Eli

This is although I was told earlier that is not the last podcast of the summer because summer technically ends on September 21.

Trey

As every year.

Eli

I know but you know what I mean? Like it ends, I feel like it ends post Labor Day. That is when bring out the cable knit sweater or whatever

Clara

Cable knit can't really come out until November, though.

Eli

You think so?

Clara

I mean, in this day and age and this globally warmed climate. Really? October was humid last year, not let's not discuss the weather in the first 30 seconds. I don't know.

Eli

I don't know. I listen to cable that comes out as soon as soon as humanly possible.

Clara

Yeah.

Trey

Yeah. What's that fall ABC lineup looking like?

Eli

Kith. Head to toe. Brian Cox X Kith. Head to toe. No, but something I did want to discuss. As we close out the summer, because this is a hill I will die on for now is the price of admission. Because I had the pleasure of taking the day off go to the first day of the US Open yesterday. But it was quite a debacle getting a ticket. Me and my roommate. And you know, we just wanted to get baseline price Gen pop, if you will. But but but but the price of admission. And this is a theme in line with price of admission for concerts for sporting events for restaurants, etc. What have you all summer long, was just astronomical. And we ended up going to the box office and the lady very deadpan said yeah, it's a lot more expensive this year than ever. But you have the Eras tour. Obviously, that made a lot of headway or headlines rather for being grotesquely expensive. You have the Renaissance tour, which was attributed or blamed for causing some inflation and then you have Messi coming to Inter Miami where the price of a ticket baseline ticket to see Him is no less than $700. So I don't know if there's something that either of you have encountered. But I have thoughts as to why this is generally problematic that going to sports or concerts have become highly cost prohibitive. And maybe it's just a factor of this summer, summer of inflation tour-flation, what have you, but I fear that is a longer term trend and I fear the implications of that. So I don't know if maybe it's just a personal gripe, but Have either of you experienced that recently?

Trey

Not only have I experienced that I have gone to zero concerts because I cannot afford tickets to literally any ticketed event.

Clara

But you wen to Shania Twain.

Trey

I did but that was, those were separate seats and they were purchased for me. So see

Clara

That's yeah, I haven't been to any concerts this summer.

Trey

Like it's literally a situation where now you have to buy separate seats in different rows and hope that like the usher doesn't come after you.

Eli

Yeah, I mean, I know we're talking about like the world's biggest like superstars Taylor Swift and Beyonce, I know I can't even go see Oliver Anthony live in concert.

Clara

I can't even go see the Eagles. I was telling Eli on their farewell tour.

Trey

Oh my gosh.

Clara

I'm getting priced out.

Trey

Apparently though. You don't realize that like even though these people aren't in the news, necessarily. Aerosmith. tour tickets are as it's like, they're also their farewell tour. I believe. Their tickets are way higher price than like a Taylor Swift or Beyonce. Because it is like the demand is so high.

Clara

Same with the Eagles. It's their farewell tour.

Eli

And Steely Dan. Who rarely performed. So that might be why

Clara

It's kind of a big deal. It's a big deal. I might honestly be swayed.

Eli

Well, I mean, I think it's a big deal. Because as we as we have spoken about multiple times on the pod, is the kind of like polarization culturally the polarization of fandom where you can no longer really exist as a middle of the road fan, because what you were who you listen to what you watch has become your full identity, and you need to lay it all down on the line for all of us, for all of those people. But now I feel like we're really, there is no more middle class fandom and you can't just go to a concert or an event. And I feel like that's worrying because you need these kind of like what's referred to as like collective effervescence. You need these IRL events as a kind of like social release valve or community building if you will, if you want to speak in brand speak and if you can't do that all we have left are like fortnight concerts and the Tik Tok live stream shopping ice cream, so good, yum, yum. Or people who like really just don't know how to act in concerts because like they have spent a bajillion dollars to go. And now don't know what to do otherwise? I don't know. That's kind of my thought about it. But I do think it's actually a big problem like the price gouging of events, live events.

Trey

Well has casual fandom died. Can you casually be a fan of something now? Or is that no longer valid?

Clara

Well, it's like casual at what cost I guess, like, I would consider myself to be a casual fan of the Eagles. But I'm like, how much of a casual fan am I might two and $3 worth, you know what I, I do think you can be a casual fan. But it's like, also just what certain people are willing to pay for fandom in general. Like I don't spend, I wouldn't say a lot of money on the things that I consider myself to be a big fan of.

Eli

I am willing to give my second born child.

Clara

If called to do so I'm like, at what point would it end, which is what I think is like the interesting part of this is I never would have like elected to pay $200 to the Eagles. But now I might, if that's what it costs.

Trey

I think that there's some a lot of things going on here. First of all, I wanted to talk about some stats that I pulled up. So the average price of a concert ticket has doubled in the past five years from 2009 to 2019, concert ticket prices rose by an average of $94.83. And overall ticket prices are up 10% from pre pandemic times. This is due to increased production costs, added fees, not naming any names of any significant ticket sellers. resellers and bots kind of purchasing tickets at face value, and then, you know, up selling the obvious high demand for major touring artists. Name anyone really Adele's at Las Vegas, I think right now, inflation itself. And then, you know, the monopoly of industry players. So like, I think there's two big ones.

Eli

Yeah. I also wonder to like what extent is this just a surge in like pent up post pandemic demand, which I think is probably part of it. But also, what extent is this also like, just a longer term trend that we're seeing? In general.

Trey

Well because we've been talking a lot about sort of capital, big capital C culture, like bottoming out with, you know, Taylor Swift's like four albums, I think are consistently charting on Billboard. But the one speak now original album was just supplanted by the Speak now Taylor's version album, which is basically to say that, like, the original speak now has been in the billboard 200, since its release in like, 2010, or something, I don't know, don't shoot me for that, as we never even listened to. But the point being is that like, because there are so few new artists and, you know, record labels, kind of breaking these new artists. And there's, I guess, you know, just less to discover in general, there is sort of an monopolization of culture by these massive artists, Steely Dan and the Eagles among them.

Eli

Steely Dan, now we're grouping Steely Dan into the monopolists. How dare you.

Trey

So you know, there are sort of like fewer and fewer events to shell out for, which means that the demand for those events has gotten like more and more high. And then the, I guess, social content built around these events with their high production values and cameos by Blue Ivy, you know, make it a great place to get some great social content, which generates FOMO. And then the ticket prices go up ad infinitum. And here we are left ticketless and sad recording our podcast.

Eli

I know what else is new.

Clara

Yeah, I also saw because when we were doing what's rising, this came up talking about how, you know, all those articles came out one week about how Taylor Swift tour had, you know, sold out hotel rooms and all the cities that she had, how it had delivered like a measurable boost to the economies of the cities. But this was just kind of like an interesting counterpoint that I found in looking at it, looking at basically historical levels of recreation and entertainment spending. But just that sports is really the standout of where spending has, like increased significantly since COVID, which I did think was kind of like an interesting takeaway from this, which makes me wonder to both of your points, like if entertainment, there's a spike, but it's kind of level, like, you know, maybe the people that are buying and I'm trying to think of the right way of explaining this, but like, you're either buying tickets because you are a super fan of Taylor Swift or you're like in the camp that we all are in of you're not buying any tickets to any concerts because you're not enough of a fan of anything, but it keeps the revenue. So pretty stable, right? I mean, I'm not an economist much trying to crunch the numbers of like, if Yeah, if the ticket prices are going up, is the number of people going just like a more devoted cohort. Like I was reading the same thing about the Metallica concert that most people who went to the show went to both nights of every show 75% of the people that went but like, that seems to also signify like a certain commitment by the person who is going to the concert that it's like, you're not even just paying for a concert you're paying for like a full 48 hour experience of this artists that you love, but it's like, do I love anything to spend 48 hours into like, maybe upwards of $1,000 I don't know. Maybe I'm the right concert hasn't come my way yet.

Trey

But is there increased social pressures to assert your fandom? I guess for the things you really do love because it seems to me that that seems to be the only reason I can think of for this.

Clara

Yeah, I mean, didn't that come out about like the status concert concept? Or that was like a coined term and some of the concert coverage but that like posting pics of your Taylor Swift concert is like as flex essentially

Eli

Yeah or like I was seeing some like incredibly cursed Tik Tok via Twitter content of like how how these girls react to like the surprise song.

Clara

I think and it was also interesting to me to see like brands sending influencers to the Taylor Swift concert to in blocks like the same way that Taylor are that influencers get sent to Coachella by brands like a hair and makeup brand sent one of these influencers that I follow to Taylor Swift in exchange for like, just like a real showing her get ready with me? Where did they had like a salon person come and like, do her hair and the Taylor Swift braids and everything.

Eli

There's like, tertiary content that's out of this.

Clara

Yeah it's like, Bama Rush concept.

Eli

I would.. Okay, I'll, I'll bite. Why? Because I actually was just to give bringing this up. Why do people care so much? What is like, what do you diagnose as kind of like the cultural draw of the Bama Rush?

Clara

That's a pretty heavy question, Eli, but I will try my best.

Eli

Bullet points.

Clara

I think on one end, there's kind of the hate watch element that I think propells a lot. Yeah, like I love this

Trey

My entire life.

Clara

To hate this, basically, which I think is kind of, you know, the beating pulse of Tik Tok and Twitter and some social app. Most social apps, honestly, it's kind of like the hate watch component. I think there is another sort of element to it, which is that reality TV show esque drama that happens between various influencers, like I don't know if you remember it in the first season of Bama Rush when it first became a thing. There were like, there was this influencer girl who was really excited to like get into the top sorority of her choice. She ended up not getting into it. But there was like all of this accusation about mean girl behavior during which is surprising to no one. But I think that poeople really get invested. People really get invested, I think, in spite of themselves in the politics of you know, getting into a sorority, in you know, one of the most infamous states schools, I don't know Greek environment. I mean, it is kind of infamous.

Eli

Your telling me that Charlaine is rude.

Clara

That's what I mean is I don't I don't think that it's necessarily an identification that people have with Bama Rush, but I think it's a on one end hate watch on the other end, you hate watch it so much that you become invested in it, which happens to everyone whether it's Bama Rush, or it's something else, you know, I didn't want to get invested in Euphoria, but I recently did.

Trey

So on the on the hate watch to ernest watch, timeline or whatever. Where does Suits fall because Suits has like, surpassed I think some other massive show on Netflix was like the most watched show of all time or something.

Eli

I mean, I think that Suits doesn't fall on the spectrum actually, because I think Suits is very indicative of the type of TV that people want right now, which is like ambien. I can scroll while I watch and I don't really need to pay attention and there's like, and like, I guess the plotline is like slightly intriguing. Obviously, you have like a quote royal in it, but I think it's like something I can turn on. And also probably watch my Bama Rush Tik Toks In the background, and like go about my day, and suddenly I'm on season seven. And yeah, I don't know. What about you?

Clara

I mean, I never watched Suits back in the day and I don't watch it now but I would generally agree with that. I think that's a lot of honestly what the content is on Netflix these days. Like they have all the NCIS they have all the Seinfeld I hate even putting Seinfeld because Seinfeld I do love but like they have kind of all of the old school cable show. Like I don't know what's that one that I was watching justified with?

Eli

But I feel like so until there's at least, like, intellectually stimulating.

Clara

I know, I know. But you know what I mean? It's like this sort of sit-comy. And I guess Hulu has them too. But I feel like Netflix is the streaming service that I associate most with these also releasing original shows that kind of fit into that ambien entertainment, like Outer Banks and all of those sorts of random shows that you like, come across, or at least I come across on Tik Tok, like, what could this possibly be, but both producing them, and then also like putting them up on streaming services, like, that's, I don't know, I associate that more with Netflix, I guess, was my only not very helpful build.

Trey

I feel like there is that as sort of the antithesis of this concert going behavior where it's like, you were either at home watching ambient second screen content and like scrolling your phone, or you are heavily participating in this, like, one off exclusive event where say, like, Mexico City gets a specific Taylor Swift song that only that audience gets. So fans then this happened literally set up bleachers outside of the stadium, who like couldn't get a ticket into the show. So they can ambiently consume this like one off exclusive event. So, I do feel like I guess there is this sort of dichotomy or binary of choices now to experience culture and one is like this passive second screen scrolling experience that you know, we all partake in at some point. And the second is like, what is kind of dominating the cultural conversation right now, which is like, you have to have been there in person. There is some element of FOMO. You if you are there you are buying and lining up for the merhc. Bring you diaper. You don't want to miss this. Yeah, like I even saw by my favorite news outlet Pop Crave that next year's tour dates for Taylor Swift in I think like Stockholm, all of the hotels are already booked out. Like, this is a year in advance. It's like wedding planning for something. I don't know. It just seems so intensified. But like, there's also...

Eli

Bring your air purifier.

Clara

Bring your air purifier and your bag.

Trey

There's also this like, insane intense expectation on experiencing these events where it has to be this like once in a lifetime event. Like if you buy tickets and travel somewhere and book a hotel and like get your glam done by so and so makeup brand. Yeah, you better have a good time. And she better play like all too well Taylor's version, you know what I mean?

Clara

Yeah, well, I do think that that's an obviously there's, you know, videos ad nauseam of people, you know, freaking out about musicians and 70s 80s 90s, etcetera. But I think what your or maybe this is what you're saying the sort of like mythologizing and the fantasizing and then being at the concert almost being this thing that then has to live up to all the preparation. And then this performance of being so overwhelmed by Taylor Swift in concert that you're reduced to tears and weird confessions on Tik Tok.

Trey

Yeah.

Clara

You know, like, I think that there's something kind of interesting about that aspect of it too, that if you're paying because I've been to a lot of concerts that I paid for, and then was like, well, that was didn't need to pay for that. But I can't imagine having uprooted my life and spent like stacks of money to get to Taylor Swift and be like, I guess no all too well tonight, right? And then you know, as...

Eli

Let's wrap it up ladies.

Clara

You basically have to have a great time, you've decided that you're going to have a great time before you even experience it.

Trey

And I think we've seen this across industries lately. It's like this society of spectacle everyone's talking or this is in air quotes but everyone's talking about like, how you can create spectacle at you know, mostly these one off exclusive events and I'm mostly discussing like fashion and how fashion shows have become so overwhelmingly entertainment defied and I mean, like the Pharrell Louis Vuitton show or they shut down pont neuf and like, paved the entire thing with the Louis Vuitton monogram and had an 80 person choir sing and people were like ferried there and boats down the Seine. It's a fashion show. And like, yes, you're turning this industry insider event into like this live streamed global, spectacular with like, you know, music and dancing and clothes and like, crazy design elements. I'm sure they wanted to, like add fireworks but had to rein themselves in a bit in the budget. But like, I think that is what we're seeing kind of across industries and I think it's going to even more and more increasingly infiltrate these like kind of industry insider events and we're going to see for example, like wonderlust or wonderlust or whatever it's called that Apple is unveiling at their next conference. And that's probably going to include some insane wow factor thing. I don't know details,

Eli

I hope, but the Apple keynote and that's what Trey's talking about that Apple just announced they're gonna release the iPhone 15. It's amazing we're at that moment already. Is it's always been about spectacle, albeit muted spectacle, because like, Apple's not really one for loud.

Trey

You don't think they invented the keynote presentation?

Eli

No, but that's like a muted spec. That's not like you'd like..

Trey

Like the biggest conference of all time. For tech. Can you think of a bigger one?

Eli

No, no, I agree with you. I guess like, would you call that a spectacle?

Trey

Absolutely. I think that Steve Jobs made marketing into a like, spectacle driven event where he was like, literally doing a TED talk about the value behind, you know, lifestyle and how we sell value and not like advertised and blah, blah, blah. And that became the basis for like TED Talk to exist. And now every tech company has their own version and like its memed and stuff in Succession. I don't know.

Eli

No, no, yeah. If you had told me ahead of the pod, you're gonna take me down, like, that's fine. That's fine.

Trey

But yeah, do you I guess, because, like, again, going back to this dichotomy thing. I also saw that and just like that was renewed for a third season. I think, like, you can say mixed reviews is like kind, you know, assessment of how the season performed but I saw all the content around the renewal announcement was like, the show suck so bad. I can't wait for season three

Clara

That well that's that's what I was thinking. It's like a classic hate to investment trajectory.

Trey

Right.

Clara

Think just like that.

Trey

We all just passively watched Che Diaz like bomb her way through a horrible season of TV. And we're like, give me more of this mainline it?

Eli

I don't know. I haven't watched And Just Like That.

Trey

Well yeah. But like, pick an example of something. And it's either. I'm like, waving my hands in the air. But like...

Eli

The Idol probably?

Trey

It's on this side. It's on this side of like the second screen ambient culture experience. Or it's on this side, where it's like, the event driven spectacle, FOMO experience. And like, there's no middle ground anymore, which is to say there's no casual fandom, which is to say like, you love it. And you're a diehard or you're eh.

Eli

I know and if you don't like it that actually says something about who you are as a person.

Trey

Right.

Eli

And your deep character. Yeah. All right. So is it time to talk about the millionaire who's doing blood transfusions?

Trey

What's on the docket?

Eli

How much longer most we talked about that guy? Has it come out that whole thing is a scam yet. He's actually not getting older.

Trey

Still creating news.

Eli

I mean, younger?

Clara

Well, there was an article that came out that the blood that he infused from his son did absolutely nothing biologically, but that shocked no one.

Trey

And the girls are mean at Bama Rush.

Eli

I'm sure they are. I'm sure they are. Well, Clara, you were talking about something earlier before we smashed that record button about the loyalty barometer, or what is it called? I will tell the people Yeah, the Loyalty Test.

Clara

Let me pull this.

Trey

Let's slide into the DMS with this revolutionary content.

Eli

But I am I am curious about the larger implications of the loyalty test beyond infidelity. You know, but maybe what are the misinformation? You know?

Clara

Well, I can give a quick lay of the land as to what it is. But the Loyalty Test is a paid online service where you pay it's kind of similar to Cameo, the website the way it looks, but you can scroll through and choose someone who they call testers. And everyone has different rates and they have different things that they provide. So maybe it's I'll send DMS or I'll FaceTime or I'm down to meet your boyfriend or girlfriend or significant other and it's basically you can hire these people to see if your significant other will cheat on you will I don't know send things to this other person.

Eli

Like articles to read.

Clara

Exactly like articles you know, interesting long reads. It's like I hired the Loyalty Test for my boyfriend and all he said it was interesting.

Eli

A paywalled Harper's article.

Clara

Exactly. But, um, it's, I mean, to your point, it is kind of an interesting new development, I suppose. I mean, the other thing that I know we've been tracking though I'm not sure we've discussed on the pod is the replica AI, boyfriends and girlfriends that now exist. And you know, we've talked About different dating services, new dating services that are trying to appeal to, I don't know, like a 20 ish younger consumer user of these apps who's maybe a little bit disillusioned with what they can offer. But I thought the loyalty thing is kind of, I don't know.

Eli

What does it tell us about fandom and loyalty today?

Clara

I mean, yeah, send me his two years. You know this is gonna be co opted by brands. After I pitch it next week. Oh my gosh. Yeah. It's just to me, it's more it was more of just an oddity. I hadn't had time to really fully developed take yet.

Eli

Well, I think I mean, lazy take is that nothing, nothing is as it seems, and thus it is IRL, potentially, increasingly. So. Folks, thanks for tuning in was a shorter than usual episode, but we have to make room for a lot of great guests that we have coming on the pod next couple of weeks. See you then. Yo, thanks for tuning in. Stay up to date with all things Day One FM by subscribing to our page on Spotify, following us on Instagram @d1a and staying up to date with the latest trends and insights on d1a.com/perspective.