Like many (some? none?) of you, I always secured hard copy tickets to any live show I went to, if possible.

Been doing so since the late 90s and have amassed a number of them.

As time has gone on, many venues have opted out of hard tickets for e-tickets within the platform of purchase, PDF tickets, etc. But, if at all possible, I've still paid the extra shipping fee or made my way to will call to get that physical souvenir.

It's a small, trivial thing, but I like the throughline of the music experience it provides me. Sort of a haptic experience like with vinyl, CDs, liner notes, etc. What can I say, I like physical media, much to my detriment, lol.

Anyway, pre-COVID, I've been successfully able to secure hard copy tickets about 90% of the time for all live shows. In light of folks anecdotally always saying it was on its last leg.

But given the cultural aversion to physical business interaction that may arrive in a post-COVID world, I'm wondering if that will no longer be an option.

Or maybe I'm overreacting. If your e-ticket or PDF still has to be scanned for concert entry, so would your paper ticket, I suppose. Though, the offering of paper tickets may be a cost consideration that venues no longer want to support when getting back on their feet post-COVID.