For as long as I have been an avid fan of both music and movies, I have been to my fair share of concerts, and have attended one Comic Con. At the majority of these events, a VIP or meet and greet package has always been offered. This involves getting a picture with your celebrity of choice, along with some other perks; prices for these experiences range, but they can get pretty pricey.

In my experience, at Comic Con, I paid $75 to meet actor Sebastian Stan. While not a bad price, except for the fact that my interaction with Sebastian was limited to a quick “Hello”, a smile, a flash of the camera, and a wave goodbye for me to then be replaced by the next fan in line. Although $75 may be considered a reasonable price, more popular actors, such as Chris Evans, charge hundreds of dollars for fans to have similar experiences as mine. This continues to happen as the meet and greets continue to sell out at each Comic Con.

This situation is prevalent in the music industry, as well. At each of their concerts, most Top 40 singers, like Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber, charge hundreds of dollars for fans to meet them. Although VIP may include other perks, which would justify the high price, the meet and greet experience itself is not worth the amount of money.

Due to my personal experiences, and those I have read about online, a part of me is against VIP packages. I understand that smaller bands sell them in order to make some extra money, but bigger celebrities seem to be exploiting their fans through their VIP packages. What I mean by this is that multimillionaire celebrities are charging hundreds of dollars for a quick photo, knowing that their fans will purchase it despite the high price, as they will do anything to meet their idols.

There are better ways for big celebrities to interact with their fans that does not involve charging them hundreds of dollars. Taylor Swift exemplifies this perfectly.

At each show, instead of charging for meet and greet, Swift’s management team goes around the stadium to find a handful of dedicated Swift fans to hang out with her after the show. Also, for her past two album releases, Swift has invited many dedicated, lucky fans to one of her many houses across the country to both meet her and be one of the first to hear her new music. Regardless of your opinion of Swift, there is no denying that she never fails to treat her fans with kindness and appreciation. With that being said, celebrities need to follow Swift’s lead and find a way to meet fans by charging them the least amount of money, or no money at all.