the new phoebe bridgers concert rule being changed to "no admission to anyone who owns a phone released in 2023-present" is classist as fuck, i literally had to get a new phone because my dad was updating our phone plans and wanted to take advantage of the trade-in deal
i participate in an occasionally expensive excursion hobby where bringing out your phone whether it's in a manner of using social media/texting obnoxiously or filming/taking photos will get you kicked out. and companies and artists generally don't want things leaked before it becomes public. back before smartphones existed i was still fully able to find leaked secret concert/show/movie footage or audio and if i couldn't i'd just have to suck it up until i could or it released. there are shows that i will never experience because the bootlegs of some understudy performances do not exist under the strict conditions of being in a theatre. i know i'm being a jackass but like cmon lol
ableism is so societally rampant but an artist requesting a specific environment that does not hinder any device or tool or access item that is not explicitly a cellphone or recording device to protect their own work is not that. if the american conservatory theatre decided to ban me, a person who utilizes my smart device to track information that quite frankly should be available to affordably access without the barrier of a smart phone and request i be put on a blocklist for ticket buying because i decided to do something as explicitly not permitted as recording the show i would be shunned and not ever martyred by anybody whose thoughts i care about. like yes i think public (and affordable) access to art is important. paying access for a private event and not being able to fulfill the request contracted by payment of access to the event is not, however, advocacy for accessibility. but there are lots of people in the world at large who want everyone to be able participate in these kinds of events who are doing the work that will get us closer to accessible spaces, it just generally has nothing to do not being able to film performances
