'This is actually stupid': New ticket rule frustrating concert-goers

“I’m convinced all the ticketing companies are run by teenagers on their first jobs.”

Over the last few years, buying concert tickets has been less of a casual decision and more of an Olympic sport.

If you’re looking to see a popular artist, you can’t just hop online at the time of the sale and buy a ticket - that would be ridiculous.

Instead, you have to set up your phone and computer at least half an hour in advance - already logged in with your bank info ready - and be prepared to sit in a queue for hours, perhaps even on multiple days.

If you’re not the designated ticket-buying friend, you have a ticket-buying friend. And, if you’re super desperate, you’re asking your parents, friends of friends and your third cousin to jump on and take one for the team.

But, say one of those more distant contacts managed to get on to buy one for you, or you were given one as a gift, and then you find out you can’t actually use it.

That’s what’s happened to many ticket holders heading to see Addison Rae in November.

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Addison Rae performing with Lana Del Rey at Wembley Stadium. Image: Gareth Cattermole.

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People are torn

If you don’t know Addison Rae, your kids probably do (but before you ask them, listen to ‘Diet Pepsi’ and ‘Fame is a Gun’ - I promise your life will be changed).

Addison is one of few successful TikTok stars turned singers, who went from being popular for her dancing and lip synching in 2019, to appearing on a remix with Charli XCX and debuting at number four on the U.S. Billboard 200 with her first album Addison.

Despite only having one album so far, she announced an Australian tour earlier last month including stops at Melbourne’s Forum Theatre, Brisbane’s Fortitude Music Hall, and Sydney’s Enmore Theatre - all of which sold out before many fans even heard she was coming (i.e. me).

Given the high demand for so few spots, many employed friends and family members to purchase tickets on their behalf. And, while they may have been excited at first, a recent update has seen ticket holders searching for answers.

“The ticket holder must attend the event”

Scalpers attempting to resell concert tickets at exorbitant prices has been a growing issue across the world.

So, one could assume that this is the reason why ticket sharing has been turned off on both Ticketek and Ticketmaster for Addison Rae.

On the Ticketmaster site, selling tickets for the Brisbane shows, it explicitly states that ticket sharing will not be available.

“The ticket holder must attend the event. Ticket Sharing will not be available for this event,” the site reads.

And, the same message is listed on Ticketek, who is selling tickets for both Sydney and Melbourne.

“This is actually stupid”

TikTok creator Jacinda, who posts regularly about Aussie concerts, shared the news as a result of a mishap which has seen some ticket holders able to share their tickets and not others.

But, the comments are filled with concerns, many from people who purchased tickets for their friends or children and are now worried the tickets won’t be able to get to them.

“That’s wild to me. People buy concert tickets as presents,” said one commenter of the move.

“That sucks because I literally got a ticket for a friend who wasn’t available during the sale... this is actually stupid ugh,” said another.

“I’m convinced all the ticketing companies are run by teenagers on their first jobs,” another criticised on another video.

Policies like this come down to the show’s promoter, which in this cause is Frontier Touring.

In a statement to Kidspot, Frontier said that this policy hasn’t changed since the tour was announced last month.

“We anticipated high demand for Addison Rae’s tour and as a measure to protect her fans from scalpers the decision was made to turn off sharing for this tour, requiring the ticket purchaser to attend the event,” they said.

“This information was clearly advertised prior to and at the time of purchase.”

Originally published as 'This is actually stupid': New ticket rule frustrating concert-goers