As a teenager, this Grandma did NOT join fan clubs. After all, I wanted to be grown up and date college boys while in high school. Joining fan clubs was so high school. Now, this Grandma joins fan clubs. When grandchildren were into the Wiggles, this Grandma joined the fan club to get early notification of concerts and early access to the best seats. This Grandma belongs to more fan clubs that I would like to admit to. I get regularly get email notices from all the circuses too. And of course, I hold an American Express card for those New York Times ads (it seems the New York Times announces first) for special early sale dates and tickets for card holders.
On the Today Show, July 2, 2013, there was a segment that caught my eye about why the public cannot get tickets to concerts. You guessed it. Tickets are set aside for fan club members! Yes, and others, as I learned.
“Why you can’t get tickets to the hottest concerts,” by Jeff Rossen and Avni Patel can be read at Today News.
They went inside the secret world of concert ticket sales: When you try to buy seats to see your favorite artist, ever wonder why they sell out so quickly? The answer may surprise you.
They quote Jon Potter with Fan Freedom Project, a fans’ rights group funded by ticket reseller StubHub:
“A huge percentage of these tickets will have already been sold before you have a chance to buy the two that you want,” he told us. . . .”They’re giving them to the high-end credit card holders who get the email three days before you ever knew the concert was going on sale. They’re giving them to the fan club. And then many of them go to the artist or to the venue,” Potter explained.
And, he said, the numbers for many concerts are staggering. For a One Direction show in New Jersey this month, documents reveal at least 64 percent of tickets were held back or sold to special groups, unavailable to everybody else. . . .”This is very secretive,” Potter told us. “There’s only a few people in the room when they decide who’s going to get tickets. They do not want us to know that artists are themselves holding back tickets, that venues are holding back tickets.”
They went on to say at a recent concert for Maroon 5 64 percent were earmarked for VIPs and special groups, and for Pink for her concert at New Jersey’s Izod Center, at least 77 percent of tickets of tickets were reserved. And. . . .
But the most dramatic example is Justin Bieber. At his concert in Fresno, Calif., 92 percent of tickets went to special groups or were held back entirely. That means that of 12,000 seats, only 940 were set aside for the official sale date.
Now, I am glad that the grandchildren are not yet interested in Justin Bieber.
So here are their tips. Somehow, I already knew this.
If you want to see an artist in concert, join their fan club. It’s usually free to sign up online. That gives you access to some of those tickets.
Their next tip I did not know. It is a great tip if you are one to gamble:
Here’s another tip: Be flexible. Wait until the day before the show to buy seats. Two reasons why: Some of those held-back tickets that aren’t used may end up back at the box office for sale at the last minute. And if you’re looking online, the prices often drop close to the show, as brokers try to unload tickets.
Here is Grandma’s tip: When the grandchildren are over the Wiggles, remember to end your membership to the fan club or you will be getting emails for years after they no longer care about the Wiggles.
Now, this Grandma must follow her own advice in ending memberships.
Joy,
Mema