Hi everyone. As I gear up to go to Primavera Sound in Barcelona tomorrow, I’ve been thinking a lot about recent reports about young people going into debt for live music events. Today’s newsletter is about that. 

I’m pre-scheduling the next week of newsletters, so no Yap Seshes for this coming Thursday or next Monday because I won’t have my laptop to add ‘em!

Reflecting on how many concerts I’ve been to since pandemic lockdown restrictions began lifting in 2021, it’s unsurprising to me that so many people are willing to spend big on live music.

Ticket prices have skyrocketed in recent years — with the average ticket price rising to $135.92 in 2024, according to Pollstar. While Pollstar’s Q1 data indicates that average cost may be dropping this year, we are still in a time when 60% of Coachella attendees put their tickets on a payment plan and others are opening credit cards to be able to go to shows.

Having been on the Ticketmaster beat for the better part of two years, I think it’s interesting that music fans have just accepted the stress of purchasing tickets and the high costs of concerts. I consider myself to be squarely in this demographic. Dynamic pricing, ticket scalpers, and even travel costs do not appear to be barriers to purchasing tickets to see your favorite artists. Sure, everyone complains — myself included — but very few prices seem to trump the FOMO that comes with missing out on a hot ticket concert. 

I’ve been wondering lately what the average price ceiling is for live events. For myself, I try to cap my budget at $300 for a show I really want to see, which I recently learned was the average amount that credit card holders spent on live events last year, according to Billboard. 

Gen Z is even more willing to pay top dollar for live music. A Cash App survey of over 2,000 American adults, conducted by The Harris Poll, found that Gen Z set an average budget of $1,900 for the most-anticipated shows. 

This trend is surely unsustainable, but it’s hard not to say “fuck it” in these times. Live music, for many of us, is the one sure outlet to find IRL community in a time when people are more isolated than ever. People just want to feel something life-affirming because the world feels so bleak. In a time when Gen Zers have become nihilistic about money and have accepted that they may never own property or even have a material future, the one thing they can own is their memories. I may never buy a house, but at least I got to see Beyoncé at her very best!

Of course, the big spending isn’t just about this sense of nihilism. It’s also about FOMO, which has perhaps impacted the concert experience for the worse. Concerts have become a flex in recent years, in part because buying tickets has become so difficult. Many people just want to prove that they went to the big, buzzy tours of that year for social media, which has led to outrageous audience stunts and weird crowds in a post-lockdown concert landscape. 

I am trying to curb these impulses to spend big and not miss out on concerts. For example, I bravely resisted buying Lady Gaga Mayhem Ball tickets because the only ones I could find were $500 for upper bowl seats, although I am admittedly waiting it out to see if prices drop closer to the actual shows. 

But ticket buying is also an act of mental gymnastics for many of us, especially when considering how to extract the best value out of a show. That’s why many people opt for international shows. If you’re going to drop a bag for concert tickets, why not get a vacation and better seats too? This is why I’m going to Spain for a music festival — because it would be the same price if I were to try to see each artist on the lineup individually (or even just the headliners Charli and Troye, Chappell Roan, and Sabrina Carpenter alone). Plus, I get to explore another country in the process.

Despite proposed legislation to introduce more price transparency and curb scalpers, not much has been done to actually make concert tickets more affordable. Obviously, this has not been a barrier to purchasing tickets, but people shouldn’t have to go broke for their favorite artists. I often wonder if there are best practices for buying tickets and beating scalpers. 

So much of ticket buying these days feels like luck and gambling (maybe that’s an added component in this masochistic race for tickets?). Last year, I was surprised by how high Charli XCX and Troye Sivan tickets were during the pre-sale in April, so I decided to wait (because what do you mean I have to pay $200 to see Charli from the nosebleeds when I paid $50 for floor tickets to see her two years earlier?). I assumed tickets would drop — then Brat came out. How was I to predict Brat summer? I ended up waiting for last minute tickets the day of the NYC Sweat tour date, paying a reseller $370 for those same nosebleeds I was indignant about before. 

But was it worth it? 100%. Charli XCX has been one of my favorite artists for years and there was no way I was going to miss any part of the biggest era of her career. 

I feel like all of the concerts I’ve been to in the past few years have been worth the money spent. I’ve tried really hard to take less videos and enjoy the moment more so that I’m getting the most out of each experience. But also, I really appreciate when I can feel the artist understands that people spent a lot of money to see them. It’s hard on artists to tour and it’s hard on fans to pay for it, so it’s nice when it feels like there’s a mutual understanding that everyone involved deserves to have a good night. 

At the end of the last Cowboy Carter show in New Jersey last week, Beyoncé said that she tries to give fans her all for each show. If you’ve seen her live, you know she does. So in a case like that, every one of the $200 spent to see the greatest living performer we have was worth it!

Every Monday letter gets a playlist. Happy Pride Month! This is the gay pop Jojo Siwa was talking about — minus “Karma.”

In this week’s playlist:

• Rush - Troye Sivan

• Born This Way - Lady Gaga

• Immaterial - SOPHIE

• Cherry - Rina Sawayama

• The Giver - Chappell Roan

• Girls Like Girls - Hayley Kiyoko

• Touch Me (Remix) - Victoria Monet ft. Kehlani

• HOTBOX - Lil Nas X

Other things I want to share with you.

• Addison Rae on Popcast talking about how taste is a luxury… I love her bad. Real ones know how much I’ve fucked with Addison Rae for years. I had those leaked demos on my phone for years. I can’t wait for Addison!

• Jojo Siwa and Chris Hughes… Hating this.

• What is Sabrina Carpenter teasing???

• JADE, the woman you are, leading a chant to send a big FU to JK Rowling and all transphobes at the Mighty Hoopla festival!

• Reneé Rapp is so chaotic but we love.

• People are hating on this Brendan Abernathy guy for being cringe, but I fear people just hate the stomp-clap-Voice-audition music these new Dudes in Music are making right now.