CForget buying a flagship phone — in Jakarta, you can rent one at the stadium just to film the show.
MRent a phone to record a concert? That's a market now?
CIt is. Hape, an Indonesian phone-rental service, posted on X advertising Samsung Galaxy Ultra and iPhone Pro rentals.
MSo this is for fancams. Fans want the zoom without paying fifteen hundred dollars.
CExactly. The ads are everywhere — a My Chemical Romance show, a Men I Trust show, a Boynextdoor show, all with the same pitch.
MSo it's not just one concert. It's a whole cottage industry.
CRight. The services even advertise extras like free data and Google Drive backup.
MThey back up your fancam too. That's a full package.
CAnd this isn't new. It's been growing since twenty twenty-four.
MTwo years? That's enough to become a thing.
CAt K-pop shows especially, demand is highest.
MWhy K-pop?
CChoreography, multiple members, fans want to capture their favorite member up close.
CAnd with flagship phones, the zoom is genuinely good.
MThat's the selling point. A thousand-dollar phone for forty dollars.
CExactly. And the business is real. Kumparan, an Indonesian outlet, was at Kanye West's Jakarta show and talked to vendors.
MKanye West's Jakarta show? That was huge.
CIt was. And the vendors were right outside, renting phones to fans who wanted better footage.
MEven at a Kanye show, people are watching through a screen.
CIt's the world we live in. Rentals ran about twenty-five to forty-five dollars.
MTwenty-five to forty-five dollars? That's actually not insane for a night.
CThe ad I'm looking at says "No need deposit" and "full payment at venue." You show up, pay, get a flagship phone for the show.
MBut those specific concert dates? I couldn't confirm them with the bands. My Chemical Romance hasn't announced that November date.
CThe dates are claims from the rental service. I'm not telling anyone to book a flight. The trend itself is documented.
MFine. But here's where I get stuck. One vendor quoted by Kumparan says the business is high-risk because they only take your ID as collateral.
CThat risk is on the vendor, not the renter.
MFor the vendor? Sure. But for the customer, you've handed a stranger your identity card and a phone that costs more than your rent.
CSo what? You're renting a phone for a few hours. If you damage it, you pay. That's how rentals work.
MNo, because with a credit card there's a company, a chargeback, a dispute process. Here it's a guy with a table and your ID photo.
CAnd yet people keep doing it. Vendors can charge more when demand spikes. That's a real market response.
MA market for filming the concert instead of actually watching it. That's not innovation, that's a symptom of phone prices.
COh, come on. People want a memory, and renting is cheaper than buying a phone you'll only use for zoom.
MThen maybe the phone companies should sell a decent camera for less.
CThat's a separate argument. This is a small business filling a gap.
MI'm not saying it's illegal. I'm saying the specific ads we're seeing are unverified dates, and the ID thing is a real risk.
CEvery rental has risk. The better vendors have reviews. Kumparan talked to actual vendors who've done this since twenty twenty-four.
MAnd the same vendor said it's high-risk. You can't just wave that away.
CLook, it's not risk-free. But a service renting phones at a concert gate without a deposit is solving a problem. That's not a scam.
MI didn't say scam. I said verify the date before you go, and don't hand over your ID unless you're ready for what could go wrong.
CYou'd be the only one at a K-pop show not filming.
MI'd be the one actually watching it.
CFair enough. The phone rental stalls at Jakarta concerts aren't going away, and it says a lot about what people value.
MIt says we've all accepted that a phone camera is worth more than the ticket.
COr that the ticket is expensive enough that you want more than a blurry video.