Artists are taking a stand against phones at concerts – and fans are not happy

Whether we should be using our phones to film at a concert is a debate that has been raging for years – but no matter which side you fall on, at the next show you attend you may not get a choice.

Filming could soon be a thing of the past, with a number of artists making impassioned pleas – or implementing actual rules – to get us to put our screens down.

It has been a big week for phones-at-concerts discourse, spurred on by the Queen of Pop and an indie darling making their thoughts very clear – fan opinions be damned.

Madonna has been performing since long before smartphones.

Perhaps then, it’s no surprise that she would rather look out to a crowd of faces – and her recent surprise guest appearance during Sabrina Carpenter’s Coachella set proved it.

“I came to this earth to be a doer, not a watcher,” she said during a Q&A to promote her upcoming project, Confessions II – The Film.

She said it was jarring to look out at a sea of phones instead of faces at the annual desert festival.

Read more

Front Row: Told off by a grumpy celebrity chef, a dad joke gone wrong and Wills’ awkward appearance

For her, being so glued to our devices tainted the “deep tribal experience” of dancing together and living in the moment.

So what is the Queen of Pop’s advice?

“Put your f---ing phones down and connect,” she said.

Other artists go further than just making the request.

American rock band Tool have banned phones from the majority of their live shows for years. As a compromise, they allow fans to only film one song at the very end of their set.

Jack White, Bob Dylan, Alicia Keys and Guns N’ Roses are among other musicians to use bans at past gigs.

But, while music is for everyone, it’s probably not controversial to assume crowds at those kinds of shows skew older. The Gen Zs uploading Bob Dylan concert footage to TikTok would be a rather niche group.

And that is why, for younger pop fans, the debate has been revived following a tour announcement from American singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers.

During it, she will enforce a continuation of rules implemented at surprise pop-up shows throughout May – banning not just phones but all recording devices, including cameras and smartwatches. Medical exemptions will apply, so anyone who uses their phone as a monitoring device will still be allowed access.

For everyone else, phones will be locked in a specially designed pouch which venue staff will unlock after each show.

While fans still scrambled to get tickets, they’re divided on the fact they’ll walk away from the show with no video or photo proof they were even there.

“Phone-free concerts are classist as f--- and I’ll die on this hill,” one passionate fan reacted on X, surmising that fans who cannot afford to go to shows would not be able to watch them for free via TikToks or livestreams.

“It’s about an artist (which I spend MY money on) deciding for me whether I can use my phone or not,” lamented another.

But these kinds of takes did get pushback, with the overarching point being that we should be OK with 90 minutes to two hours without phone access – and of course, others made fun.

“If any CEOs want to cheat on their wives, might I recommend the Phoebe Bridgers concert,” read one viral joke.

Read more

Harry Styles apologies to fans after awkward on-stage blunder

“If you can’t handle not being on your phone then don’t go to the concert, no one is forcing you,” another person said.

Tickets are, in many cases, really expensive, and it’s always nice to preserve memories – but the debate highlights a growing tension between fan and artist expectations.

Unlike social media, real life cannot just show you an algorithm curated to your own personal tastes. Buying a ticket to an event does not guarantee each attendee an experience perfectly tailored to their preferences.

This is especially true for tours where bans are announced before tickets are even on sale. In these instances, the purchase acts as a tacit agreement to the experience as it’s presented.

Because ultimately, a ticket simply entitles you to live entertainment – and it seems increasingly, those doing the entertaining are willing to enforce their boundaries.