If you’re a country music fan, or from Austin, TX like me, I’m sure you’ve heard of Zach Bryan. He’s well-known and well-loved in the country music world, and he’s proving worthy of the love by taking a stand against Ticketmaster and the recent debacle with concert prices. This issue is probably sounding familiar to any Taylor Swift fans out there.
Ticketmaster has created a monopoly in the entertainment industry, but this had led to crazy high costs for concert tickets and fans are fed up. Zach Bryan, being a man of the people, is trying to change things. To boycott Ticketmaster and prevent unreasonable concert prices through price gouging, Zach Bryan chose to sell tickets through Fair AXS, a new ticketing system created by AEG Worldwide. This large entertainment industry has hosted live events for Carrie Underwood, Billy Strings, Lewis Capaldi and other popular artists. However, not many have used this new “lottery system” for the purpose of ticket sales.
Back in December, Zach Bryan released an entire live album dedicated to revenge: All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster. Then, to kick off the new year, he announced the dates and destinations of his upcoming Burn, Burn, Burn tour.
At the beginning of February, he announced the long-awaited tour dates (including two nights at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre!) and did things a little differently. To ensure that tickets remain affordable, fans were given the chance to register for specific tour dates and locations by paying a $1 fee. This dollar didn’t guarantee tickets however, it just entered you into a lottery of sorts where the luckiest of fans would receive an excitedly awaited email allowing them to purchase concert tickets for their chosen date.
Starting on Monday, Feb. 13, emails began being sent out to the chosen ones. Sent in groups, the tickets sold out in three waves, way before the end of the predicted period which would have been Thursday, Feb. 16.
Tickets sold out in 30 minutes! And due to the high demand, a few additional dates were added. Here’s what Zach had to say on Instagram about the overwhelming support:
Now, understandably, many of the fans who registered and didn’t get an opportunity to buy tickets are upset (I’m pointing a finger at myself). Many also have grievances with AXS customer service. One customer on Twitter said she registered for multiple dates, trying to increase her chances of winning this country music “lottery,” and was allegedly withdrawn unknowingly from every tour date except the last one she registered for. When calling AXS support to clear things up, she was met with a rude and short response: “Better luck next time.” This isn’t an isolated report, and many are left upset, confused and with a blank date on their calendar this summer.
It’s hard not to be bitter when you’re an avid fan in the top 1 percent of Zach’s Spotify listeners and weren’t able to get tickets purely out of luck in the draw. But we have to give it to Zach and his team for pushing the agenda and trying something new with the best intentions and the satisfaction of his fans in mind. I think there’s some give and take, either compete to be the fastest to buy tickets, or leave it up to the live music gods of the universe to select who’s most deserving.
So, the question is, is this lottery ticket system the future of live music or does the music industry need to find a better way to make great live music accessible to all fans?
Want to see more HCFSU? Be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube and Pinterest!