Podcast Summary: Kennedy Saves the World

Episode Title: Is the 30-Night Harry Styles Residency a Total Rip-Off?
Date: January 29, 2026
Host: Kennedy
Guest: Taylor Riggs (Fox News Contributor, Co-Host of Fox Business’s The Big Money Show)

Episode Overview

This episode delves into the soaring cost of live concert tickets, focusing on Harry Styles' 30-night Madison Square Garden residency and the broader debate over ticketing monopolies, affordability, and what (if anything) fans, artists, or regulators can do about the broken system. Kennedy and Taylor Riggs dissect the intersection of fandom, free markets, competition, and the frustrations plaguing music lovers trying to see their favorite artists.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Personal Connection and Warm-Up (00:00–03:25)

• Kennedy and Taylor start with a light, personal moment about Taylor’s childbirth story in a Lyft two blocks from the hospital (01:08).
• Kennedy reflects on babysitting Taylor’s kids, underscoring their friendship and shared parental experiences.

2. Ticket Prices: What’s Broken? (03:25–06:24)

• Kennedy raises the main issue: “Affordability is the name of the game, but not if you want to see your favorite artist in concert.” (00:05)
• Both acknowledge ongoing fan frustration with Ticketmaster’s dominance, recalling the Pearl Jam vs. Ticketmaster lawsuit and subsequent Live Nation merger.
• Taylor notes the Department of Justice is currently investigating possible anti-competitive behavior (04:13), adding hope that “AI has been very good at making things more productive and seamless…a really good AI algorithm that can help with queues, that can help stop surge pricing…would be good.” (04:25–04:46)

3. Ticketmaster & The Market—Supply, Demand, and Monopoly Claims (04:56–07:09)

• Kennedy and Taylor discuss how face value promises and anti-bot measures rarely reach fans as intended.
• Taylor highlights Ticketmaster’s “Face Value Exchange,” a feature that limits resale pricing but depends on artists opting in:

  “The artist has the option of opting in to this Face Value exchange, where then Ticketmaster promises that you can’t resell that ticket for more than you purchased it.” (05:35)

4. The Harry Styles Residency as a Case Study (06:24–08:45)

• Kennedy: “He’s doing one venue in the United States…Madison Square Garden…30 dates.” (06:37)
• She explains this format forces all US fans to travel (often at additional expense due to NYC’s hotel scarcity), with “pretty good seats…starting at $1,000.” (07:04)
• Both recognize attending a show is a privilege, not a right.
• Taylor highlights the high prices’ effect on demand:

  “The cure for high prices is high prices. Prices are high enough that I say, no, I’m not doing this, and then the prices fall.” (07:23–08:11)

Notable Quote:

“If you price yourself out of the market, you’re not going to have [business].” – Kennedy (08:11)

5. What (If Anything) Can Be Done? (08:45–11:46)

• Options discussed:
  • Artists speaking out or opting in to anti-scalping measures
  • DOJ reviewing the Live Nation merger for antitrust concerns
  • New models like tiered memberships or lotteries for event access
• Kennedy references a membership model (similar to New York Road Runners Club) as a potential approach for concert ticketing (09:54–10:56).
• Taylor prefers more competition:

  “What if we allowed a deregulated environment where more people could come in?…Maybe it starts off where an artist says, instead of just selling my tickets on Ticketmaster, I’m going to sell my tickets across five different sites.” (11:03)

6. Government Involvement – How Much Regulation is Healthy? (12:03–13:11)

• Taylor and Kennedy are both wary of overregulation, opposing outright caps:

  “Price caps never work.” – Taylor (11:03)

• Both emphasize incentivizing better behavior through market mechanisms (i.e., limiting resale profits to discourage scalping).

7. Why Are Tickets So Expensive? Music Industry Economics (13:11–14:32)

• Kennedy argues it’s the new reality:

  “The only way for artists to make money is to tour…you don’t get money from Spotify.” (13:11)

• Taylor notes some legacy artists (like Garth Brooks) can still dictate terms, but this is rare.

8. Why Did Harry Styles Opt for a Residency? (14:32–15:23)

• Kennedy speculates it’s about maximizing revenue with minimal travel due to a possible dislike of flying:

  “He’s trying to make as much money as possible staying in one place because I think he’s got a glitch. He doesn’t like to fly.” (15:13)

9. Broader Perspective – Affordability in Entertainment (15:23–16:59)

• Taylor draws a parallel to Disneyland ticket prices and consumer choice, pointing out that, ultimately, fan choices will pressure prices.
• Kennedy emphasizes the market dominance of Ticketmaster/Live Nation, making choice slimmer for both artists and fans.

Notable Quote:

“Just make sure musicians…keep the fans in mind and make sure that the people who want it, the people who deserve it – are they entitled to it? No. But we know that live music, live performances enhance our lives.” – Kennedy (16:27)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On AI and Tickets:
  “If there’s a really good AI algorithm that can help with queues, that can help stop surge prices...that would be good.” – Taylor Riggs (04:25)

• On Market Solutions:
  “The cure for high prices is high prices...If you price yourself out of the market, you’re not going to have [business].” – Taylor Riggs and Kennedy (07:23–08:11)

• On Artist Revenue:
  “The only way for artists to make money is to tour...You don’t get money from Spotify.” – Kennedy (13:11)

• On Overregulation:
  “What if we allowed a deregulated environment where more people could come in?” – Taylor Riggs (11:03)

• On What Fans Deserve:
  “Are they entitled to it? No. But we know that live music, live performances enhance our lives.” – Kennedy (16:27)

Important Timestamps

• 00:00–03:25: Personal stories and parental humor
• 03:25–06:24: Ticketing system woes and anti-monopoly talk
• 06:24–08:45: Harry Styles’s residency and ticket economics
• 08:45–11:46: Can the system or government fix it?
• 13:11–14:32: Music economics and streaming pitfalls
• 15:23–16:59: Affordability, what fans really want, and the market’s role

Tone & Style

Conversational, witty, and energetic—Kennedy and Taylor match their “spit-out-your-coffee” banter with real economic analysis, personal anecdotes, and considerate skepticism toward both big business and heavy government regulation.

Summary for Non-Listeners

Kennedy and Taylor Riggs dissect why concert ticket prices—especially for mega-residencies like Harry Styles at MSG—are so outrageous. Exploring anti-monopoly concerns, government investigations, the realities of streaming revenue, and creative solutions like AI ticketing or membership tiers, they ultimately argue for more competition and less regulation while reminding fans that attending a show, while wonderful, is still a privilege. Both hosts balance empathy for frustrated fans with market realism and a plea for artists and industry behemoths to keep the fan experience in mind.