Do we belong together?
Photo courtesy of Lovclyhes/Wikimedia Commons
Concert tickets seem to be becoming more expensive, and therefore more inaccessible. Artists should make a conscious effort to reach all fans with their prices, not just the wealthy.
On Jan. 15, pop icon Harry Styles announced his much-anticipated fourth studio album. Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally is set to release on Mar. 6, 2026, with the first single, “Aperture,” having been released on Jan. 23.
With the announcement of new music, fans across the world started to prepare themselves for the likelihood of a tour announcement. With Styles’s almost four-year hiatus, rising popularity, and Ticketmaster, fans have been preparing for a war to obtain tickets.
Harry Styles officially announced his world tour Together, Together on Jan. 26. This tour will be much different from his past tours. His popular concert series Love on Tour started out by traveling all across cities in the United States, Europe, South America, and Australia. He added on extra legs of the tour to perform residencies in cities like New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
For Together, Together, Styles settled on only multi-night residencies at iconic venues like Madison Square Garden in New York City and Wembley Stadium in London. He has limited show dates in Amsterdam, Sao Paulo, Mexico City, Melbourne, and Sydney.
Fans were disappointed in Styles’s choice of residencies. While residencies can be easier on artists due to less traveling, it often becomes increasingly difficult for fans to attend these concerts. Although Harry is performing an impressive 30 nights in New York City, this being the only stop in the United States, that means fans across the entire country will be trying to obtain tickets for those New York City dates.
I was preparing myself for the inevitable high cost of ticket prices because of overwhelming demand. I failed to see Harry live in concert during his last U.S. leg of Love on Tour and that made me even more determined to secure my tickets this time around. My friends and I each signed up for different dates for the NYC shows, to hopefully increase our chances of getting tickets. Despite not being thrilled about having to spend money on travel and a hotel, I was still in high spirits.
As the first presale dates came and went for his London show dates, European fans took to social media to warn other fans about the shockingly absurd high ticket prices. Tickets were as high as 1,000 dollars! That is just a face value ticket price, and reseller ticket prices were going for even more.
I did not want to believe that price tag—if that price was true, that meant my dream of seeing Harry Styles in concert was crushed. There is no way I could afford dropping a thousand dollars on just one ticket. My friends and I had decided on our budget for tickets to be 250 dollars.
My presale date arrived on Jan. 29. I was sitting in my morning class as my heart pounded rapidly because of my nerves. I told myself I would win the Ticketmaster war. I got an amazing spot in the queue, only 4,000 people ahead of me. In 15 minutes, it was my turn to buy tickets. My screen changed to the seating chart of Madison Square Garden. I clicked on the three ticket options for my friends and I, and then on the blue dots that indicated seats that were still available for purchase. I was met with a 400 dollar price tag on my screen.
That meant for three tickets I would have had to pay 1,200 dollars. I am a broke college student; I do not have that kind of money just laying around waiting to get spent. I scrambled to find cheaper tickets, only to find those 1000 dollar tickets fans had warned me about. With a sigh, I closed my laptop and broke the bad news to my friends.
After having time to reflect on my disappointment, I started to grow angry. In what world is it okay to price out fans to see concerts? It should not be normal for any general admission ticket to a concert to be over 400 dollars, let alone 1,000 dollars. While I understand that residencies are easier on the artist, it is unfair to the fans who have supported your art and career since the beginning to be forced to travel across the country to see you.
For Harry Styles to name his tour Together, Together and push his branding of “we belong together” after making the tickets that expensive is incredibly out of touch and condescending to his fans.
Art should be accessible to everyone, not just the upper class. Fans should not have to pay the equivalent of a month’s rent for just one ticket to a concert. Fans should not have to fight Ticketmaster for a ticket to a tour for an album they have not even heard yet. I am left sad, angry, and disappointed in Harry Styles.