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New Zealand fashion week took place in Auckland this week at the heritage-listed Shed 10 on Waitemata harbour and other venues across the city. Founded by Dame Pieter Stewart in 2001, now run by entrepreneur Feroz Ali, the 25th anniversary featured a mix of established names, exciting newcomers and a dramatically enhanced Indigenous program. The event boasted three separate group showcases of creatives from not just the Pacific region, but India, Taiwan and the US, in addition to the inaugural New Zealand Indigenous fashion symposium.
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Andreessen Horowitz has two partners sitting on the boards of companies that nowΒ compete with each other: Ben Horowitz at Databricks and Martin Casado atΒ Fivetran. Nothing too scandalous on the surface, exceptΒ the Department ofΒ JusticeΒ hasΒ reportedlyΒ been investigating the arrangementΒ forΒ almostΒ aΒ year, dustingΒ off a 112-year-old antitrustΒ lawΒ thatβsΒ rarely used against VCs.Β Board conflictsΒ arenβtΒ exactly new, and these companiesΒ werenβtΒ necessarily direct competitors when a16z first invested [β¦]
Businesses are willing to flop back and forth as each lab releases new models, volatility that should give both companies' investors pause about how "sticky" enterprise AI spending really is.
From a fan perspective, seeing the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, attending the US Open and sipping on Honey Deuces, and getting a seat to Olivia Rodrigoβs Unraveled Tour and sing-screaming to βStupid Songβ couldnβt be more different. But they do have one thing in common: Theyβre all expensive.Β
Attending a live event has become a luxury purchase. Not that long ago in 2019, the average price of a concert ticket was $92. Maybe your seats werenβt great, but you could afford to be in the room. Now the average price has risen to around $133 for face value, and youβre likely spending way more to see the biggest names in music and sports. And thanks to Live Nationβs grip on the music and sports ticketing industry, ever-increasing service fees, and features like dynamic pricing and a ruthless secondary resale market, it certainly feels like weβre not seeing any relief from these sky-high costs anytime soon.Β
For those who, say, canβt afford a $1,845 nosebleed ticket to see the Nova Knicks or a $2,000 Olivia Rodrigo resale seat, that means watching at home, or, if something isnβt eventually streamed, just missing out entirely.Β
Looking at a seating map and seeing exactly how much ticket prices are changes your perception of the people lucky enough to attend. Like, what kind of person is spending that much money to sit in the very last row? How do they move through this universe with that much money to spend on bad seats? Is everyone secretly rich? Is this just a matter of fiscal irresponsibility? What is going on????
While Vox cannot speak to how everyone in attendance is paying for their tickets, we did talk to one person who was willing to share.
The price of going to see concerts and sporting events in the US is expensive, and it always feels like the next thing youβre going to is going to be even pricier. There are a few reasons for this:Β
Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation Entertainmentβs tight grip on the industry: Live Nation controls so much when it comes to artists, ticketing, and venues that itβs virtually impossible to field any kind of competition. In April, a federal jury in New York ruled that Live Nation was an illegal monopoly, but the ramifications of this verdict still remain to be seen.Β Β Β
The resale market: An ongoing problem for fans is the resellers and bots that gobble up tickets. This shuts fans out and leaves them with few options other than hopping onto the resale market where prices can skyrocket.Β
βServiceβ fees: If you want to buy a ticket to the LA Olympics in 2028, youβll also have to pay a 24 percent service fee per ticket. These fees are now standard withΒ live events β despite crackdowns β and are an enduring source of frustration for fans.
One of my big regrets is not going to the Renaissance World Tour.Β
I realized a lot of it is β itβs the only place where you can really have this communal experience with people that are in your same delusional mindset. With Cowboy Carter, I was at the very first show in LA, and then I had planned to go to three shows. But then it just became this thing that got into my soul and was like, βI need to keep going.βΒ
I donβt mind putting this into print or whatever, but Iβm an addict, an alcoholic whoβs been in recovery for decades, and so itβs easy for me to get hooked on things, but this is such a pure, very expensive way to have joy.
What was it about Cowboy Carter that compelled you to keep going? Was it because you knew Renaissancewas amazing? Was it because you saw the movie?
Take me through Cowboy Carter. You said you were going to initially see it three times.
Right.
You ended up seeing it how many times? Six?
I saw it six times.
Take me through that mentality β from three, howβd that balloon six?
I knew that I was going to see the first three shows. I had planned with a boyfriend whoβs now an ex that was part of this whole process. I was going to go to the first show, the second show, and the third show, and then I was going to be done. But I knew in the back of my mind that I wasnβt probably done. And itβs so funny because my first outfit was pretty homegrown, a just-barely-put-together cowboy hat that I bought at the show. And then by the time I was at the fifth and the sixth show, I had a custom-made gold outfit.
It became this thing where I canβt quite explain how I ended up going to six shows other than it was this snowball rolling downhill.
What kind of tickets did you have? Were they all the same?Β
I was in the section right by the catwalk. So it was like, Oh shit, I have to go do this againin the same spot. What I wouldβve done differently is I wouldβve seen it from way up above. I wouldβve seen it from cheaper seats.
What was your more expensive ticket?Β
I mean, honestly, my most expensive ticket was the last show and I paid $2,200. And at that point, it had built so much that there was no way I wasnβt going to not be where I wanted to be. It just was like, βNope, this is happening.β
Tell me about that. You have amazing tickets. Youβre up closeβ¦Β
The last show, I was alone in Club Ho-Down. The amount of friends that I made and the amount of celebrities that I saw β to be in that environment with people that are on your same level and people are screaming and crying and know exactly whatβs going to happen. And then when Shaboozey comes out or Jay-Z comes out or Destinyβs Child comes out β Iβm getting chills just thinking about it. I canβt explain how I led myself to going to six, but once youβve got $8,000 on your credit card, what is $12,000?
I β well, $4000 more?Β
I know.Β
Did you buy them all at one time or was it after you saw the first two?
I had planned the first three and then I had a friend who I went to New York with and we talked ourselves into going to New York. And then in the back of my mind I was like, βI have to go to the last two shows.β
I donβt regret it. I honestly probably will go to eight for Act III. But I will also be more strategic and I will get a seat that is a lot cheaper for a couple of shows.Β
Now Iβm going to ask you about the painful stuff. So you said if youβre already $8,000 down, whatβs $12,000. But did you plan for it? Can you talk me through the financial planning of this?
There wasnβt really any. The breakup that I had happened after my New York show. And so I think my delusional sort of mania kicked in and I was like, βFuck it, Iβm going to spend $800 on an outfit thatβs custom-made.β Iβm going to go to both shows at the end and just β it got me through a really tough summer, and it was something that I donβt regret.
How does that work on a credit card? You said that you recently paid it off, right? Is that two years later?
Itβs a year later. I live in San Francisco. I have a pretty good job, but also I work in education, and Iβve worked in education my whole life. So it was a lot of my interest, I paid a lot of fees, Iβm sure, it takes so long to pay it off, and I was adding to it the whole year. I am not good with money. I wish I were. But again, I donβt have aspirations to own property yet, and I donβt have children.
And again, I feel embarrassed about that a little bit because I have friends where one spouse, their entire salary goes to childcare. And Iβm like, oh, that sounds not fun.
Oh, absolutely. Like I said, Iβm going to possibly go to, I think, between five and eight shows depending on. And one of my work friends, we talk about whatβs happening in the world and we kind of decided that 2026 is Jay-Zβs year.
He has his shows. He has a show on her birthday. So Iβm hoping that means the album doesnβt come out until 2027, which means the tour would be 2028, which means I have enough time to save, enough time to put some money away and be a little bit more strategic.
Do you have a limit of how much youβre willing to spend?Β
If Beyonce was like, βOh, hereβs my last show.β Is there a limit?
Anything up to $5,000 probably if it was a super important show or last show and I had the opportunity to do that. My parents have seen a lot of shows. Thatβs something sort of that I had grown up with β going to see artists.
I mean, this is embarrassing to admit, but it was Renaissance.Β
Oh my gosh.Β
I know. And one of my big regrets is not going to see her earlier.Β
It was 2016, and I just was like, βI canβt afford $1,000.β Itβs ridiculous to say that now. And Iβve always been a fan. I had mix tapes in the β90s with βSay My Nameβ and all the Destinyβs Child songs, and Iβve always been a fan of hers, but it really kicked into gear at self-titled or Lemonade. And that makes me sound like a fake fan, but thatβs not true. Itβs just seeing her live, it really brought it to a new level.
I was going to tell you that I saw her when she was touring that album βΒ the βLove on Topβ albumβ¦
4.
4. I saw her at Barclays and it was only, I want to say, $200 for the lower bowl right off the floor. Itβs obviously a lot more now.Β
I honestly donβt know how some people afford it. I know some people save and save and save to go to one show and they donβt have a credit card or they donβt want to put things on a credit card. I know how privileged I am to have the ability to put something on a credit card, pay it off eventually β I live in the Bay Area and have a job thatβs a pretty good job, blah, blah, blah.
So when it comes to the most serious Beyhivers, some may consider you a casual fan?
Yeah. I mean, Iβm in it, but I also feel like Iβm a person that always goes to a lot of shows, and this is a little bit of a light year for me just because no one huge is touring for me, but sheβs coming.
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