The rapper declared his concerts a no-phone-zone to better the fan experience.

Kendrick Lamar is now using Yondr pouches. When entering the venue, fans place their phones in a pouch that automatically locks once inside the no-phone-zone. The pouch unlocks when exiting the venue by tapping it against the system’s base.

Lamar’s ban is in hopes of his fans truly experiencing his music without the distraction of screens. Many times, people end up watching the concert through their screens, instead of being in the moment. Instead of worrying about holding the phone at the perfect angle, or deleting old pictures to create storage space, everyone should be taking in the music live and in person.

Kendrick Lamar has even limited professional photography at his performances. This strategy not only increases fan enjoyment but can even boost sales. Live shows generate much of an artist’s income. Having the performance videotaped and online can decrease sales by making it accessible for everyone to watch.

Many artists have similar restrictions to cell phone use at their concerts because they believe it ruins the ambiance of the show. Artists like Alicia Keys, Guns N’ Roses, Jack White and comedian Dave Chappelle have the same argument against cell phone use.

Truly, it’s not a bad idea to have everyone turn off their phones for an hour or two and simply enjoy the music – no distractions. No one actually even watches the grainy, blurry and obnoxiously loud concert videos people post on Instagram anyways!

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By Carolyn Roque

Creative Writing major at FSU. Love basketball, poetry, coffee, and dogs. Class of 2019.

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