The South Korean boyband announced a series of four concerts in Los Angeles, their first live in-person shows in more than two years. I was thrilled that someone who had tickets to the canceled 2020 tour would be reimbursed.
Getting tickets to see one of the biggest boy bands in the world is not easy. The stress and anxiety are caused by one question: How will I be messed up this time?
Live-entertainment tickets are an absolute nightmare for Ticketmaster. The company has a long history of monopolistic practices, acquiring its rival Ticketron in 1991 and merging with Live Nation in 2010 despite the objections of several lawmakers. The company was able to sell tickets to 80 of the top 100 arenas.
I've faced many frustrating experiences because of the outsized control, and the only way for fans to get tickets to see their favorite stars is at the box office. It was the worst experience I have had so far.
Over the course of 5 days, tickets for the concerts were sold out.
The first four days were tiered for fans who had tickets to the canceled 2020 tour, as well as members of the "Army Membership" fan club. The general public sale was the final day.
I waited in the queue for day two of the ticketing schedule after logging into the website at 5:30 p.m. I was hoping to get a pair of floor seats for the concert days.
By the end of the first day of sales, most of the best seats were booked. We were told on day two that the soundcheck seats wouldn't be available.
The notification was sent to the buyers.
Yati Sanghvi's work.
I made it to a seat selection page after spending more than two hours in a queue, but was shown error messages. I was able to get around the glitch by reentering the queue.
I was in the queue for nearly three hours before I got a pair of seats.
I thought I'd try to get better tickets during the next day's sale.
I received an email saying I had to sit out because of the inability of Ticketmaster to verify my information.
I received an email before the third presale.
Yati Sanghvi's work.
I was astonished to see fans reporting tens of thousands of seats at every level, including the coveted, still available to buy, seats I and those who paid with me never had access to.
The general public onsale was canceled, and the shows were sold out. Many tickets were already on sale for outrageous prices on resale websites.
By the end of the week, I was able to get some tickets. I was able to get two tickets for the November 27 show from a fan whose plans had changed, after I bought a pair for the November 28 show. Many fans were not so lucky.
When concerts come back the demand for tickets is going to double, so it took two years for Ticketmaster to figure out how to improve their system. One fan said that they can't believe how messy and unprofessional the ticketing was.
October 9, 2021.
One of the worst ticketing experiences is that of the BTS fans.
The fans of Lorde criticized the website of the seller of their tickets as they tried to get tickets to the singer's tour. The fans of Adele were upset with theVerified Fan system and the fans of Olivia Rodrigo were upset with the technical difficulties.
When tickets for the US leg of Harry Styles' "Love On Tour" went on sale, fans were angry about the official Platinum Seats, which are tickets sold at flexible prices by event organizers.
Fans like me see them as an excuse to raise prices.
November 5, 2021.
"Ticketmaster can only get away with such excessive behavior because it has a 70% market share and no meaningful competition," said Mark Perry, economist and professor at the University of Michigan.
In an oped for The Hill, he wrote that Ticketmaster can hold back tickets to create a false sense of scarcity. The method leaves consumers in the dark about the true supply of tickets and whether more tickets will be released later, causing a purchasing frenzy. I believe that this is what fans of the group experienced.
With the resurgence of live events, economists and lawmakers are calling on the government to address the monopoly on the live-entertainment market held by Ticketmaster.
Pearl Jam tried to retaliate against the company in the hopes of keeping ticket prices low and looking out for fans. The band lost after the DOJ concluded that they didn't violate antitrust laws.
When Pearl Jam's next tour came around, they were forced to use the same booking agency as everyone else. "This was a battle in which not even the biggest band in the world had a chance," the Independent's Ed Power wrote in 2019.
The times are changing. In April, five members of Congress signed a letter to Attorney General Garland and Federal Trade Commission acting chair Rebecca Slaughter urging strong antitrust regulation enforcement against Live Nation Entertainment to protect consumers' future access to live events.
Two years ago, Congressman Pascrell reintroduced the BOSS Act, which would regulate the live-event ticketing industry by requiring transparency about the volume and pricing of tickets.
The bill is being reconsidered in Congress because it is the best way to restore a pro-consumer ticket market.
It would mean some relief for people like me. It would take away some of the stress and pressure associated with ticket purchases, and it would also create a more equitable system for all music fans.
Insider did not get a response from Ticketmaster.
