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Image for Radiohead ticket sales: “Slammed… Hang in there and keep trying”

Radiohead ticket sales:“Slammed… Hang in thereand keep trying”

in Local News

The return of Radiohead after 8 years away has slammed ticket sales systems (and the FL office internet) as punters scrambled to buy tickets for their forthcoming tour in the Chugg presale today.

So far there has been no comment from Ticketmaster or Ticketek, but the promoters Chugg Entertainment have acknowledged the problems on their Facebook wall, advising: “People trying to buy Sydney tickets, the Ticketmaster site is currently being slammed, hence the trouble you’re having loading the page. Hang in there and keep trying.”

There are reports that fans have managed to buy tickets using their iphones, but many punters are struggling to progress pass the T&C’s stage of the purchase process. A number of people in the FL office have successfully purchased tickets by calling the outlets in Sydney and Melbourne.

The difficulties have lead to a number of vitriolic outpourings from passionate Radiohead fans, some of which have even started protest Facebook pages already.

Have managed to buy tickets? How do you do it?

If you have purchased tickets this is what you will be seeing in November:

  • 1 of 54 in Radiohead
  • 2 of 54 in Radiohead
  • 3 of 54 in Radiohead
  • 4 of 54 in Radiohead
  • 5 of 54 in Radiohead
  • 6 of 54 in Radiohead
  • 7 of 54 in Radiohead
  • 8 of 54 in Radiohead
  • 9 of 54 in Radiohead
  • 10 of 54 in Radiohead
  • 11 of 54 in Radiohead
  • 12 of 54 in Radiohead
  • 13 of 54 in Radiohead
  • 14 of 54 in Radiohead
  • 15 of 54 in Radiohead
  • 16 of 54 in Radiohead
  • 17 of 54 in Radiohead
  • 18 of 54 in Radiohead
  • 19 of 54 in Radiohead
  • 20 of 54 in Radiohead
  • 21 of 54 in Radiohead
  • 22 of 54 in Radiohead
Radiohead

June 25th, 2008

CHECK OUT FL’S PERFECT RADIOHEAD SET-LIST

Update from Chugg Entertainment:

Dear Radiohead fans,

We are aware that already, after a limited pre-sale, tickets are appearing on eBay for highly inflated prices.

Unfortunately, there is simply no legislation in place to prevent this activity, at this time. We are taking measures to minimise this market, but there are limitations as to what restrictions to re-sale we can impose.

We would warn Radiohead fans across Australia and New Zealand, not to buy tickets from unauthorised ticket sellers and scalpers, including those selling on eBay. We would like to remind fans that there are still authorised tickets to be released on Thursday for the general on sale.

Fans buying tickets from unauthorised ticket sellers also risk the tickets not arriving, having their tickets cancelled or not getting the seats they thought they were getting. We reserve the right to cancel tickets from unauthorised ticket sellers and there is no right of refund if the ticket is cancelled.

While we appreciate that there is an overwhelming demand for tickets from genuine fans, we just want everyone to be aware of the potential risks and we strongly encourage fans to only purchase tickets through the registered ticketing agency, so that they know the tickets will be valid.

Those who tried to buy tickets to the Sydney shows, we have followed up your feedback with Ticketmaster and they have advised that due to overwhelming demand for Radiohead tickets today Ticketmaster experienced a technical issue with the delivery methods made available to purchasers. The issue was rectified as a matter of urgency and all available presale tickets were snapped up quickly. As mentioned previously, today’s presale was of limited allocation and with such a high demand it was unlikely that everyone was going to be successful in securing tickets. Those of you that did miss out, please try again through the public on sale at 9am (local time) this Thursday.

On sale times for Radiohead tickets:

According to Chugg : “There still seems to be some confusion about what time tomorrow’s public on sale starts in each market and what exactly 9am local time refers to. Here’s a pretty little table outlining what time each show will go on sale depending on what state you’re in. EG If you’re in Perth & are hoping to buy tickets to one of the Sydney shows you will have to be ready to go at 7AM. Any Adelaidians who would like to try & secure a ticket to the Brisbane show need to be online by 9:30AM. Are you in Auckland & want to attend the show at Vector Arena? Tickets for you go on sale at 9AM.”

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batdan

batdan said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

Lol watching channel v at the gym.

Must listen to Slayer.

stutterfly

stutterfly said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

i miss the days of lining up at the crack of dawn to buy tickets. it was less stressful, more fun, and you could actually hold your ticket in your hand - rather than have to print the bugger out.

Braveheart81

Braveheart81 said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

I don't.

Taking a day of annual leave so I can queue for hours to buy concert tickets sounds like the biggest waste of time ever.

gumbuoy

gumbuoy said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

One of the biggest things that fucks me right off at the moment, particularly in terms of online/Internet stuff, is how everyone is suddenly an Internet expert, and happy to tell ppl how easy it should be to do their jobs, and how anyone could do it.

Do I come into your workplace, and make assumptions about how you do your job, and then bitch and moan when it isnt done the way I assume it is?



Just so there's no confusion, you're the kind of person I was talking about.

berlinchair101

berlinchair101 said on the 2nd Mar, 2012



You can buy them online, select outlet venue pick up, then go to an outlet, line up and hold your tickets in your hand there.

Best of both worlds!

snapcrackleROCK

snapcrackleROCK said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

http://oi39.tinypic.com/2hq8krr.jpg

clearest indication yet that One Direction are indeed the next Radiohead.

Wait, I thought Gaga was the next Radiohead? ...I'm so uncool.

Stefan Beck

Stefan Beck said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

As a 23 year old I'm too young to remember that stuff.

Braveheart81

Braveheart81 said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

One Direction sounds like the kind of band name where they'll announce in a year or so's time that they're actually a Christian Boy Band.

berlinchair101

berlinchair101 said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

Radiohead is the next gaga.

snapcrackleROCK

snapcrackleROCK said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

But is Radiohead just merely rehashing Madonna's career?

Nosyt

Nosyt said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

Simple fix for selling tickets.

1 ticket, 1 i.d.

Different i.d., cancelled ticket.

Don't care if you can't attend.

Braveheart81

Braveheart81 said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

It's not a simple fix.

It is costly for everyone involved which essentially means that the punter pays more to see the gig.

1. Adding that functionality at point of sale is costly for ticket sellers.
2. Issues with names and addresses being wrong means that ticket sellers and promoters need to deal with a lot more customer service. This means hiring more staff which is costly.
3. Venues need more staff as it is a lot slower to cross check IDs with tickets.

Lastly, it removes the consumer's ability to transfer their ticket to someone else. Almost all consumer goods can be transferred by the legal owner. Making tickets completely non-transferrable is a pretty poor step backwards in terms of consumer protection.

I completely agree that scalping is a problem, however I think people greatly exaggerate how much of a problem it is. The number of tickets being scalped represents such a small minority of tickets that in my opinion it is not worth the cost and annoyance placed on the overwhelming majority to try and stamp it out.

Stefan Beck

Stefan Beck said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

Yerp.

99% of tickets wound up in the hands of people who want to see the show.
1% of tickets wound up in the hands of pieces of shit who just happen to advertise the tickets in a particularly high profile way.

snapcrackleROCK

snapcrackleROCK said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

So, I'm bidding on these two tickets on ebay. Reassure me.

Piko

Piko said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

I have to say BH, lining up for tickets in most cases means maybe camping out for one night? Then ticketek opens in the morning, you buy a ticket and then show up to work 2 hours late and do 2 hours overtime? Then when you get home, sleep for 12 hours straight.

Braveheart81

Braveheart81 said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

What benefit is it to anyone if the rigmarole you have to through to get a ticket is to spend a night camped outside a ticket agency?

I'll stick with the internet thanks.

If you made everyone buy tickets in person at an agency it would just mean lots of people waste lots of time. What's the point?

ThatDude123

ThatDude123 said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

People should think of scalping as similar to spam email: There's actually very few spam email companies in the world, usually based in safe haven nations. But they cause such a huge amount of disruption that it creates a lot of attention and ultimately taints the service as a whole.

In the same way, there are really like a dozen or so scalpers. Each probably buys between 12-24 tickets that they then on-sell for huge profit. That's about 300 tickets, max, per show, a mere fraction of the 60,000 tickets they moved for the five shows they're putting on. But because they sell at such horribly inflated prices and all hit ebay at the same time, they get all the attention and all the complaints.

In both cases we should just stop caring completely.

One thing American promoters have done right is that they've done just that and resell marketplaces like StubHub have allowed anyone that does want to onsell for a profit to have their prices forced down by demonstrating realistic numbers of the resell supply available and adding on extra handling fees.

Flavelson

Flavelson said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

you know, we have developed an online process that replicates "camping out" for tickets online. we got sick and tired of this sort of debacle happening over and over again and came up with our solution. our aim is to be the fairest queuing system in the world and we are trying to implement this into the live events industry (we have received more attention from the corporate world given our ability to also generate data).

our system rewards the most passionate fans with access to tickets in high demand. it also has the ability to eliminate scalping.

i am meeting with the ceo of live performance australia next week and it would be great to generate some support from the passionate faster louder community. there is a blog post with relevant links on the equeue website if you are interested (haven't been a member for long enough to post link, but if you google "equeue technology" you should find us).

feedback welcomed, of course.

Braveheart81

Braveheart81 said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

So your queue system basically prioritises the people who hear about something first? If that's right, I'm not really sure how that is fairer.

As far as I can tell, if you really wanted to make everything fair you'd conduct a ballot for tickets for any event that is likely to sell out really fast. It's still going to leave just as many disappointed punters.

That's why I don't think there is anything that is really worth doing to dramatically change the status quo. When the supply of tickets is far less than the demand, lots of people are going to miss out and be disappointed. It's a fact of life.

grattan

grattan said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

you know, we have developed an online process that replicates "camping out" for tickets online. we got sick and tired of this sort of debacle happening over and over again and came up with our solution. our aim is to be the fairest queuing system in the world and we are trying to implement this into the live events industry (we have received more attention from the corporate world given our ability to also generate data).

our system rewards the most passionate fans with access to tickets in high demand. it also has the ability to eliminate scalping.

i am meeting with the ceo of live performance australia next week and it would be great to generate some support from the passionate faster louder community. there is a blog post with relevant links on the equeue website if you are interested (haven't been a member for long enough to post link, but if you google "equeue technology" you should find us).

feedback welcomed, of course.

http://equeue.com.au/

Flavelson

Flavelson said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

so your queue system basically prioritises the people who hear about something first? if that's right, i'm not really sure how that is fairer.

as far as i can tell, if you really wanted to make everything fair you'd conduct a ballot for tickets for any event that is likely to sell out really fast. it's still going to leave just as many disappointed punters.

that's why i don't think there is anything that is really worth doing to dramatically change the status quo. when the supply of tickets is far less than the demand, lots of people are going to miss out and be disappointed. it's a fact of life.

hi braveheart81. we would be running a long registration period for all interested fans and everyone would find out about the queue the same way they do now. it doesnt reward you for just hearing about it first.
it could also run a queue with just some of the tickets and the remainder going into a ballot like you suggested.

i'm not sure how a random ballot would be the fairest way? they do that for the afl gf and every year there are complaints. our system merely "camps out" for each user and requires a regular 'check-in' to measure commitment.

Braveheart81

Braveheart81 said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

So, explain how your system would have worked for Radiohead.

You have a period of registration then what?

When would the 'queue' start?

How often would you have to check in?

I'm not sure that ability to queue for the longest (whether online or in person) really is the ultimate measure of committment. Surely it is more a measure of who has the most time on their hands.

By the same token you could just auction the tickets and whoever is willing to pay the most is the most committed and deserves the tickets.

I don't think either of those options is fairer than the current system of logging onto Ticketek/Ticketmaster at 9am and trying to buy tickets.

Piko

Piko said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

And when you have a band like Radiohead, their tour is announced and 50% of the people interested in going know about it within 12 hours either from radio or facebook or word of mouth. Who didnt know radiohead were touring? To be honest the radio announcement for the radiohead tour came through an hour later here so that would give other states an advantage.

Sure this would mean people in perth would never be able to get tickets for gigs, but thats ok because they don't get gigs anyway!

batdan

batdan said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

Online is the only way to go. Going to a ticket office for people not living in a city is out of the question.

Braveheart81

Braveheart81 said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

I agree. I think Ticketek and Ticketmaster offer about the most level playing field available.

Splendour tried their online queuing system and that was riddled with problems where people were in the queue for ages and then IT issues screwed them over.

Piko

Piko said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

incorrect batdan. I said this in another thread, living in a country town where there is a ticketek means a very short lineup and an increased chance of securing a ticket = )

Braveheart81

Braveheart81 said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

Not every town has a Ticketek outlet.

To a tour like Radiohead, if you are not in the first three people in the queue, the event will have probably sold out before you get served.

I don't see how that helps things either.

berlinchair101

berlinchair101 said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

Unless there were enough tickets for everyone in the country there is not a single method that would leave everyone satisfied.

Flavelson

Flavelson said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

so, explain how your system would have worked for radiohead.

you have a period of registration then what?

when would the 'queue' start?

how often would you have to check in?

i'm not sure that ability to queue for the longest (whether online or in person) really is the ultimate measure of committment. surely it is more a measure of who has the most time on their hands.

by the same token you could just auction the tickets and whoever is willing to pay the most is the most committed and deserves the tickets.

i don't think either of those options is fairer than the current system of logging onto ticketek/ticketmaster at 9am and trying to buy tickets.

as an example from our pilot trials last year:

- promote for a week to register interested users (or as long as you want)
- queue begins on day x and runs for six days
- each user is required to 'check-in' to the queue once per day, at a time of their choosing (can change time each day)
- each 'check-in' lasts no more than 30 secs
- queue is prioritised, based on who was closest to their 'check-in' time that day
- everyone in the queue knows where they are in the queue (complete transparency)
- user in the first x places at the end of six days gain access.

works a treat, everyone knows what is happening and those who prioritise their day around this tiny little 'check-in' will gain access.

you can view a one minute animation from our pilot trials by googling "qumpit youtube"

Braveheart81

Braveheart81 said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

I don't really get why that is fairer.

It sounds quite easy to be able to check in at the exact time you specify each day. Particularly if you work in an office job etc. and spend most of your day at a computer.

Does the order of the queue change completely each day based on who was closest to the checkin time?

At the end of the day it really sounds like you have just moved the critical timing event (i.e. the 9am onsale time when clicking at the right time will get you access to tickets) to an earlier time before the actual tickets become available.

I don't in any way see how that is a fairer system than what we have now. I guess it just adds the transparency that you know exactly how many people are trying to buy tickets.

batdan

batdan said on the 2nd Mar, 2012



Didn't see your other post, I don't have an outlet in my town and I work away from home so online suits me.

The only problem with the Radiohead tour is the number of shows or venue size.

I know I've mentioned it before but not doing a full tour would have also put pressure on ticket availability.

daveyac8881

daveyac8881 said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

I think it sounds great, complex and a bit annoying but those who bother to make the effort consistently are the ones who are clearly the most keen, rather than whoever has the best luck with their internet connection at the time. Why are you so keen to shoot everything down BH?

Piko

Piko said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

True, we sell ticketek here and the first 3 customers scored tickets off one of the box office ladies, i didn't ask the second one. I don't think any of them were GA either. But at least if you slept out you would have been garaunteed a ticket rather that playing the ticketek lottery. Its a good number to be aware of next time...

berlinchair101

berlinchair101 said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

The guys in the ticketek office log into the site just like you do. They face the same lag.

Flavelson

Flavelson said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

i don't really get why that is fairer.

it sounds quite easy to be able to check in at the exact time you specify each day. particularly if you work in an office job etc. and spend most of your day at a computer.

does the order of the queue change completely each day based on who was closest to the checkin time?

at the end of the day it really sounds like you have just moved the critical timing event (i.e. the 9am onsale time when clicking at the right time will get you access to tickets) to an earlier time before the actual tickets become available.

i don't in any way see how that is a fairer system than what we have now. i guess it just adds the transparency that you know exactly how many people are trying to buy tickets.

that is one of the ways, transparency.

you would be surprised at how difficult it is to 'check-in' on the dot each day. we are talking about one second over 24 hrs, over multiple days. office job, ok, but what about weekends? if the queue is more popular, you can extend the days. you know where you are i the queue and how many are trying to gain access, so you can decide what to do. is it better to wait online for 30+ minutes on the day of sale watching a holding page and having no idea?

we tested this over 6 months of last year. it works, because it is based on human behaviour, adopts the fundamental ethos of a physical queue (time) and adapts it to how we use the internet. when you line up outside a ticketmaster shop, do they shove a holding page in your face so you have no idea where you are int he line?

as i said, you can still leave majority of tickets to the way they do it now, at least this way you will rewards those willing to jump through a few hoops (think pre-sale as it was supposed to be).

in answer to your other query, the queue is prioritised based on two factors:
1. frequency - how many days did you 'check-in'.
2. accuracy - what time did you 'check-in' and how close was that to the time you said you would check in.
frequency always trumps accuracy (i.e. miss a day and you fall behind)

Braveheart81

Braveheart81 said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

I'm not so keen to shoot everything down.

I just don't see the status quo as being the problem to people not getting tickets.

I don't think there is a magic bullet that somehow makes everything completely fair. At the end of the day, people miss out on tickets because the demand far exceeds the supply.

I don't in any way see how making a 30 second effort over six days makes you the most keen. I think if you are willing to pay over $130 to see Radiohead you are going to go to the effort of clicking a link or whatever it is once a day for six days if that is what is required to buy tickets. Being in the best x number of people to do this hardly seems that different to being in the best x number of people at clicking the link at the right time on Ticketek/Ticketmaster and buying tickets as we currently do.

I'd love to be convinced otherwise but I just don't see how this would change anything.

Flavelson

Flavelson said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

i'm not so keen to shoot everything down.

i just don't see the status quo as being the problem to people not getting tickets.

i don't think there is a magic bullet that somehow makes everything completely fair. at the end of the day, people miss out on tickets because the demand far exceeds the supply.

i don't in any way see how making a 30 second effort over six days makes you the most keen. i think if you are willing to pay over $130 to see radiohead you are going to go to the effort of clicking a link or whatever it is once a day for six days if that is what is required to buy tickets. being in the best x number of people to do this hardly seems that different to being in the best x number of people at clicking the link at the right time on ticketek/ticketmaster and buying tickets as we currently do.

i'd love to be convinced otherwise but i just don't see how this would change anything.

fair enough bh. i tried to convince you , but have failed.

i don't see how getting lucky by clicking the button at the right time is the fairest way. how? and why should you get access just for paying more? how is that fair? isn't that the problem with scalping?

yes, people miss out when demand outstrips supply. that's why we call this "smarter access to things in high demand". it's not perfect, supply is limited, but it's smarter than what we have at our disposal right now.

it won't be for everybody though. but neither is gambling, or games of chance.

Piko

Piko said on the 2nd Mar, 2012



Umm its a backend of sorts.
They don't have to fill in CAPTCHA words.
Their login does not time out.
And most importantly, they don't get locked out because too many people are accessing the system.

So when everyone in QLD was looking at a blue "website blocked" screen, the people at ticketek offices were happily selling tickets until they ran out. (which indeed was not long)

sarcasm_mister

sarcasm_mister said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

i think bands should do what some of the big european football clubs do and that is have several levels of membership. the higher the level of membership you have the earlier access you have to tickets. that way the most passionate fans have first access. of course this won't remove scalping but it will at least take care of the most hardcore fans.

berlinchair101

berlinchair101 said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

hardcore radiohead fans would know that they sell tickets from their site.

whitesmoke

whitesmoke said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

i don't see how getting lucky by clicking the button at the right time is the fairest way. how? and why should you get access just for paying more? how is that fair? isn't that the problem with scalping?

yes, people miss out when demand outstrips supply. that's why we call this "smarter access to things in high demand". it's not perfect, supply is limited, but it's smarter than what we have at our disposal right now.

it won't be for everybody though. but neither is gambling, or games of chance.

while i appreciate what you're trying to do, i agree with bh in that it doesn't seem like it will change anything too drastically. instead of whoever 'gets lucky by clicking the button at the right time' getting tickets, this will just be whoever clicks it at the right time for 7 days getting tickets.

also, there's nothing to say that scalpers aren't going to do this too. saying you have to be more committed is fine, but the scalpers will still be committed to making their enormous profits. they will queue too. i don't see how it's a drastically fairer system in terms of cutting out the negative aspects of current systems.

Braveheart81

Braveheart81 said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

I think your idea has merit and application in certain areas but I don't see it as a solution to the current issues people have.

Every system advantages some people at the expense of others. Clearly a system where you have to log in every day is detrimental to people with unpredictable lives or unpredictable access to the internet.

Personally I think a ballot system is the fairest because it puts everyone in the same boat. Of course it can be gamed by registering with multiple email addresses and credit cards. I would say that on the whole I would get tickets less often to sold out events through a ballot than I do with the current setup of the big sellers like Ticketmaster/Ticketek.

I'm not trying to be negative here. Clearly this is an issue I'm interested in and have a lot to say about.

I have just seen it many times over the years where every time there is a major event that people struggle to get tickets to, everyone jumps up and down demanding a better, fairer way or a way to eliminate scalpers.

I just think that caution is needed because every method has its drawbacks.

sarcasm_mister

sarcasm_mister said on the 2nd Mar, 2012



tickets were sold out from their website within an hour or two of the tour being announced. the people who were rewarded from that were the ones who just happened to be online at the right time. if they said 'here's the tour, people with platinum membership can buy tomorrow, fans with gold can buy in 2 days and so on' i think it would be fairer. of course a lot more complexity and costly for the band but i'm sure the membership fees would cover that.

Flavelson

Flavelson said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

while i appreciate what you're trying to do, i agree with bh in that it doesn't seem like it will change anything too drastically. instead of whoever 'gets lucky by clicking the button at the right time' getting tickets, this will just be whoever clicks it at the right time for 7 days getting tickets.

also, there's nothing to say that scalpers aren't going to do this too. saying you have to be more committed is fine, but the scalpers will still be committed to making their enormous profits. they will queue too. i don't see how it's a drastically fairer system in terms of cutting out the negative aspects of current systems.

thanks for the post ws. i suppose it's hard to imagine without doing it yourself. scalping only occurs because tickets are bought anonymously. you would need to be registered to queue, so your name would be on the ticket. this is what splendour did, but it was considered too costly. our solution is cheap.

it's not about clicking at the "right" time, it's averaged out over the entire queue. the most competitive queues we ran during our trial still only saw about 1% clicking perfectly every day. leaves plenty of scope, especially if there are many places on offer. we also use this process to connect with passionate fans and gather opinions, so it's a way for the most vocal to let the promoters know what they want to see, you can distribute digital content, find out what t-shirt they are going to buy etc etc. it's about engagement.

berlinchair101

berlinchair101 said on the 2nd Mar, 2012



I hate the idea of paying more fees to Ticketmaster/ticketek. They already jack pricing by section to milk fanatics, I don't see why we should pay more.

sarcasm_mister

sarcasm_mister said on the 2nd Mar, 2012



words of a man who got radiohead tickets.

gumbuoy

gumbuoy said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

thanks for the post ws. i suppose it's hard to imagine without doing it yourself. scalping only occurs because tickets are bought anonymously. you would need to be registered to queue, so your name would be on the ticket. this is what splendour did, but it was considered too costly. our solution is cheap.

it's not about clicking at the "right" time, it's averaged out over the entire queue. the most competitive queues we ran during our trial still only saw about 1% clicking perfectly every day. leaves plenty of scope, especially if there are many places on offer. we also use this process to connect with passionate fans and gather opinions, so it's a way for the most vocal to let the promoters know what they want to see, you can distribute digital content, find out what t-shirt they are going to buy etc etc. it's about engagement.


i dont understand - is your "join the queue X days in advance" system supposed to stop scalping, or stop people just going in and purchasing tickets, when other people who logged in 60 seconds ago are sitting in a queue or getting technical errors?

because if its supposed to stop scalping - i'm not sure how, since scalpers are just as easily able to click a button every day

if its supposed to stop the "just logged in and got tickets" - once again, i'm not sure how. if a concert is so popular that it will do the whole 5-minute sell out thing, then surely when you go "tickets on sale X, superqueue opens Y!" there's going to be exactly the same rush to get into the superqueue at Y. And would you only allow enough people into the superqueue to sell out the venue? Because if theres one thing that would piss me off more than trying to get into a website for 20 minutes and failing, its getting into a queue 7 days before, clicking a link every day for 7 days and then not getting tickets. But then if you only allow as many people into the queue as can have tickets, if someone drops out of the queue, then I could jump in at the last minute and still get tickets, which might piss off the people who'd been waiting 7 days in a queue.

ThatDude123

ThatDude123 said on the 2nd Mar, 2012



U2 does this and let's be honest, U2 are the only band big enough globally to actually validate having such an arse system in place.

Againstyou

Againstyou said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

i like how everyone is skirting around what is actually the logical solution. there is limited diamond in the world. how do we decide who gets the big ass diamonds? the people who want to pay tens/hundreds of thousands of dollars for big ass diamonds get the big ass diamonds. there are limited radiohead tickets. how do we decide who gets the radiohead tickets?

the only reason this happens is because (according to our economic system) tickets are way too cheap, and we can only speculate on why bands like radiohead don't charge $500 for tickets. i guess with radiohead's past with the pay what you want album the reason might be idealogical but the reason many bands whine about scalpers is because they wish they could charge $500 for tickets but they're scared of losing face/bad pr.

as long as bands choose to not adopt a rational economic system it will be based on luck (which is good for me as a poor uni student haha.) also, i (and most others) dislike ballots because we would rather go with friends and we can't certify both/all of us will get tickets.

edit: why the hell can't i post capital letters? must you make me look like an illiterate fool fl?

ThatDude123

ThatDude123 said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

Because you are an illiterate fool

http://intrawebnet.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/ricky-gervais-deal-with-it-sunglasses.gif

andy_chalmers_102

andy_chalmers_102 said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

I fail to see how this queuing method that Flavelson is promoting replicates camping out at a ticket office. Selling tickets at ticket offices rewards people who are willing to put aside a significant amount of their time to secure tickets. This method rewards people with good memories/not a lot going on in their lives.

I still consider the current ticketmaster/ticketek process the fairest. Just because you've got other commitments that prevent you from camping out at a ticket office or checking into a website every day at a certain time doesn't mean you deserve tickets any less than someone who has more time to do these things. I'm a big Death Cab fan, but checking into a website at a specific time every day just to ensure that I get tickets to their concert would be pretty low on my priorities list.

Having names on tickets can be effective, but is problematic for larger events. Bands having fan club presales is the only real way to prioritise the 'biggest' fans.

Braveheart81

Braveheart81 said on the 2nd Mar, 2012


Having names on tickets can be effective, but is problematic for larger events. Bands having fan club presales is the only real way to prioritise the 'biggest' fans.

... and you could also guarantee that every ticket scalper in the world would become fan club members of all the biggest touring acts.

sarcasm_mister

sarcasm_mister said on the 2nd Mar, 2012


Having names on tickets can be effective, but is problematic for larger events. Bands having fan club presales is the only real way to prioritise the 'biggest' fans.

thats basically what i'm saying so i'm essentially going to argue against myself here. but bands are always at the mercy of their promoters, who are at the mercy of visa/mastercard and ticketmaster/ticketek who want their customers to have priority. so until we have break aways like we're seeing with bands from their record labels it will be difficult for bands to give their most hardcore fans priority.

sarcasm_mister

sarcasm_mister said on the 2nd Mar, 2012



thats where i think the system i mentioned of having different levels of membership according to how much you pay might just work. it won't get rid of scalpers but at least then it will be based on who puts their money where their heart is rather than luck or quality of internet connection.

01seb

01seb said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

I think the easiest and fairest way to do it would be to have the fan club priority but have it so only the members of the fan club since about 1 month before the gig got priority and not just the people who signed up to it when the tour got announced.

andy_chalmers_102

andy_chalmers_102 said on the 2nd Mar, 2012

I think we should have a system where everyone who wants to buy tickets has to register their interest at least a week in advance. The day before the tickets go on sale they must go to a secret location where they will be asked a series of obscure questions about the artist. Those who answer incorrectly remain in custody until tickets have sold out.

lava

lava said on the 3rd Mar, 2012



aka Pearl Jam Ten Club... put your money where your mouth is and get first crack at tickets...

Blasted

Blasted said on the 3rd Mar, 2012



I'm a hardcore Radiohead fan and have been all my life but the only knowledge I had of the sale was a inkling that the special announcement from Triple J was going to be about a Radiohead tour. So to be honest I was a bit disappointed they did not send an email out on Sunday night rather than have me poised ready to act on a suspicion. But then again I guess that would have let the cat out of the bag. Having said that I would be pretty pissed if I was a hardcore Radiohead fan and I happen to be on an Island on holiday that particular Monday.

sarcasm_mister

sarcasm_mister said on the 3rd Mar, 2012



http://sweetsassafrassy.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/first-world-problem.jpg?w=422&h=585

zeviv

zeviv said on the 3rd Mar, 2012

#firstworldproblems

-

alarm went off at 8:30, got up at 8:40
made breakfast
logged on to ticketmaster
refreshed like a mental patient until tickets were available
waited (que page said 4 minutes at first, then dropped down to 2)
selected 2x ga tickets
waited nervously for the transaction to go through
got a confirmation email and was done by 9:11
went back to sleep

i live a few hours away from a ticketing office; i also like the comfort of my own home and not having to sleep like a hobo. surely any band wouldn't want their fans reduced to sleeping on the streets? i have every single album, ep, vinyl and dvd related to radiohead, including collaborations, solo work and other projects of the band members, and probably too much merch to be considered a healthy collection. i still relentlessly scour related interviews and articles like a maniac. when i decided to back catalogue yesterday, i still remembered the lyrics to everything that came on, even the uncommon and obscure songs... especially the uncommon and obscure ones. their collective play count far exceeds any other artist in my itunes library. i like to consider myself a genuine fan. as much as i love them, i would choose buying tickets online to slumming it on the streets any day. i don't care who it is, who are they to make me sleep on the streets when i have shown my support in numerous ways? in this day and age, slumming it isn't going to guarantee a decent ticket anyway. being able to fulfill a decade long dream in my pjs while munching on bacon made me appreciate the whole thing even more.

also, a membership priority is an arse of an idea. how is it fair that someone who can afford a membership be given priority over someone who had to busk for weeks just to afford a single ticket?

i'm really very, very glad that radiohead didn't not compromise their integrity by playing at a larger venue ...muse at acer was sh\it house. even though some missed out, a smaller venue does better accomodate their fans. i guess i'm lucky enough to experience it twice because my sister bought me a ticket during the presale. i only found out about it after i had fought it out with the rest of the world during the public sale. i'll consider it a birthday present of a lifetime, since it falls very close to the sydney dates.

Alfonzo

Alfonzo said on the 3rd Mar, 2012



Not if they only allow them to pick up tickets on the day of the show, and limit them to 2 tickets per membership, such as Pearl Jam. Whose fanclub is so big that it presents its own clusterfuck anyway.

I'm going to see Radiohead next week, but I still don't have my tickets. In the US, they made all WASTE tickets will-call only, that you can only pick up on the day of the show. I doubt a scalper is going to be arsed having to deal with going down to the venue and then meeting the people he is ripping off face-to-face.

Radiohead is taping Austin City Limits early next week, for which about 500 tickets are given out free to the public. They had over 19k entries, so that is 1% of the people who wanted to go who ended up with tickets. Their normal show the next day sold out in minutes. Demand is the main problem, not scalpers.

01seb

01seb said on the 3rd Mar, 2012

My friends in the US piss me off when they say they are annoyed they can only go to 2 shows this tour and are jealous that we are getting special setlists here. I'm like, FFS we haven't had them in Brisbane since 1999!

pubbarron

pubbarron said on the 3rd Mar, 2012

how bout they don't be so precious and put on more gigs? cmon,cannot be that complicated to add more,i like their music,i'm a fan,don't really wanna pay the ridicoulous price they are asking,so i'm not going anyhow. saw them 8 years ago,was good,but not mind blowing,the whole not touring often thing is just thom being a wanka. no offence to true radiohead fans,just annoys me when a good band tours so little,i love all types of music (except techno) and i just saw bad religion for the 4th time in 8 years,so 'im one happy punk. anyway,cheers for letting have a really randon rant,good luck to all you radiohead fans who don't have a ticket,(and to the ones who do,enjoy).

pubbarron

pubbarron said on the 3rd Mar, 2012

what do you think? post your comment...

batdan

batdan said on the 3rd Mar, 2012



Everybody has you dipshit.

sarcasm_mister

sarcasm_mister said on the 3rd Mar, 2012

farrrkkkkk. just noticed i've been slapped with a $35 international transaction fee by comm bank for the radiohead tickets. bastards! oh well the pain that transaction saved me is worth much more than $35.

01seb

01seb said on the 4th Mar, 2012

yeah I got a $9 international fee from comm bank too

Nowonderimconfused

Nowonderimconfused said on the 4th Mar, 2012

has anyone who bought allocated seating tix from waste got their seat numbers yet? waiting on mine for the melbourne show still...

sarcasm_mister

sarcasm_mister said on the 4th Mar, 2012



they said it won't be allocated until at least March 4th. so expect it to come through fairly soon.

gumbuoy

gumbuoy said on the 4th Mar, 2012



It's okay, nobody listens to techno.

http://www.mtv.com/shared/promoimages/bands/e/eminem/eminem_parodies_052009/281x211.jpg

gumbuoy

gumbuoy said on the 4th Mar, 2012



Mine (brisbane show) got allocated on March 2.

sarcasm_mister

sarcasm_mister said on the 4th Mar, 2012



would provide some sort of response to that. but still in shock from the fact that they're doing a brisbane show so unable to.

Bames

Bames said on the 4th Mar, 2012

Precious Radiohead fans....

Imagine being a One Direction fan on ebay at the moment?

1D soldiers sell cars and re-mortgage houses when that shit sells out. Ante Up.

sarcasm_mister

sarcasm_mister said on the 4th Mar, 2012



1D soldiers sell hot wheel cars and re-mortgage monopoly houses when that shit sells out. Ante Up.

FTFY

Bames

Bames said on the 4th Mar, 2012



'Fixed' is a strong term... I would say you 'Adjusted' it, and more for yourself. I have no real feelings towards the alteration, unless you have spare Radiohead tickets... then i'm all ears.

/ Bong Hit.

sarcasm_mister

sarcasm_mister said on the 4th Mar, 2012

'Fixed' is a strong term... I would say you 'Adjusted' it, and more for yourself. I have no real feelings towards the alteration, unless you have spare Radiohead tickets... then i'm all ears.

/ Bong Hit.

i actually have 1 left but i'm meant to be the Pedantic Defender on this forum. so you're attempt to do my job just cost you that ticket.

berlinchair101

berlinchair101 said on the 4th Mar, 2012



Two words, Stefan Beck.

Bames

Bames said on the 4th Mar, 2012



Really?....

Hope you kept the box for that Radiohead ticket... because you may need it when you clean out your desk.

http://victorsvillage.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/come-at-me-bro-baby-turtle.jpeg?w=600

Slip_dog

Slip_dog said on the 4th Mar, 2012

You all told me to fuck off when i whinged about, now you all want people to give a shit because some of you wankas missed out on tickets to your Radiohead. Fuck off idiots it happens at every concert, every festival. Your Radiohead one isn't special. You all whinged so much it is even in the Sunday Mail. Shut up you pussies, you were too slow, you didn't beat the scalpers, sucked in, no one else gives a fuck. Go cry!

Stefan Beck

Stefan Beck said on the 4th Mar, 2012

To rage, or not to rage: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The burns and zingers of fucking faggots,
Or to hurt ones butt against a sea of nerds,
And by opposing end them? To ragequit: to logout;
No more; and by a sleep to say herp derp

daveyac8881

daveyac8881 said on the 5th Mar, 2012



Me please, PM

Slip_dog

Slip_dog said on the 5th Mar, 2012

You know what is funny, I got 4 tickets with Radiohead written on them and i don't even want them, I'm gunna sell them on E bay, ha ha.

ThatDude123

ThatDude123 said on the 5th Mar, 2012



me and a friend got 8 ga tix for melbourne and 8 ga tickets for sydney. only need 2 for us for melbourne.

gunna make a lot of money on ebay when we sell the others



You're a couple of trolls too late, Slip_dog

snapcrackleROCK

snapcrackleROCK said on the 5th Mar, 2012

What does this email mean? That I just dodged a bullet?

MC999 eBay Listing Removed (577060870)

Hello XXXXXXXXXXX,

Please be aware that the following auction-style listing:

280836390634 - 2X RADIOHEAD BRISBANE G/A TICKETS - BRISBANE ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE - 9 NOV

has been removed by eBay for violating of one or more of our policies. Any offers or bids placed on this auction-style listing are now null and void. Because the auction was ended, you as a bidder are not required to complete the transaction.

For information about eBay's listing policies and user agreement go to:

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/sell/policies.html
http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/user-agreement.html

We're sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.

Regards,

eBay Trust & Safety

Jestarrr

Jestarrr said on the 5th Mar, 2012

Doesn't necessarily mean they're illegitimate, probably just that they were removed for being scalper tickets.

Nowonderimconfused

Nowonderimconfused said on the 5th Mar, 2012

what does this email mean? that i just dodged a bullet?

mc999 ebay listing removed (577060870)

hello xxxxxxxxxxx,

please be aware that the following auction-style listing:

280836390634 - 2x radiohead brisbane g/a tickets - brisbane entertainment centre - 9 nov

has been removed by ebay for violating of one or more of our policies. any offers or bids placed on this auction-style listing are now null and void. because the auction was ended, you as a bidder are not required to complete the transaction.

for information about ebay's listing policies and user agreement go to:

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/sell/policies.html
http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/user-agreement.html

we're sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.

regards,

ebay trust & safety

queensland has anti-scalping laws in place that restrict resales of tickets above 10% of the cost price; $5000 fine for selling and $500 for buying i believe. yeah, you dodged a bullet.

snapcrackleROCK

snapcrackleROCK said on the 5th Mar, 2012

But ebay's an auction. Surely if the guy put it on at cost + 10% it's alright?

yetiite

yetiite said on the 5th Mar, 2012

I want to see a major tour dump the 40000 tickets or so onto an auction site at the same time and let the market sort out the price, over 3 days or a week.

It would be an interesting experiment and a good way to gauge what a ticket to a particular band is worth to people. No more scalpers, but would more people be upset if tickets all rose to 250, but more "fans" got to go without paying 700. It would also be interesting to see what the price would be in Sydney compared to Brisbane or Adelaide.

Slip_dog

Slip_dog said on the 5th Mar, 2012


it's 20%

Slip_dog

Slip_dog said on the 5th Mar, 2012

Still got four tickets that I'm gunna piss on.

monokhrome_nite

monokhrome_nite said on the 5th Mar, 2012

ok have fun

crob

crob said on the 5th Mar, 2012

I want to see a major tour dump the 40000 tickets or so onto an auction site at the same time and let the market sort out the price, over 3 days or a week.

It would be an interesting experiment and a good way to gauge what a ticket to a particular band is worth to people. No more scalpers, but would more people be upset if tickets all rose to 250, but more "fans" got to go without paying 700. It would also be interesting to see what the price would be in Sydney compared to Brisbane or Adelaide.

will they open it up to trades & services ;-)

DinkiDIDude

DinkiDIDude said on the 5th Mar, 2012



you truly are an amazing individual slipdog....

sarcasm_mister

sarcasm_mister said on the 5th Mar, 2012

i just need RustyinBondi to join this thread. then i can tick another thing off my bucket list.

Slip_dog

Slip_dog said on the 5th Mar, 2012



Thanks!

snapcrackleROCK

snapcrackleROCK said on the 6th Mar, 2012

You really are a piece of work, Born Slippy. I just hope for your sake that it's an act.

benr3

benr3 said on the 6th Mar, 2012

Chugg / Radiohead should have taken a leaf out of Frontier / Kylie's book.

http://www.frontiertouring.com/web_images/ecards/Kylie/oneshowonly3_1.jpg

Napoleon Solo

Napoleon Solo said on the 6th Mar, 2012

Gonna buy tickets to one of their New Jersey shows. $66. I knew there was a reason I didn't stress with their Sydney shows.

snapcrackleROCK

snapcrackleROCK said on the 6th Mar, 2012

While you're there, you can check out...

http://991.com/newGallery/Bon-Jovi-New-Jersey-508047.jpg

daveyac8881

daveyac8881 said on the 7th Mar, 2012

Why put Kylie in the Big Top? If you're going to have an intimate theatre show why make it in the worst venue in the country?

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