Primary ticket interests will seemingly do anything they can to curb fans from exercising what many believe is a fundamental right: my ticket, my choice.
Recently, Billie Eilish performed at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, AZ, but many fans were reportedly turned away or refused a wristband at pickup. Why? These fans purchased tickets on sites other than Ticketmaster.
Some of these fans spent hundreds, even thousands of dollars on tickets. Some traveled hundreds of miles and even camped outside the arena for their spot in line. But the stadium failed to mention that entry would be denied if the tickets were not directly on the Ticketmaster app.
Fans took to social media expressing their outrage and distaste for Ticketmaster’s antics that have sadly become routine. Stories of concert goers driving hours to attend or spending hundreds of dollars on tickets were abundant on Twitter and TikTok.
One post on X said, “look, ticketing scalping sucks, but the solution isn’t to punish the fans, idk if this was Billie Eilish’s team, or the venue, or Ticketmaster or what, but whoever decided this is a grade a piece of sh**”. This outrage was justified as many fans had no knowledge of this “new” rule prior to going to the concert.
These actions at Billie’s show remind us of Ticketmaster’s tactics that are played on repeat: inconsistent and monopolistic policies that punish fans while maximizing profits can be expected when the ticketing company is involved in any aspect of the concertgoing experience. Ticketmaster only enforces these resale denial policies when they benefit their bottom line, not to protect fans or prevent high prices. Fairness for consumers should be the priority, not Ticketmaster’s profits.