Seeing your favorite artist live can be deemed a memorable moment for any fan. Concerts, tours, and festivals are a few of the many ways to experience music live. Following any event announcements is the ticketing process, which can be stressful for fans of all generations.
As someone who has attended a handful of concerts, I have gained experience in queuing and buying tickets. While what I end up buying depends on both the artist and costs, I have been able to get my hands on barricade ranging to the back sections of venues.
Ticketing experiences WILL depend on the demand for the tickets and the ticketing platform, so keep both in mind when planning to queue and ticket. There are two popular ticketing platforms within America, Ticketmaster and AXS.
Buying on Ticketmaster
- Concert Date
The first step to buying tickets on any platform is looking at the released dates and locations then figuring out what works best for you. Once you have desired date in mind, figure out what seat section (VIP, GA, 100s, 200s, etc) you prefer.
TIP: If there is a presale, make sure to sign up for the presale, as sometimes all tickets will be released and sell out. For K-pop, there are sometimes paid memberships you need to purchase to receive presale codes. Other times, for Western artists, there will be a series of different presages depending on the artists and sponsorships.
2. Payment Info
Ticketmaster lets you save card information with an existing account. For a smooth transaction, it’s recommended to set up your payment information in advance. The only information you will need when checking out is the CVC numbers for your card. When it comes to checking out, Ticketmaster does hold tickets in your cart for 7 minutes.
3. Queue up
Ticketmaster recommends users to queue or join the waiting room as early as possible, this can be 30 minutes early or earlier if possible. This will depend on when Ticketmaster opens up the waiting room for your desired concert.
In addition to queuing up, I have had better luck when opening multiple tabs and being able to get different line numbers. Either opening multiple tabs on your laptop or you can try on multiple devices.
TIP: With one tab I always join earlier and with another tab I will join up to two or one minute before the tickets go on sale. For example if the tickets go on sale at 10 am, I will join the waiting room at 9:59 am. There have been various of times where I will be let in almost immediately when joining a minute before the ticket sales.
Please keep in mind that joining last minute will not always secure tickets.
4. Refreshing
There is a lot of discussion when it comes to refreshing your tab when within the Ticketmaster waiting room. This is why I recommend having multiple tabs open when trying for tickets. This way you can try multiple methods and be able to buy your desired tickets.
TIP: If joining early then I recommend not refreshing until you have a line number and if you’re joining at the last minute I recommend refreshing then joining.
5. Tickets on Sale
Once you’re in, quickly and calmly add your desire tickets to your cart and pay. If the desired tickets don’t go through, repeat this step until tickets are acquired.
REMEMBER If you are looking to buy floor seats and everything is sold out, WAIT IT OUT. There are many instances where later within the queue people will release their tickets or Ticketmaster its self will release more tickets.
Don’t Loose hope and if there is a pre sale and general sale, try during both times.
Buying on AXS
Buying on AXS is somewhat similar to buying on Ticketmaster, but there are few tips that have worked better for this platform.
- Concert Date
Same as Ticketmaster have a set date and desired seat section (VIP, GA, 100s, 200s, etc) in mind.
TIP: If there is a presale, make sure to sign up for the presale as sometimes all tickets will be released and sell out. For K-Pop there sometimes paid memberships you need to purchase in order to receive presale codes. Other times for western artists there will be a series of different presages depending on the artists and sponsorships.
2. Payment Info
Save your preferred payment within your existing AXS account and make sure to have your CVC numbers to verify the card when checking out.
3. Queue Up
For AXS, I highly recommend joining the waiting room as early as possible. This can range from 30 minutes early to whenever AXS lets users join their waiting room.
I have always been able to get tickets on AXS when joining earlier and when having multiple tabs open or trying on different devices.
4. Refreshing
For AXS, do NOT refresh as this might affect your place in line. There isn’t a line number given to users just a walking figure on a timeline that indicates how close you are to buying tickets.
5. Tickets on Sale
Once you’re in, quickly and calmly add your desire tickets to your cart and pay. If the desired tickets don’t go through, repeat this step until tickets are acquired.
REMEMBER If you are looking to buy floor seats and everything is sold out, WAIT IT OUT. There are many instances where later within the queue people will release their tickets or Ticketmaster its self will release more tickets.
Don’t Loose hope and if there is a pre sale and general sale, try during both times.
Buying on Other Ticket Platforms
When trying on other ticketing platforms, I would recommend playing it safe and following the same steps as for AXS. Use social media platforms like Reddit, X and instagram to ask others about their experiences with specific sites.
Now you are all set to queue and buy tickets! Good luck to you all, make sure to remain calm and be safe when attending your events.
Leave a comment