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How selfies reshape the concert experience

By Cailyn Williams

Concert-goers Lara Afolayanka and Ashley Simplice steadied their cellphones, positioning the camera lens to capture the Barclays Center display screen as it shifted from a WNBA player advertising an upcoming game to a banner touting that evening’s Brooklyn stop on Tyler the Creator’s sold-out Chromakopia tour.

“I definitely went on Pinterest and TikTok before picking out this outfit,” Afolayanka admitted, referring to her white button-down shirt, black necktie, brown corduroy skirt and her amber suede Timberland boots. 

Social media has become an essential part of the concert experience and a driver of what people listen to, share and buy, including concert attire and tickets. For example, 84% of songs on the Billboard Global 200 in 2024 went viral on TikTok first, according to the Music Industry 2024 report, which TikTok commissioned Luminate to conduct. 

Inside the concert, the engagement keeps going. In its study, Verizon concluded that 80% of its customers wanted to be able to post and browse social media from entertainment events.

It hasn’t always been this way.

“Back in the day, [cellphone] cameras were bigger and there would be someone checking you in [to concerts]. And, with one, you might’ve been booted out,” said music-lover Nekesa Moody, a former editor-in-chief of The Hollywood Reporter and former global entertainment and lifestyle editor for the Associated Press.

“There used to be something on the ticket that said ‘no cameras, no cellphones,’” Moody added. “And, now, they can’t exactly police that. They expect it.”

Verizon’s chief network officer agreed. “Just a few years ago, using a cellphone at a concert was taboo. You might wave it as a flashlight or snap a few pictures to share the next day,” Lynn Cox said, in a press release about the company’s recent study. “Now instant sharing is a core expectation for concertgoers.”

The music business is cashing in on social media in other ways. Of all tickets bought through social media links, including arts, sporting and other events, 85% were concert tickets, according to Billboard’s report about data from Live Nation.  

What’s behind ticket purchases? For many, it’s not just the photo-ops. 

“You see your friends going [on social media] and you get FOMO from the concert,” said concert-goer Jeremy Canales, giving the shorthand for “fear of missing out.”  He’d bought tickets to Tyler the Creator concerts in New Jersey and New York after bingeing on TikTok and Instagram videos of prior performances.

He wasn’t taking pictures, as many around him were doing, while waiting to take his seat. He recognizes, though, that many concert-goers want to be in the spotlight.

“It’s not about the arts anymore,” he said. “It’s more about looking good for yourself.” 

“Apps like Tiktok,” concert-goer Shayla Rios said, “have definitely revolutionized certain songs, especially for indie artists. But it can also attract a lot of fake fans. Things become trends instead of appreciating the music.” 

Canales said that, for some concert-goers, the highlight of their night is getting to post a simple message on social media: I’m here and you’re not.

Some who think that way fess up. For Danny Diritu’s second concert — Tyler the Creator — he was making an effort to keep his phone away. During his first concert, he was more focused on catching the performance through his Snapchat camera than enjoying it real-time on stage.

Lara Afolayanka, though, made no effort to deny herself. 

“I like the satisfaction of knowing I went to a concert that other people didn’t,” she said, laughing.  For weeks, she’d been planning what she’d wear. “It gives me the chance to flex on people.”