stadium. > Blockquote I think that is a very important part…scarcity of media has evaporated with on-demand streaming. The scarcity now lives in access to the artist. No one cares about anyone owning a Taylor Swift album, since anything can be listened to on demand anywhere. But seeing her in person has now become the scarce and enviable good. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2023, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-taylor-swift-concert-ticket-brouhaha-to-me-please/975156/94 "2023-09-29T16:25:10Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > No one cares about anyone owning a Taylor Swift album, since anything can be listened to on demand anywhere. But seeing her in person has now become the scarce and enviable good. I think that happened long before now - I wasn’t a teen in the 60s but I was in the late 70s and even then the concert was the scarce and enviable good. Nobody was going to each other’s houses to listen to the latest album and nobody was camping out or waiting on line to buy the album. After all, if I couldn’t buy the album this week I could still buy it next week or the week after- but if I missed a concert , it would be at least a year, probably longer, before I could see that group live again. (I saw Aerosmith at MSG in 1978 - looked it up, the next time they were there was 1986. They might have been somewhere in NJ or Long Island sooner - but it wouldn’t have been before 1980 and I wouldn’t have been able to get there anyway) ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2023, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-taylor-swift-concert-ticket-brouhaha-to-me-please/975156/95 "2023-09-29T20:05:58Z")
I can remember going to a friend’s house my junior year in high school to hear The Doors’ first album…played on massive speakers at top volume. And they were the house band at the Whiskey a year or so before that. So, you had the best of both! ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2023, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-taylor-swift-concert-ticket-brouhaha-to-me-please/975156/96 "2023-09-29T20:11:20Z")
> [@dougrb](#): > > Not only this, ticket prices to the upcoming Chiefs/Jets game have increased 40% since Taylor said she was going to be there. Hey, if a bunch of people who have no interest in football want to spend too much to watch the Jets get blown out the resellers should take every dime. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2023, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-taylor-swift-concert-ticket-brouhaha-to-me-please/975156/97 "2023-09-29T21:57:04Z")
Forgive me, but I can’t make out what you were attempting to quote and what was “you”. The weird blockquote bars threw in sufficient uncertainty that I can’t parse and ascertain your meaning. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2023, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-taylor-swift-concert-ticket-brouhaha-to-me-please/975156/98 "2023-09-29T22:21:29Z")
This is something that bears repeating. Tours were in support of albums. The bulk of an act’s income came from record sales. Obviously that doesn’t work any more. I can’t remember the last time I bought music to listen to at home. So you’re saving money on music even if concerts are expensive. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2023, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-taylor-swift-concert-ticket-brouhaha-to-me-please/975156/99 "2023-09-29T22:30:27Z")
My understanding was that – even back in the day – the label got most of the money from record sales and the band made most of its money off touring. Absolute top acts (like Swift) could negotiate a bigger cut of sales revenue but most bands depended on touring for income. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2023, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-taylor-swift-concert-ticket-brouhaha-to-me-please/975156/100 "2023-09-29T22:31:39Z")
You might be right. I’m not an expert. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-taylor-swift-concert-ticket-brouhaha-to-me-please/975156.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-taylor-swift-concert-ticket-brouhaha-to-me-please/975156.md?page=6)