Let’s Talk Strategy!
A fan's strategy for getting into the gig or festival you want without paying over the odds.
From the archive. This post first appeared on the earlier music blog at this address and is kept as it was published, apart from the design. Names, prices and links may be out of date. All archive posts.
So, you have been working hard and want to relax a bit. Let your hair down. Your most favorite band in the world just happens to be touring close by. Or how about those huge fesitvals that people travel too from far and wide in order to be part of something huge. Music transforms lives. Now you get to experience it in person. Live and LOUD! Music concerts are a way to simply enjoy life by forgetting your problems for a few hours. All you have to do, is grab some tickets! That simple task can turn out to be a quite difficult one indeed. More than likely you have to go to a online seller and buy some tickets. More often than not, it’s more expensive than you thought and for a seat you don’t really want. Let’s talk about some tips than can transform you into a Concert Ticket Guru!
SEARCH and DESTROY!
(Or in this case, research and buy!) Google is the most powerful tool in this technical world. You can find your favorite restaurant in any city in the world, why not use it to find music tickets. In almost every case bands have to promote their concert to ensure selling out and making some cash. The most obvious way of doing this is by radio and promotions. Visit your local radio station’s website and try to find a pre-sale password or link to the promotion. If you can’t, hit up Google. Simply type in your band’s name, venue, and pre-sale, etc. Be creative and score those tickets. Another way bands promote is by looking pretty and letting others do the heavy lifting. This comes in the form of Credit Card companies, major websites, retail chains, etc. If you can’t find what your looking for in the pre-sale Google search, try to find out who is promoting them and more than likely there is some gimmick you can sign up for to get a head start when tickets go live. Sometimes its signing up for a Card, membership, surveys, etc. Google away and maybe you will not only find your tickets but a cool product or two. If all else fails, hit up some fan sites. You might be the biggest music fan out there, however someone else might have the time to blog about it. Visit forums, blogs, fan-sites and maybe a fellow fan can guide you in the right direction.
BE ON TIME!
OK so you tried your hardest finding a pre-sale but no luck. Don’t feel bad, you and just about everyone else are in the same boat. Now what you have to do is find out when the sale goes live. Meaning go to your ticket masters and stub hubs or whatever ticket service you use and find out when your location goes on sale to the general public. It is typically some crazy time either early morning or afternoon when most people are working or getting ready to go somewhere. So the trick is to be on time! If the sale goes live at 8 A.M. log in 15 mins prior on a few different browsers or from multiple computers/tablets/iPads/etc so your chances increase. What happens is the URL for the tickets won’t go live until the moment the site says. If it is going to be a very popular concert or event, there could be thousands waiting for the sale just like you. So grab a few friends and man your positions! Get ready to click refresh a bunch of times and increase your odds of being one of the first to buy your tickets.
Don’t Be Shy!
So you had no luck finding the pre-sale and even worse luck being on time to buy tickets for the public sale. Even though your options are now somewhat limited, your not defeated! You know what takes priority over popular music concerts, LIFE! Yes believe it or not those who bought tickets months prior to a concert have events come up that does not allow them to attend the show. All you have to do now is cash in on their misfortune! You can look at sites like Ebay or auction sites where people are selling tickets to the highest bidder. Sometimes, sellers are so desperate the first offer they receive is all it takes. Don’t be shy, make an offer! You can also try the venue or ticket service directly. Most times these companies are the first ones called to refund their purchase and cancel the tickets. Sometimes these service will wait and have another sale a week or two before the show. Or just simply add them back to the public. Don’t be shy, give them a call! Of course for the utterly desperate fan, just go scalp some tickets. It is not the recommended method and be careful of what your buying, but it is a method nonetheless. Follow these tips and become the Music Ticket Guru you were always meant to be!
This article was written by James – [email protected] | http://www.minutehound.com | @getMinuteHound