Who's in charge of Tour Designs?

DISCLAIMER: I wrote this based on concerts I went to and the Design flaws I have noticed while at those shows, so take this blog post with a grain of salt.

Recently, I went to see Beyoncé at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, CA. The show was AMAZING. Beyoncé served vocals, her stage presence was immaculate, and everything was done in an amazing and timely fashion 

However, I could not help but notice some Design issues, mostly involving the stage. The second that you step into the venue where the show is held, you are greeted with a stage that shows the colors of the LGBTQIA+ Progress Flag in the form of Color Bars (you know, the ones you'd see on TV). At one point, the bars cut to a background of Pink Clouds and that's when the show starts.  While the backdrops were not an issue, the main issue was the size of the stage. Since we were sitting in the Nosebleed section (the top seating area of the stadium), we were able to see the entire stage, but personally for a stadium show the backdrop could have been bigger so those who were sitting in the top area could see everything. From a distance, it looked tiny. Also, there was a light fixture standing, partially blocking the stage (there were times when I barely saw Beyoncé, she was so tiny). 

Taken during the opening night of the tour on May 10, 2023, in Stockholm, Sweden

My view of the show when I saw her on August 30, 2023, in Santa Clara, CA. I had to zoom in to get a closer look. 

This isn't the first time I had an issue with stage design at concerts.

Back in 2019, I saw Ariana Grande at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, CA. The show was amazing! Like Beyoncé, she served vocals, she had an amazing stage presence, and everything was done to a T. But like Beyoncé's concert, there were some design flaws. The biggest design flaw was the light fixtures on top of the stage were blocking the view of those in the nosebleed section. While we were not sitting in the nosebleeds, I could not help but feel bad for those who were sitting on the top because their view was partially blocked (or mostly blocked if you were sitting behind the stage). Not to mention the fact that there is a huge circle in the middle of the screen. I assumed it was put there on accident but it was done on purpose, and while I'm not sure why Grande approved on this Design, I can assume it had something to do with how she wanted the tour to be presented: abstract, erethreal, intimate, and space-like. 

View of the stage during her show on March 20, 2019 in Boston, MA

My view of the show when I saw her on May 3, 2019, in Sacramento, CA. 

It's not just the stage either. The merch designs are, at best, HIDEOUS. 

An example of merch being sold at Ariana Grande's concert. 

An example of merch being sold at Beyonce's concert.

Both Beyonce's and Ariana Grande's merch is poorly designed, but the most infamous one is this:

This is a closeup of a sweatshirt on sale at the Sweetener World Tour shows. It's a white sweatshirt with a questionable (and rather NSFW) blue stain on the top which runs to the back. There's additional designs on the back. It's an example of bad design and can be considered uncanny valley. 

Not only is the merch POORLY designed, but the fact that they're priced between $40 - $100 is insane. I definitely would not spend over $100 for any hideously designed merch. 

It made me wonder: who's in charge of designing the tour? Do artists approve of the designs? Or does management approve the designs? I understand that the purpose of the tour is to promote the latest album through live music and it gives the artist a chance to connect with their fans. But I can't help but feel like the stuff they use for the tour, like the stage and merch designs, is a bit of a turnoff. 

I still love these artists, but they need to re-evaluate who they hire to design the show and the merch as well.