From Justin Bieber’s “One Less Lonely Girl” to Role Model’s “Sally,” artists have been utilizing tour gimmicks since the beginning of music. Sometimes it’s bringing a fan up on stage like Role Model and Justin Bieber, a surprise song that’s different at each show like Taylor Swift, or a “Juno” pose like Sabrina Carpenter. These gimmicks come in all shapes and sizes, but they all have one thing in common – they work.
Fans and the internet have eaten up tour gimmicks since the beginning of time. They get likes, shares, comments – the works. They generate so much online traffic that it takes over your feed and, quite frankly, keeps these artists’ tour the topic of discussion. We all love a good gimmick, but why do they work so well?
What They Are and Why They Work
A Gimmick, according to Google, is “a trick or device intended to attract attention, publicity, or business.” Gimmicks are meant to get people to pay attention and ideally want to spend their money on the product you are selling. For music artists, their product is their tour tickets.
Gimmicks make fans want to see their shows for a reason other than the music. It sells the experience of the show, guaranteeing them that they get a unique thing that no other show is going to get.
Unique Experience
A big drawl of these gimmicks is the unique experience that they give the audience. It sells the “once in a lifetime” idea and makes fans eager to buy tickets to this VIP opportunity before their chance is gone forever. This was seen especially during Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” that ran its circuit for nearly two years. At each show, Swift played two unique “surprise” songs from her discography, each show getting a different two songs with no repeats. Fans loved this segment of her setlist, given that her discography is so large with 11 original studio albums, and this gave them a chance to hear their favorite songs that she never plays live anymore.
Selling a unique and irreplaceable experience to fans makes them more likely to spend their money since they are buying something that will not be available again. This is the same reason that people buy “limited edition” merchandise like cups and clothing. You buy it impulsively out of fear it will never come around again. These artists are selling limited edition experiences.
Internet Fame
There is one more glaring reason that artists include these tour gimmicks in their sets – engagement. These gimmicks get clicks and the media’s attention like no other and they keep these artists names in everyones mouths for the duration of the time that the tour is running. If their sets were identical at every show in every city, there would be nothing new for people to talk about and engage with. Tour gimmicks like pulling a different celebrity up on stage each night or singing a song they do not regularly play keeps things fresh and gives fans something to talk about.
What do you think? Has a tour gimmick ever worked on you? Let us know your thoughts by mentioning @VALLEYmag on X!
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