Pop-rock singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo is embarking on her second tour in support of her sophomore album “GUTS.” Presales began on Ticketmaster on September 21, and the young songstress is already taking measures to avoid another round of Ticketmastergate.
Rodrigo’s team is implementing a strategy in which ticket holders for her shows cannot access their tickets until 72 hours prior to their respective shows. This practice is meant to curb high resell prices on the highly anticipated tour. Additionally, the singer songwriter is incorporating $20 “silver star tickets” that will be sold at the box office the night of the show, with ticket holders unaware of where their seats are until the night of the show.
Ticketmaster will not allow fans to access their tickets for Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts World Tour until 72 hours before the concert, in hopes of curbing high resale prices. pic.twitter.com/TgtKW3grUG
— Pop Base (@PopBase) September 22, 2023
Ticketmastergate
Ticketmaster, the largest global ticketing conglomerate, first faced scrutiny in 2022 for the poor handling of Taylor Swift‘s “The Eras Tour” presale. Fans who received presale codes experienced extreme delays, with some receiving emails that they were selected only to never receive codes. All of this culminated in tickets selling out before the general admissions sale could even begin. Swift later spoke out on the situation, calling it “excruciating.”
On top of the sales issues, Ticketmaster has a tendency to charge exorbitant processing fee prices, utilize dynamic pricing, and allow for resellers to raise the prices of the tickets they originally purchased at a much lower cost.
The phenomenon led to a Senate hearing on the company, which is potentially still breaking anti-trust laws. Ticketmaster and Live Nation merged in 2010, and their terms of agreement surrounding the merger with the Judiciary Committee is set to expire in 2025. Some lawmakers argued that the two companies should split in 2025.
The Taylor Swift example is only one of many tour issues with Ticketmaster in recent years. Clyde Lawrence of New York City based funk pop duo Lawrence was a witness at the hearing. While his band performs at smaller venues compared to Taylor Swift, he spoke of absurd backstage costs and ticket surcharges that the band never sees.
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Artist explains the Ticketmaster monopoly pic.twitter.com/mWLerLzm2m
— Brennan Murphy (@brenonade) January 24, 2023
Taylor Swift fans everywhere had a lot to say about the hearing. Some lawmakers even quoted Swift’s lyrics in the hearing, which was humorously circulated on TikTok amid the hearing. The lawmakers who quoted Swift credited their Gen Z children for inspiration.
Here's 52 seconds of senators making Taylor Swift references at the Ticketmaster hearing. https://t.co/8lwL29Qh9w pic.twitter.com/DZkejPy55h
— NBC News (@NBCNews) January 24, 2023
The company’s practices later affected numerous other high profile artists, including Beyoncé and Niall Horan.
Social Media Reactions
Many are applauding Rodrigo’s efforts to make her concerts more accessible, especially since her fanbase is predominantly composed of young women.
Olivia Rodrigo is the greatest of all time
— Con (@DaConstrict) September 22, 2023
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Some fear that the resell prices will still be just as high amid the time constraints.
There will be a black market and tickets will rise twice their normal price
— ℍ???????????? (@gogogogogo2013) September 22, 2023
Fans and onlookers alike continue to slam Ticketmaster for not doing more to curb resell prices.
Why not just set a maximum resale price so people can’t resell a ticket for over a certain price…………
— notowen (@Notowen19) September 22, 2023
Rodrigo’s ticket sales remain ongoing.
