Another day, another group of fans are fighting to see their favorite music artist in concert without going broke. This week, it’s Olivia Rodrigo’s fans, who are suffering the consequences of high demand for tickets to the singer’s GUTS World Tour.
Tickets went on sale Thursday—though hopeful attendees needed to preregister for access, according to Ticketmaster. TikTok creator Kate (@herculeankate) was selected for the highly sought-after American Express Early Access presale, which happened on Wednesday. However, she said she didn’t end up buying tickets. Her viral video has garnered more than one million views and more than 180,000 likes.
@herculeankate #greenscreen very sad & disappointed that i cant afford the tickets, even though i’ve been a day one olivia stan :/ #gutsoliviarodrigo #gutspresale #gutstour2024 ♬ original sound – kate | postgrad life
In the video, Kate explained that she did “all the tricks” recommended to snag tickets and ended up at 693rd in the queue to purchase the goods.
“Olivia’s one of my favorite artists ever, if not my favorite, and I knew how hard it was to fight to get this presale code. Then I saw the prices,” Kate said.
The creator displayed the Ticketmaster page for Rodrigo’s Aug. 17 show at Kia Forum in Inglewood, California. By the time she got into the sale, the screen showed a price range of $510 to $840 per ticket. Kate was searching for a group of four tickets. The ticket type selected was the American Express Early Access to Charity Platinum; in the comments, Kate clarified that those were her only option once she got into the sale.
“It’s been an hour since presale started and tickets are still available,” Kate said, theorizing that it’s because the remaining tickets were so expensive. When Kate bought tickets for Taylor Swift’s tour, she was the 2,000th person in line and paid less than $300 per ticket, she said.
“I’m really disappointed,” she said, adding, “I guess I just can’t go because it is way, way, way too expensive.”
She concluded: “If I’m spending $840, I better be on stage with Miss Olivia herself.”
Kate added in the comment section, “these weren’t even resale either, just dynamic pricing … we need affordable ticket pricing PLEASEEEEE.” (Dynamic pricing is a controversial model used by Ticketmaster that ties ticket prices to consumer demand, resulting in fluctuating prices, according to USA Today.)
The Daily Dot reached out to Kate and Ticketmaster via email.
“For $840 I want her to give me the mic for one chorus of any song of her choosing,” a commenter wrote on Kate’s video.
Another person wrote, “This happened to me with Taylor. I didn’t WANT VIP but that’s all that were available. I believe you.”
“This is so genuinely heartbreaking,” one person commented.
Several TikTok viewers seemed to have better luck.
A viewer wrote, “Most people are [probably] buying 3-4 [and] being 693rd in line means most tickets were gone by then, I was 69th in line and had a ton of choices.”
“Omg I got three Amex presale tickets for $120 each!! I was like 250 in queue!” another person commented.
“I feel like the price ranges are really wild, my friend was able to get 4 floor seats for $169 each,” someone commented.
Ticketmaster has been the subject of controversy before, most notably in relation to the fraught rollout of tickets to Swift’s The Eras Tour.
The company warned fans ahead of time that it might be hard to snag tickets to the GUTS World Tour. According to a Sept. 19 statement by Ticketmaster, “There has been massive fan demand for Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS world tour, and even after the tour added 20 additional dates to meet the demand, there are still more fans who registered than there are tickets available. Due to demand, a limited number of fans will get access to the sale based on ticket availability and the majority of fans will be placed on the waitlist.”
The statement added, “Getting access to the sale doesn’t guarantee tickets. Tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.”
According to Ticketmaster, standard ticket prices were set to be $49.50 to $199.50, plus taxes fees. “Additional ticket options including a limited number of Charity Platinum and VIP packages will be available for purchase as well, with a portion of the proceeds from all ticket sales going to Olivia Rodrigo’s Fund 4 Good,” the statement read.
The GUTS World Tour kicks off Feb. 23 in Palm Springs, California.
Update Sept. 22, 3:22pm CT: A Ticketmaster rep tells the Daily Dot via email:
“Ticket prices were publicly released by the tour and can be found here.
· Standard tickets to the GUTS world tour range from $49.50 – $199.50 + taxes and applicable fees in the U.S. Additional ticket options including charity platinum and VIP are available for purchase as well, with a portion of the proceeds from all ticket sales going to Olivia Rodrigo’s Fund 4 Good.”
Ticketmaster also noted that the price range displayed in this video “could have been a result of limited inventory as the sale progressed or because of the search parameters. Searching for four tickets may make it harder for fans to locate seats among the popular ticket types.”
