I spent ages looking at the construction photos fans took of the BTS concert in Kaohsiung—the full-width screen and side screens are back. Don’t underestimate these few construction shots. The screens and trusses going up again on both sides of the stage say more than the promotional posters: the organizers aren’t scrambling to fill a gap at the last minute; they’re preparing for the presale with a higher-spec hardware setup.

Historically, infrastructure investment in the live entertainment market has always been a lagging indicator. If organizers are willing to add screens and expand the trussing, it means they’re already fully confident in ticket sales. This isn’t a gamble; they’ve run the numbers. Take a show at a 30,000-seat venue, for example: a full-width screen plus side screens often means hundreds of square meters of LED panels, dozens of tons of trussing, and a longer setup window. The lighting, sound, and security routes all have to be rearranged too. Once that money is spent, it has to be recouped through attendance, premium-priced tickets, and merchandise and other spending. As South Korean groups perform in Taiwan, venue hardware keeps getting upgraded, audiences vote with their feet, and capital follows. Organizers will also factor the spillover effects on nearby lodging, transportation, and dining in Kaohsiung into their ticket-sales models. The cycle applies to the concert economy too: nobody builds trusses during a downturn, and when things heat up, there aren’t enough to go around.

I learned the hard way years ago: I set my stop-loss too tight and got stopped out twice. I’ve learned my lesson—now I look at the structure behind things, not the wiggles of a single candlestick. These construction photos from Kaohsiung are more convincing than any promotional copy. What do you think?