There is a lot “Popping” off in pop culture today, and don’t worry, I have tea. From Beyoncé’s extravagant Renaissance concert tickets costing a life savings, to AI being on the rise and creeping the entire population out with replications of their favorite artists’ voices, to the infamous festival called Coachella that all the known influencers go to, only to take five pictures pretending they are having the time of their lives and then renting an Airbnb instead of attending the actual festival. We have a lot to cover today, so let’s start right in!
Starting off with Beyoncé’s long awaited Renaissance tour, fans have been raving with excitement. Her new album, Renaissance, was released on July 29, 2022. The album, now certified platinum, was so beloved by fans that anticipation has built up for the upcoming tour.
Fans took to Twitter to talk about their excitement for the tour:
While fans are clearly extremely excited about the world tour, they are also very taken aback by the price of the tickets themselves! “If you still have a chance to get tickets, this is how much you need to be prepared to spend,” said one fan on TikTok. She shared that she spent $6,000 on securing tickets. “We had no choice. But I have to say I‘ve been preparing for this moment ever since the renaissance album came out.” Fans were surprised about the pricing here in the United States for Beyoncé’s concert tickets, but they were also surprised to hear how inexpensive the tickets are outside of the States. Some fans are even flying out of the country so they can see Bey for a more reasonable price! NBC News tells us that ticket prices can go from $800 in the United States to $200 for floor seats in London! They talked about how Kylyn Schnelle, a major Beyoncé fan, got to save tons of money by just leaving the country: “When Kylyn Schnelle, 28, looked at floor tickets for Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance World Tour’ stop in Louisville, Kentucky, where she lives, she found some seats that were being resold for over $800. Given the steep price tag, she decided to take a look at floor tickets in London to see whether she could find a better deal. ‘When I looked in London, it was 167 pounds [about $200], and the flight was, like, $660,’ she said. ‘I was like this is genuinely the same cost.’” Overall, it does look like fans will be enjoying Beyoncé’s long-awaited concert even if it is at the expense of their savings account. That’s how you know you really have one of the strongest fan bases in the world! Shout out to the Bey Hive!
In other news, it looks like the TRUTH has been exposed about the influencers and big names and what they really do while attending Coachella.
Coachella kicked off its annual celebration last weekend on Friday April 21, 2023, and ended on Sunday, April 23, 2023. With a star-studded roster, the festival featured big names such as Frank Ocean, Bad Bunny and Blackpink. Many influencers and celebs were in attendance, including Kendall Jenner and her new boyfriend Bad Bunny, TikToker Charli D’Amilio with boyfriend Landon Barker, Francesca Farago from Netflix’s hit show Perfect Match, Youtube star David Dobrik, Instagram influencer Tana Mongeau, and of course, many more.
We all know that attending Coachella comes with many, many….. MANY photos showing that you were in attendance.
Although these photos are glamorous, tea got spilled that influencers do not even stay at Coachella when they go! Not only do they not stay but they literally just take pictures and go to their Airbnb mansions afterwards. TikToker and influencer Loren Gray had ALL the insight on what influencers really do while at Coachella. She referred to it as “The influencer Olympics.” (Rightfully so, as most of the influencers just show up for clout and to get their “bag” from whatever brand they got invited by to attend the festival for free!) “Most influencers, or a lot of influencers don’t even go to Coachella and I think that this is such a wild fact” she said. “They’ll go out to the desert, get on an Airbnb, stay with someone, get their outfits, get their makeup and post up Coachella day one, Coachella day 2, and they don’t even go to the festival! They don’t have wristbands! They just drive their little butts out to the desert to take Instagram photos, make TikToks and get ready with me’s.” Loren’s overall message to everyone who was really fiending and wishing to be at the grand festival was that if you feel like you’re not “cool” or in her words, “If you feel like you’re boring because you’re not at Coachella just know that most of these people aren’t there either.”
Last on the docket,we have AI not only taking over the internet but now the music industry?! Everyone has heard of AI before, but not like this. Artificial intelligence is on the rise and people are starting to think that not only will it take working classes jobs, but also rappers’ and singers’. Lately, AI creators have been taking famous rappers’ and singers’ voices and creating never before heard songs which are immediately going viral! From Drake to Ice Spice and Coi Leray, AI is creating a whole new fan base with their voices. It has gotten to the point where record labels are doing everything they can to protect their artists. Vibe.com quoted a statement put out by Universal Music Group (UMG): “We have a moral and commercial responsibility to our artists to work to prevent the unauthorized use of their music and to stop platforms from ingesting content that violates the rights of artists and other creators.” According to Vibe Magazine, “Variety reported the process includes AI companies uploading music from the platforms into technology that allows bots to process the tracks and create songs or melodies in the same style.”
Word has it that the biggest music companies are now requesting streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music and others to block AI companies from being able to upload music to their platforms and make a profit from the “fake” music. Musicians are also speaking out on how they want the copyright law to be changed when it comes to music and other artistry. Young Guru, an American audio engineer stated that “We have to add voice to this law. We have to learn from past mistakes. You would be a fool to chase every person that is going to do this. We learned that lesson with Napster. The only way I see to deal with it is to change the law. There are so many different opinions. We could change the United States law tomorrow but the internet is world wide. What a time we live in!”
Citations
Herz, J. (2023, April 17). I’m an influencer – here’s why a lot of us fake actually going to coachella. New York Post. Retrieved April 24, 2023, from https://nypost.com/2023/04/16/im-an-influencer-heres-why-a-lot-of-us-fake-going-to-coachella/
Inman, D. M. (2023, April 14). Universal Music Group asks streaming platforms to block AI Access. VIBE.com. Retrieved April 24, 2023, from https://www.vibe.com/news/business/universal-music-streaming-platforms-block-ai-1234749039/
King, A. (2023, February 15). Beyonce tickets insane prices and Ticketmaster isn’t crashing. Digital Music News. Retrieved April 24, 2023, from https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2023/02/13/beyonce-ticket-prices-ticketmaster-crashing/#:~:text=Digital%20Music%20News%20reported%20on,%24400%2C”%20says%20one%20fan.
Marr, B. (2022, November 9). The 7 biggest artificial intelligence (AI) trends in 2022. Forbes. Retrieved April 24, 2023, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2021/09/24/the-7-biggest-artificial-intelligence-ai-trends-in-2022/
NBCUniversal News Group. (n.d.). Louisville or London? U.S. Beyoncé fans share why they’re opting for European tickets. NBCNews.com. Retrieved April 24, 2023, from https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/beyonce-fans-european-shows-ticketmaster-rcna74364
NBCUniversal News Group. (n.d.). Louisville or London? U.S. Beyoncé fans share why they’re opting for European tickets. NBCNews.com. Retrieved April 24, 2023, from https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/beyonce-fans-european-shows-ticketmaster-rcna74364
Sant’Ana, por M. (2022, June 15). Coachella Divulga datas da Edição de 2023; Confira. Tracklist. Retrieved April 24, 2023, from https://tracklist.com.br/coachella-2023/138939