Are concert tickets harder to purchase due to third-party resellers?

We live in the age of music, where attending concerts and events take up most of our time as college students. In this digital age, there’s no more waiting at box offices, now, with the tap of a button, we can purchase tickets online. As great as it is having everything at our fingertips, technology is not always on our side, especially with the rise in third-party resellers who are money-hungry to buy out tickets.

Which raises the question, “Are concert tickets harder to purchase due to third-party resellers?”
The Outlook editors have had mixed experiences with the issue, some having missed out on concerts altogether due to high prices and bot overloads; others have only bought tickets through general sale.

While it’s common for most people to sign up for presales, receive a code, and buy their tickets with no issue, it’s become increasingly harder for most fans to secure tickets. One editor said, “One artist in particular that I have been trying to see for years is Mitski. I’ve tried to get tickets for three different tours and had no luck each time. The prices on Seatgeek or StubHub were insane, so I had to miss out on the show altogether.” Another editor experienced the same issue, “I signed up for the presale for Sea Hear Now and even with that the tickets were sold out…”

Third-party resellers are one of the reasons fans can’t secure tickets to see their favorite artists. Ticket platforms like StubHub, Vivid Seats, and SeatGeek sell tickets to fans at higher prices and in some cases, without verification if the third party even has viable tickets. Two of the ten editorial staff have been scammed out of tickets to an event.

This led us to conclude that it’s unethical for ticket companies to buy out before the fans. One editor commented, “…It’s a money grab. Why should a company be able to buy tickets just so they can jack up the price so much that some people can’t afford? It’s like when people go to thrift stores and buy something for cheap and then sell it for ten times the price, which I think we can all agree is obviously unethical for a number of reasons.”

What is the solution to this issue? Our editors believe it is in the hands of the very people we are paying to see: the artists. “…fans are the reason the artists are known,” an editor said.

Artists hold a majority of the power when it comes to making sure their fans get first dips on tickets. They are the entertainment we pay to see after all. Some, like Megan Moroney and Maggie Rogers, have even started releasing more tickets and shutting down bots that take the experience away from genuine fans. If the artist and their team were solely responsible for selling tickets, more fans would secure their spot for a reasonable price. One editor said,“…They have the power at the end of the day, and if they really care about their fans, they will help them out.”

Since the Taylor Swift “Eras Tour” TicketMaster crash in November 2022, fans have been even more restless with buying concert tickets. There are now government blocks in place that protect fans from bots and third-party resellers. However, this obviously isn’t ending the issue. Our editors believe some ways to avoid the issue are buying from websites that don’t use bots, like AXS and DICE, using websites approved by the artist and their team, or even the creation of a software to help detect bots. This issue is only going to continue to be a problem if fans and artists let it. The power of music fanbases are truly a force to be reckoned with, so technology lookout.