Rock giants to return to Australia for first time in a decade for three stadium concerts in November

Pearl Jam’s fans-first ticket registration could protect future concertgoers from bot attacks and scammers.

American rock giants Pearl Jam’s fans-first registration drive for their November stadium shows could set a new benchmark to stop billions of bots flooding concert tickets sales.

Longtime fans were given first dibs on pre-sale tickets to the three shows on the Gold Coast, Melbourne and Sydney last Wednesday.

The general sale is accessed by registering via Ticketmaster by 11.59pm on February 18.

“Pearl Jam is asking fans to register for a chance to access the sale to help block bots, reduce resale and get more tickets directly into the hands of real people who want to attend the show,” advises the site.

“While it doesn’t guarantee that all fans who register will get tickets, it can significantly reduce the number of professional resellers who buy tickets to sell for profit.”

The band did not publicly disclose when tickets go on sale when they announced the tour this week to block scammers and scalpers from programming a bot attack on Ticketmaster.

Ticketek was flooded by a massive four billion bots when the first Taylor Swift tickets went on sale last year.

After entering their details, fans receive an email on what happens next.

“You’ll receive an email the day before tickets go on sale telling you if you were selected to get access to the sale or waitlisted,” the email states.

“If you’re selected, you’ll get a unique access code to use for the sale. If waitlisted, please keep an eye on your email, you may be contacted later if any tickets remain.”

Pearl Jam release new album Dark Matter on April 19. Picture: Supplied / Danny Clinch

The Pearl Jam ticket FAQs state fans will know whether or not they have been selected to join the queue for tickets on February 22.

The registration sale opens on February 23 at 11am for the Melbourne concert, 11am local time (12pm AEDT) for the Gold Coast show and 1pm for the Sydney event.

Fans who score the code can buy up to six tickets per show. They will also need a My Ticketmaster account to buy the digital tickets.

The Seattle stalwarts have booked just three stadium shows here for their Dark Matter world tour which opens in North America in May.

Their confirmed shows in Australia will be at the Heritage Bank Stadium on the Gold Coast on November 13, Marvel Stadium in Melbourne on November 16 and Giants Stadium in Sydney on November 21.

It is understood the east coast stadium shows will be their only gigs in Australia for the world tour.

The tour will follow the release of the veteran rockers’ 12th studio record, also called Dark Matter, on April 19, the same day their labelmate Taylor Swift drops her 11th album The Tortured Poets Department.

The new Pearl Jam record was produced by Andrew Watt, the American hitmaker behind the recent albums by the Rolling Stones and Post Malone and the 2022 solo offering Earthling from Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder.

Pearl Jam will play stadium shows in Australia in November. Picture: Danny Clinch / Supplied

The band teased in December they would be return to Australia for the first time since their headlining slots at the final Big Day Out festivals in 2014.

“Are you koala-fied for our ticket presales? Not a current member? Hop to it, mate!” they posted on their social media channels.

Pearl Jam previewed the new record at an exclusive fan listening party in Los Angeles last week.

“I’m getting chills, because I have good memories. We’re still looking for ways to

communicate. We’re at this time in our lives when you could do it or you could not do it, but we still care about putting something out there that is meaningful and we hopefully think is our best work. No hyperbole, I think this is our best work,” Vedder said.

American indie rock legends Pixies have been booked as special guests on the Australian leg of the tour.

Fans will have two options to buy tickets, neither of which involve the typical ticketing agency sales.

The only pre-sale will be via the band’s long-running Ten Club. The members-only presale will be held through Ticketmaster Request for eligible members. Only paid Ten Club members active as of February 12 are eligible to participate in this presale with more information via pearljam.com.

For another shot at scoring tickets, fans can register for an opportunity to participate in the Dark Matter World Tour 2024 sale at shops.ticketmasterpartners.com/pearl-jam by 11.59pm on February 18.

This will be the only way for fans to buy general sale tickets. Registration does not guarantee access to the sale.

Originally published as Rock giants to return to Australia for first time in a decade for three stadium concerts in November