You cannot keep gatekeeping concerts

Photo courtesy of Myrtoulina/Wikimedia Commons

As someone’s music grows popular, so does their concerts. You can expect to get special privileges amidst literal millions of fans who are just as passionate as you, if not more.

There have been many artists announcing tours within the past couple of weeks, leading to a large discussion on the topic on social media. Many people make silly TikToks showing them at past shows from an artist, joking that they “better get tickets” to this year's show. Unfortunately, beyond these jokes are people on social media who seriously need to stop gatekeeping. Going to an artist’s show in the past does not guarantee you tickets to any future tours. You are just like every other fan even if you have supported the artist for a long time. 

A perfect example of this comes from Noah Kahan. He recently announced that he would be going on tour this summer following his album release. He has over 26 million monthly listeners just on Spotify and has been releasing music on the platform since 2017. Although he has been making music for almost 10 years, he blew up on social media within just the past few years leading to his millions of fans. 

The gatekeeping issue arises when some of his fans make claims on social media that they are the only ones entitled to getting tickets to the new tour because they saw him live before he was famous, or didn't even see him live, but just listened to his music. 

As someone who saw him years ago when tickets were 20 dollars, I can understand the desire to go back to the cheap tickets and good views. But if he is one of your favorite artists, shouldn't you be celebrating his success? When an artist has good values and is a genuine good person, a true fan should celebrate their newly found fame and success. 

Just because you saw him in a smaller venue before he blew up, does not mean that you automatically deserve tickets, and to be honest it might not even mean that you are one of his biggest fans. This idea of fan hood is not necessarily something that can be measured. 

There are many people who define the levels of fanhood based on how long someone has listened to an artist, but this is far from the most valid way to measure the concept of fanhood. You could look at how well someone knows the songs, how much time they spend listening to the artist, what they know about them, or something that might actually matter, like whether or not they want the best for this artist and whether they support them regardless of if they get tickets or not. 

This claim to ultimate fanhood borders on parasocial relationships in some cases, with fans believing that their favorite artist, now with millions of fans, will remember them from that tiny concert they attended years ago. News flash: they have millions of fans now! They may remember a handful of fans who were there for them from day one, but even if you have been there from the start, you just might not be that special to them. 

This all is not to say that you should not support your favorite artist. Whether it is Noah Kahan or Harry Styles, if you want tickets to that show, try and get them. However, if you lose the Ticketmaster war, do not come for the fans that did get the tickets, even if you may have been a fan longer.