How do you get decent tickets at a concert venues?

The Coffee Shop
1

I just don’t get it. What am I missing? I have tried multiple times over the last few years, but can’t get decent tickets through ticketmaster for arena type venues. Because of this, I pretty much do not go to any type of concerts sold through ticketmaster, unless they have a general admission area.

For example: A few years ago, Springsteen was coming through my city (Austin) and I went on-line and spammed the ticketmaster site at the appointed time when tickets were to go on sale. Got in within seconds, yet the best available 2 seats were in the nose-bleed section. I bought them, but they were pretty crappy. What the hell? I don’t get it. I even went back in hours later, just to see what kind of tickets I could get. Pretty much the same ones as I got in the first few seconds. Huuuuhhhhh?

This similar issue has happened a couple of other times over the last years when I have attempted to go to this type of venue…through ticketmaster.

What am I missing, and is there anything different, or another channel I need to be going through to get decent seats for a concert? What is happening in these situations? Do scalpers and resellers pre-buy them, or use bot/snipe programs to buy up blocks of tix within nanoseconds of them going on sale? Do fan clubs get pre-sale tickets and all the good ones? I’ve looked into this, but don’t find anything of the sort. I’d join a fanclub to get good tickets.

So Springsteen is once again rolling through Austin, and tickets go on sale next weekend. Any tips or suggestions? Ticketmasters just pisses me off 10-ways to Sunday.

2

Two words - Ticket Brokers. If you really want good/great tickets you pay extra for them. If you don’t, then keep doing what you are doing.

3

Depending on the artist, you might try joining their fan club. Often times, fan club memberships are cheap (say $20 for a year), and they sometimes allow you to purchase concert tix before the general public on-sale date.

4

My brother had fantastic front row tickets at a very reduced price to see AC/DC recently in Toronto. Helps if you have a friend who is a friend with the promoter.

5

The best tickets I ever got for a concert were from a roadie in the Dave Matthews Band. I was working at the hotel where they were staying and he asked if I was going to the show (the second night) - I told him I couldn’t afford two nights in a row, so he asked my name and told me to go to will call. I thought he was full of shit at the time, but I called the box office and sure enough they had the tickets ready. I thought for sure they would be general admission. Every time I asked an usher for the location (I couldn’t figure out the seating code) they kept pointing towards the stage. First row, dead center and I didn’t even know the guy. It certainly set a high bar for concert viewing experiences. The only downside is that I couldn’t hear for a week and never got a chance to thank the bloke who got me the tickets.

I recall them having a fan club that got advanced tickets and preferential seating as well - so maybe the fan club route is the way to go. Otherwise, ebay and ticket brokers would be my guess. I haven’t been to a concert of any type in a few years, so I am not sure if it has changed much.

6

I get that brokers and re-sellers have much better tickets, and at a substantial mark-up. I can see that.

What I’m wondering is why? Is the whole ticketmaster thing a sham, and in reality, there are only a limited number of (bad) seats available that actually are available to the public through this outlet?

Are most of the tickets are purchased well before the regular public can get to them…purchased by band insiders, fan clubs, and brokers? If this is it, then I’ll just deal with it I guess and just contiune to mostly boycott ticketmaster areana events.

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7

The lovely wifey is a Bon Jovi maniac. Have doled out big bucks twice for first and second row tickets. Went through the ticketmaster auction site.

I agree that its all a scam, but a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do to make his woman happy.

8

Each band is give a block of tickets per show and those tickets distributed to the crew. What the crew can do with them is sell them to brokers and make some more $$$ for themselves. I use to attend a lot of concerts. Now, if I go to one show a year, its a big deal and I shell out for great seats.

9

Is the whole ticketmaster thing a sham

For the most part, yes. Ticketmaster has recently been buying up StubHub and other online scalping websites and basically working hand in hand with them. It is a very rare instance to be able to get good tickets through ticketmaster.com. Be on the website at the moment they go on sale, make sure you already have a ticketmaster account so all your info is pre-entered, reset your clock on your computer a few minutes beforehand to the atomic clock so you are clicking on at exactly the right second, and then maybe you will have a chance, but still probably not.

Back to Ticketmaster, I read an interesting interview with the president of TM (or some high ranking person there) and they basically said the goal is that there won’t be set prices for tickets but that every ticket will sell at its respective value, so basically just an auction on every ticket. Most likely, if you get shut out for tickets a pop up will display and say “Hey, unable to get tickets, try working with our partner XYZ.” When in reality it is owned by the same company. A couple things, knowing someone at the venue obviously is a good thing. If not, it is very rare that when tickets go on sale, that all of the tickets are released. Keep checking back frequently as occasionally TM will release another batch of tickets a few weeks later, sometimes very close to the show.

Fan clubs are a great way to go. Pearl Jam, one of my favorite bands, testified before Congress about Ticketmaster’s prices and policies 10+ years ago but no one was really interested in what they had to say, now, the things they were afraid of happening are happening. The good news is, through their fan club they sell tickets at reduced prices, in pairs, for the best seats in the house. Just maintain an annual fan club membership for $20 a year and whenever they tour, each member can get a pair of tickets to as many shows as they want, usually the best seats at a lower price with none of the TM fees. I sat about 40 feet from the stage on back to back night this summer at Madison Square Garden and the tickets were $60 or $80 I think. I’ve seen them on their last 4 tours always doing fan club tickets and have had great luck.

The other thing, even if you aren’t in a fan club, monitor the fan club member forums and stuff, sometimes these people will post when TM releases a block of tickets so its a good way to get a heads up. Also, just cave in and do the StubHub thing or whatever, but don’t do it the day tickets went on sale and sold out. People are all in a panic that day and will ask and others will pay crazy prices. Wait for the hysteria to die down. I remember my buddy trying to get PJ tickets this summer, say a $80 seat that was on StubHub in seconds for $300 or $400, and some people would pay that. But as the hysteria and fear of being shut out died down, prices began to drop and he got a ticket for just a little over face value. Just don’t wait to close to the show as the hysteria comes back.

Good luck.

10

Many of us have wondered the same thing. It seems that the system is rigged. Many good tix are never in the system – they go to corporate sponsors, radio stations, etc. The brokers also seem to have access that the rest of us don’t have.

I have tried everything and have given up. Now I just go to the brokers when I want top notch seats.

11

Ticketmaster disgusts me. I try to buy at the box office but this is usually only possible at the smaller show venues here in Denver.

12

Wait until the day of the show and go to the booth and ask. I have never bought a concert ticket in advance yet have always been able to get in.

13

Many of us have wondered the same thing. It seems that the system is rigged. Many good tix are never in the system – they go to corporate sponsors, radio stations, etc. The brokers also seem to have access that the rest of us don’t have.

I have tried everything and have given up. Now I just go to the brokers when I want top notch seats.

The thing is, most of these “brokers” are now owned by Ticketmaster or at least work hand-in-hand with them. The system is certainly rigged, as I said, if there is a band you really want to see, join their fan club if possible or at least monitor the band’s message boards as a lot of times fans with some inside knowledge will post when an unexpected block of tickets gets randomly released by Ticketmaster.

Also, don’t pay the outrageous prices brokers ask right after a show has sold out or right before the show. Wait for that little bit of down time in between the hysteria of the show selling out when everyone panics and pays a ton of money and the hysteria right before the show when people will pay anything to get in. A few weeks out from the show or so is usually a good time to look.

14

The best tickets I ever got for a concert were from a roadie in the Dave Matthews Band. I was working at the hotel where they were staying and he asked if I was going to the show (the second night) - I told him I couldn’t afford two nights in a row, so he asked my name and told me to go to will call. I thought he was full of shit at the time, but I called the box office and sure enough they had the tickets ready. I thought for sure they would be general admission. Every time I asked an usher for the location (I couldn’t figure out the seating code) they kept pointing towards the stage. First row, dead center and I didn’t even know the guy. It certainly set a high bar for concert viewing experiences. The only downside is that I couldn’t hear for a week and never got a chance to thank the bloke who got me the tickets.

I recall them having a fan club that got advanced tickets and preferential seating as well - so maybe the fan club route is the way to go. Otherwise, ebay and ticket brokers would be my guess. I haven’t been to a concert of any type in a few years, so I am not sure if it has changed much.
I am a member of DMB’s fan club, they do advanced purchase tickets, it is by lottery once you put your request in. For an Alpine, WI in 2006 show I was lucky enough to sit 6th row stage right. I had the same experience, the security just kept waving me down.

I agree the fan club route is a good option.