Which concert pre-sale gives you the best shot at tickets?

An explosion of pre-sale options for big tours now offers concert hopefuls more chances to win the ticket lottery. See if pre-sales or standing in line like hundreds of Taylor Swift fans is the key to success.

It was the most bizarre sight of the Great Eras Tour Ticket War in Australia.

After desperate Taylor Swift fans who had missed out on securing the prized tickets to her shows in February via the American Express VIP Package pre-sale or Frontier Members pre-sale, hundreds went old school and camped overnight outside Ticketek box office store fronts rather than face another day sitting behind a computer stuck in a interminable cloud “lounge”.

But an explosion of pre-sale options this year for big tours now offers concert hopefuls more chances to win the ticket lottery.

Taylor Swift fans queued for tickets outside Ticketek on Exhibition Street last November. Picture: NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

For tour promoters and artists, demand for pre-sales gives them confidence to go ahead with the shows in a live music market squeezed by cost-of-living pressures.

And doing deals with telcos, banks and retailers to offer their customers first crack at tickets also helps to underwrite the inflationary production costs.

Those keen on seeing The Weeknd’s rescheduled After Hours Til’ Dawn stadium shows in October could take their shot at five pre-sales, kicking off with an exclusive round for those who bought tickets to his aborted shows in 2023.

The Weeknd fans had ALL of the pre-sale options to get tickets to his October concerts. Picture: Rafael Deprost / Supplied

The artist pre-sale via his website for registered fans was the next opportunity to buy tickets to the four stadium shows in Sydney and Melbourne.

Then customers of Vodafone, CommBank and Westfield were given links to try securing tickets via their pre-sales.

And finally there was the “general onsale” – the old school ticket release which used to be the only option until the arrival of the internet.

Fans keen to see British legends The Prodigy, who probably lined up outside a box office or had to constantly redial box office phone lines to see them on their first tour in the early 1990s, had three options to buy tickets this week, with Telstra and Artist/Promoter pre-sales a few days ahead of the general sale on Friday.

Bryan Adams has kept it simple with only one pre-sale for fans for his February tour. Picture: Getty

So which is the best option for tickets in pre-sales versus general on-sale?

Promoters say the carve-ups across pre-sales and the general sale are equitable across all seating and price points but an insider suggests the artist or promoter offerings are your best bet.

Coldplay offered only one pre-sale direct to registered fans via their website for their stadium shows in Sydney and Melbourne in November.

Bryan Adams has made it easier for fans wanting to see his So Happy It Hurts shows in February with just one pre-sale for Frontier Members on September 2 and then the general onsale on September 4.

“Presales provide the advantage of exclusive purchasing windows ahead of the general sale of tickets, with a smaller number of consumers competing for tickets,” according to Live Performance Australia’s consumer guide.

Not even the presence of Kylie Minogue could save Splendour In The Grass this year. Picture: Supplied

Live Nation Australia, who are bringing The Weeknd to Australia, also advise customers that “pre-sale tickets are the same as those available in the general sale, they are just available earlier.”

“We sometimes restrict the number of pre-sale tickets to make sure enough tickets are available for the general sale period,” the promoter states on their ticket FAQ.

Pre-sales began as an artist-driven exercise to reward loyal fans. Promoters then saw it as an opportunity to build their databases and test the demand for the tour and whether they should take the financial risk and add shows.

Splendour in the Grass organisers cancelled their 2024 event, which was to be headlined by Kylie Minogue, after low ticket demand during five pre-sales including for festival members, locals and Optus customers.

Fans who miss out on the pre-sale or general on-sale tickets do have last minute options, besides trying their luck on ticket resellers.

Promoters and venues often release a final allocation of tickets once the concert production has loaded into the arena or stadium and they can identify restricted view seats, so it’s always worth checking their social media channels or websites a couple of days before the gig.

Originally published as Which concert pre-sale gives you the best shot at tickets?