Chante Whyte rejoiced when Harry Styles announced the release of Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally. However, when the tour dates came out, her anxiety rose. “I swear, I had heart palpitations every night thinking about what the battle on Ticketmaster would be like.”
Although the tour Together, Together won't start before May 16th, ticket sales have started for almost all dates. Fans registered for pre-sales have discovered that the price of many tickets exceeds 1000 dollars and this is partly because the artist in question is Harry Styles and partly because he is still a former member of One Direction. He hasn't been on tour for a long time, he's someone who disappears once a tour is over and so missing this opportunity could mean waiting at least another three years to see him live again. In addition, Together, Together it is decidedly shorter than previous tours, 67 dates in just 11 cities around the world including a 30-night residency at Madison Square Garden. The demand was crazy: for the New York dates alone, over 11 million people queued up with 500 thousand tickets available.
As if that wasn't enough, fans also have to deal with the battle that is taking place around ticket resellers. High prices are certainly nothing new – already in 1969, on these same pages, fans were complaining about how much it cost to go to see the Rolling Stones – but in recent years the complaints from artists and audiences have become increasingly louder. Lawsuits have also followed over hidden fees and price-driving bots. And therefore the hunt for the ticket by Styles fans is particularly tough and also involves extreme solutions.
Daniella Barone is 24 years old, studies illustration in Florida, but is originally from Venezuela. She missed the 2020 concert in Miami because she was forced to leave the country to get the green card. Covid stranded her in Venezuela for a few months and by the time she was able to return to the United States the concert had been cancelled. He's been listening to One Direction since he was 11. As soon as he saw the tour announcement he knew he had to get some money, and fast. Looking for a job that interferes with your studies was not a viable solution. What to do then? Donate blood. He's already done it twice and plans to continue until he can afford two tickets and a flight to New York. “I can only eat once a day, I already have,” he says, laughing.
Ava Engle, 18, also had the same idea. A student at San Diego State University, she says she has “fought a lot of battles over Ticketmaster.” She couldn't find a Styles ticket under $1,000 during the official sale. Working and keeping up with studying isn't easy and even though needles scare her, she signed up to donate plasma. Each donation brings her around $90 which can make a difference when added to the tutoring jobs she does. During school breaks she works at the reception of a swimming pool. He hopes, by pooling all the income, to cover the expense. Not that she likes to hustle so much for tickets that someone else paid $200 for. «I'm terrified of needles and so when I sat down I started having second thoughts, like: what am I doing? I just want to see one of my favorite artists. We shouldn't have to go that far to be able to afford a concert.”
Since the tour was launched, complaints about unaffordable prices have multiplied. Styles' former bandmate Zayn Malik also spoke about it, or so it seems, during a concert: «I just want to say a huge thank you to each and every one of you for being here tonight. I hope the ticket prices weren't too high. So, just to say.”
With the surge in prices, fan behavior has also changed. Those who go to see big stars like Styles, Billie Eilish or Olivia Rodrigo are young and try to buy cheaper tickets and camp outside the stadium during the night to stay as close to the stage as possible (but these tickets can still cost between 400 and 900 dollars or even more). It is not known how many tickets of that type are put up for sale, making the rush to buy them a lottery. And so when Styles announced on Instagram on Wednesday a concert in Manchester for just £20, the post received over 1.4 million likes.
«I do everything right», says Engle, «I'm not a bot, yet I find myself one hundred thousandth in line. And when I finally manage to access the page I see that there is very little availability and the prices exceed 700 or 1000 dollars, and they are not even incredible places. How angry. Harry, what are we doing?'
Aaron Fern, 28, wasn't a big One Direction fan, but when he heard Styles' first solo album he immediately fell in love with it. He has signed up for dozens of pre-sales for shows at Madison Square Garden and is thinking of increasing his credit card limit to cover the expense. His planned budget was $1000 for two tickets, but after failing to get even one he is willing to do anything and is looking for a second job. «I don't blame Harry, it would be like blaming the weatherman for the weather, but it's absurd. I'm looking for bartender jobs, in restaurants, in record stores. Any field in which I have experience and can make me earn as quickly as possible.”
According to Whyte, who is 25, Styles' concerts are “life-changing” experiences and create a strong sense of community. “On Harry's last tour I saw almost 30 concerts, which was madness,” he says, laughing. “I always tell my mother that there's a neuron in me that short-circuits when it comes to that man.”
Given the prices, Whyte, who has a law degree and is studying for the bar exam, will have to dig into her savings. It's a sacrifice she's willing to make and plans to go to as many concerts as possible, but she finds the absurd prices jarring with the themes Styles promotes. «Going to one of his concerts means entering a community with which you can be under the stage, dance, camp outside. It's that sense of belonging that drives me to come back every time. It's ironic that the tour is called Together, Together and you talk about the idea that we belong to each other and then the ticket prices say something completely different.”
From Rolling Stone US.
