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Wednesday, August 19, 2026
Artists’ $20 Ticket Programs Show Why Not All Ticket Holdbacks Are Created Equal
TicketNews: The latest $20 concert-ticket programs from some of the world’s biggest artists are built around a practice that is often treated as inherently anti-consumer: holding tickets back from the initial sale.
When looking at situations like these what really matters is the intent behind the project. Other holdbacks have been historically used to drive up prices, but these programs are attempting to do the opposite. I believe that the arts are for everyone, and that the concert going industry has been straying for that ideology recently. It is greatly disappointing that the simple idea of an artist or company doing something to support the consumers is so rare that people have to debate on the true intentions of programs like this. It is important to note that people are calling for transparency and clarity of ticket sales, and that this is not already a given shows how much of a consumer driven country we live in. I understand holding tickets for people involved with the performances such as family or VIP guests, but other than that it might make more sense if all ticket sales are clearly disclosed to all.
While this is a wonderful idea in theory, in practice, reserving tickets at a lower price for fans might not ever work. Concert venues claim to reserve a 'percentage' of seats for fans at an affordable price, but don't actually specify the actual percentage. This means that there is a realistic possibility that a money-hungry venue or ticket site will reserve 2% of seats. This instills fans with a false sense of hope, and when their inevitable disappointment happens, they will still want to go to the concert so badly that they will probably end up buying a ticket that is now so enormously marked up from resale sites. Additionally, the very non-specific information if you do win, can prove to be unsafe for some fans. Seat locations are not released until tickets are scanned at the venue, this means fans can be placed high in the 500’s section or in GA on the floor. Concert pits are not a safe place for a person who has difficult mobility and can also be very overstimulating for someone who has never experienced it before. People are tightly pressed together, bathrooms are extremely hard to get to, and it is relatively easy for a child to get separated from a parent.
2 comments:
When looking at situations like these what really matters is the intent behind the project. Other holdbacks have been historically used to drive up prices, but these programs are attempting to do the opposite. I believe that the arts are for everyone, and that the concert going industry has been straying for that ideology recently. It is greatly disappointing that the simple idea of an artist or company doing something to support the consumers is so rare that people have to debate on the true intentions of programs like this. It is important to note that people are calling for transparency and clarity of ticket sales, and that this is not already a given shows how much of a consumer driven country we live in. I understand holding tickets for people involved with the performances such as family or VIP guests, but other than that it might make more sense if all ticket sales are clearly disclosed to all.
While this is a wonderful idea in theory, in practice, reserving tickets at a lower price for fans might not ever work. Concert venues claim to reserve a 'percentage' of seats for fans at an affordable price, but don't actually specify the actual percentage. This means that there is a realistic possibility that a money-hungry venue or ticket site will reserve 2% of seats. This instills fans with a false sense of hope, and when their inevitable disappointment happens, they will still want to go to the concert so badly that they will probably end up buying a ticket that is now so enormously marked up from resale sites. Additionally, the very non-specific information if you do win, can prove to be unsafe for some fans. Seat locations are not released until tickets are scanned at the venue, this means fans can be placed high in the 500’s section or in GA on the floor. Concert pits are not a safe place for a person who has difficult mobility and can also be very overstimulating for someone who has never experienced it before. People are tightly pressed together, bathrooms are extremely hard to get to, and it is relatively easy for a child to get separated from a parent.
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