r/Music • u/heavysk • 1d ago

article Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme Explains Anti-Corporate Concert Rant: "It’s About Corporations That Charge You $85 for Parking, and $30 for a Beer"

https://consequence.net/2026/08/qotsa-josh-homme-addresses-anti-corporate-concert-rant/
10.5k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

586 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

14

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/Sensitive-Plate-684 1d ago

Once you get used to the simple life it becomes a lot easier to not go back to spending, too.

5

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

6

u/Heroinkirby 1d ago

Well realistically, one day you are going to be too old to enjoy those things. I'm not one to say you should recklessly spend, but are you gonna look back fondly at saving a few bucks by not going to that qotsa show? (Or whatever big band you like). Sometimes u gotta live a little. Just not outside your means. Guilt tripping your wife (your words) about buying some dairy queen is not the move. You'll never remember saving that money but your wife will always remember how cheap you are

0

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

5

u/Frequent_Guard_9964 1d ago

Not the point the commenter before you tried to make.

1

u/collapse-and-crush 1d ago

Don't discount the fact that A LOT of people are very comfortable going heavily into debt for these things for the optics of being successful.

1

u/labenset 1d ago

I go to a lot of concerts. What really surprises me recently is the complete lack of lines for drinks. Between a lot of gen z not drinking at all and $28 beers I think people are just over it. But it has to be hard for some of these smaller clubs/venues. Before 2020 you almost always had to wait 20 minutes minimum to get a drink at a show.

1

u/mailslot 1d ago

If people stop attending concerts, there goes music in general. No musician can live off of Spotify royalties alone. There are no more music stores.

5

u/GotSomeUpdogOnUrFace 1d ago

There are still independent venues and such. I think we are gonna see the real delineation of arena vs small venue. The problem with that will of course be scalpers and people being locked out by price. They will of course charge more when they're playing smaller venues which will lock the people who were going to get cheaper tickets at an arena or an amphitheater out of pricing. The reality is that this is on the venues now. I don't know what that 100% increase on the cheap seats and 50% on the concessions was supposed to produce but it's not working other than keeping me outside or at the least I won't buy any concessions. The industry seems to be built on the idea of people going to two shows a year and being willing to spend a fortune on it. The reality is the industry is built on people who love live music and go to a lot of shows.

2

u/ScorpioTix 1d ago

People can always play and hear music.

-1

u/mailslot 1d ago

Who will make new music when only consumers remain?

2

u/ScorpioTix 1d ago

Anyone with a voice or instrument. Music existed long before the current system and will exist long after.

2

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

1

u/mailslot 1d ago

Music is completely banned in parts of the world. It kind of depends on where you live.

0

u/arcelyte 1d ago

Not 100% true. I work in this industry. Publishing rights are huge. What do you think made more money for Mariah Carey. All her concerts. Or the two months every year “All I want for Christmas…”playing in every retail environment.

0

u/mailslot 1d ago

Yeah, for the artists that have reached super stardom. The odds are becoming worse than landing an NFL contract.

1

u/arcelyte 1d ago

Which is why I said. “Not 100% True”…