Pop’s mutual hype machine, and the price of a ticket

NATASHA CHARLES

It’s not new for musicians to talk each other up, maintain a good public relationship, and support each other through new music release. In fact, recently, we saw that with Sombr and Alex Warren, some light-hearted dressing room banter at the Grammys. This article firstly delves into the history of western musicians promoting each other’s work, termed here as ‘cross-promotion’ that benefits both the parties. Then, it considers specific examples, and finally, explores the extortionate prices of Harry Styles’ recently announced Together Together tour.

Partnering with other artists who make the same kind of music, and thus having a common listener demographic, has always been a proven marketing strategy. Whether it’s Taylor Swift and Lana Del Rey collaborating for the Midnights track ‘Snow on the Beach’, or The Chainsmokers and Halsey coming together for the hit song ‘Closer’, or Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ ‘Die With A Smile,’ it works out great for both the sides. A friendship, a song that forever connects them, a public image that matters. This does not just apply to popular artists but remains a strategy that also supports emerging names.

Some artists, even if they had not officially collaborated on a song, are known to be tight friends. Although you cannot entirely chalk their bond up as a promotion, it definitely helps. For example, I had no idea about Conan Gray in 2021 until he kept appearing in Olivia Rodrigo’s social media posts. Post this, I became a huge fan of Conan as well, even though they never collaborated. Many endless lists of artists have a very public friendship going on: Niall Horan and Shawn Mendes, Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran, Sabrina Carpenter and Reneé Rapp. They not only expose their own audience to their friend’s music but are also willing to share their fanbase.

However, can cross-promotion look differently among ex-bandmates, or artists who ‘used to be friends’? What happens when current band singers also have independent solo careers. Even though all four members of Five Seconds of Summer have launched their own solo records successfully, they also continue as a band (and are currently on a stadium tour). As of 2025, all the members have released solo music, with bassist Calum Hood being the final one to do so. Luke Hemmings, the lead member of the band has said, “I know solo projects can be scary for fans of bands, but for me it’s the way that the band can live on forever.”

Similarly, there are other ex-bandmates who still maintain close relationships with each other, or have reconciled after conflict. Oasis made headlines by reuniting last year, even though the Gallagher brothers are not known to have maintained a smooth relationship before that. Jesy Nelson, despite her controversial exit from Little Mix in 2020, has not commented about a reunion, sauying, “I think you do [look at things differently], just as you get older anyway, but you know, never say never. I have so much love for them and always will.” The ‘never say never’ bit has also been uttered by Harry Styles when asked about a One Direction reunion in James Corden’s last ‘Late Late Show’.

Speaking of Harry Styles, he has won the tactics of ‘cross-promotion’ by announcing his first single (after four years) to be released on the same day Louis Tomlinson’s third album ‘How Did I Get Here?’ comes out. This seems to have worked out well for both, as Styles won the ‘UK Charts No. 1’ in the singles list, and Tomlinson won the ‘UK Charts No. 1’ in the albums list on the same week. It does not stop with the two artists either. Zayn Malik’s single ‘Die for Me’ released last Friday the same day Niall Horan released his single ‘Drive Safe’ with Myles Smith. As of now, three members of One Direction have announced their tours for this year, and on July 24th, all three are set to have solo shows in different parts of the world. In terms of collaboration, Malik and Tomlinson are set to release a road-trip docuseries with Netflix.

While the One Direction members’ popularity remains high, Styles has been facing some backlash for the atrocious ticket prices of his fourth album, ‘Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally’, 2026 tour. Not only are his shows restricted to specific venues such as Madison Square Garden in New York and Wembley Stadium in London, the prices through Ticketmaster are also beyond affordable. While many fans were disappointed at both the price range and the amount to be spent on travel and accommodation, even the ones who were willing to afford the cost found themselves being unable to purchase a ticket because they sold out incredibly fast.

Owing to the chaos Styles unseeingly caused, he has now announced a One Night Only in Manchester in Manchester on the date of his album release on March 6th for only £20. Though the fans are unhappy with the “ticket requesting” system for this show too, there is contentment about the prices. This has sparked intense online debate on whether live music is truly accessible anymore. Bruno Mars’ ‘Romantic Tour’ is also currently facing a similar response as the average pricing is between $700 and $1000. Many went on to calculate that even after adding the cost boosted by inflation, the ticket prices should not be as high as it is.

With everything that has been going on in the world, live music may not be able to offer the comfort it always has if the prices keep shooting up. Although people still deeply appreciate these artists, there’s certain wonder on whether the millionaire artists care about the political and economic crises that’s been concerning and rampant recently.