Photo Credit: Lars Crommelinck Photography / CC by 2.0
Ticketmaster issued a written apology to Billie Eilish fans over a presale snafu.
Presale tickets went on sale yesterday through the Verified Fan program. The program aims to offer early access to tickets to dedicated fans at a ‘fair price’ — however defined. Regardless, many fans reported problems accessing the site or being frozen out completely. Some people reported facing a waitlist of 500 people.
In fact, so many people reported trouble buying presale tickets that Ticketmaster has issued a formal apology.
Ticketmaster says it will ensure that all Verified Fans can purchase tickets before they go public. The company also advises anyone who receives an error during checkout to refresh and try again. For issues that can’t be remedied with a refresh, Ticketmaster advises contacting their support.
Those verified fans may not be so verified after all. Tickets to Billie Eilish events are available on Stubhub for up to $500 per seat.
And that’s just one secondary ticketing platform, with high-priced tickets often swapped from presale batches.
In a case of groundhog day, Ticketmaster says that the on-sale was delayed for an hour “due to technical difficulties.” All issues should be resolved now, according to the company.
Even Eilish herself commented on the chaos on Instagram.
“You guys broke ticketmaster lmaoooo but we fixed it. If you got a pre-sale code but weren’t able to use it this morning, check your texts and get them tickets. For everyone else, tickets go on sale tomorrow. Love you.”
The tour kicks off on March 8th, 2020 in Miami at the American Airlines Arena. Eilish is touring across the United States to cities including Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and New York. Then she’ll head to South America, Europe, and the UK.
Ticketmaster has endured the wrath of Billie Eilish fans at least once before.
After an event in Chicago had to be moved to a bigger venue, some fans said they were stiffed. They had floor seats at the original venue but were given nosebleeds for the new event.