The merch line means missing the opening act, and my friends think that is an obvious trade

Three friends and I are going to an arena concert next weekend. The headliner is the reason we bought tickets, but I am also excited about the opening act. I have followed them for two years and have never seen them live.

My friends have a different priority. A limited tour poster is being sold inside the venue, and they want to enter as soon as doors open, go directly to the merchandise line and wait as long as necessary. People who attended earlier dates say popular items can sell quickly, although none of us knows what stock will look like at our show.

The opener is scheduled to begin forty-five minutes after doors. My friends assume we will still be in line. They say an opening set is background entertainment and the poster is a physical record of a rare night. I think missing live music in order to buy proof that we attended live music is a strange arrangement.

Splitting up sounds simple. The tickets are on one friend’s phone, our seats are together and the venue is large enough that reconnecting may be annoying. I could ask for my ticket to be transferred in advance, enter with them, then leave the line when the music starts. They worry I will lose our place or that they will have to carry my things through security twice if plans change.

I do not need the poster. They do not care about the opener. Neither side is wrong until the group treats one preference as the default everyone must follow.

I suggested setting a hard departure time from the merch line. They rejected that because leaving ten minutes before the register would waste the entire wait. They suggested I attend the opener alone and meet them at the seats, which may be the honest solution even if it makes the first hour feel less shared.

Would you split immediately, choose one group priority, or ask the venue whether merchandise remains open after the show? How much coordination should friends expect when different parts of the same event matter to them?