I Lost the Ticketmaster War, But it Seems Like Everyone Did?

I’ve been a fan of Ariana Grande since her Victorious days. I was showing up to sixth grade with my ponytail and cat ears long before it was cool- was it ever cool?

I was lucky enough to go to Ariana’s Dangerous Woman and Sweetener tours, which were incredible. So when she announced her upcoming Eternal Sunshine shows, I knew I had to get tickets.

Now, Ticketmaster and I have quarreled before, but after my fair share of concerts, I felt somewhat confident I could snag at least one of Ari’s shows. I signed up for the presale and prepared myself for war. 

I joined the waiting room an hour early, got into the queue as soon as possible and still, I was only one of tens of thousands in the queue waiting patiently for my tickets. By the time I finally got my turn, the arenas were all sold out. 

I looked on TikTok and saw that most fans experienced similar issues and few actually got their hands on tickets. Even some of the most popular Ariana fan accounts couldn’t seem to get any.

But I didn’t give up hope. There was still the general sale the next morning. I tried again, getting in the waiting room and queue as early as possible and still, I wasn’t even close.

Since the sales, there’s been a lot of talk online about the amount of tickets bought only to be resold at much higher prices. These resellers have been accused of profiting off Ariana’s fans, and it’s safe to say people are not happy. 

Ariana herself posted a message to her Instagram story addressing the issue: “What’s been happening with the secondary ticket resellers has been brought to my attention and of course I am incredibly bothered by it.” 

She goes on to add she’s been fighting for a solution during every second of her free time. 

For shows in the states, ticket prices were originally around a few hundred dollars, but resale tickets have now been marked at thousands, if not tens of thousands, of dollars. 

Most of Grande’s demographic is young girls, often high school or college age. I don’t know about all of you, but I can confirm I don’t have tens of thousands of dollars lying around to spend on concert tickets.

“I hear you and hopefully, we will be able to get more of these tickets into your hands instead of theirs,” she said. 

Whether I get to attend or not, I have confidence these shows will be amazing and I trust that Ariana will help more fans get their hands on tickets. 

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