Figured Out Why There's A Lack Of GA

[Chrisedge]

Posting this in several places:

You have to realize there are tens of thousands of people trying for each show and NO system could handle the amount of traffic that this causes.

I remember over 2,000,000 people trying for 26,000 for the two indoor ZOOTV shows here in Los Angeles in 1992. It hampered Pacific Bells phone system for 2 whole days.

They are saying 10% of the tickets are on this presale. That means about 150 GA's per show, and maybe about 1600 total tickets. With thousands of people getting 2 tickets, it doesn't take long to be sold out. A minute or two for everything, a few seconds for the first 75 people (or so) to grab the GA's...

Good luck to everyone...

 

[U2@NYC]

Then fix it, and offer much more than 10% that the total tickets for the pre-sale.

Don't make the same stupid mistake again.

 

[Johnovox]

Ticketmaster has always had bad presales. I have had much more luck with good tickets in general sales. I mean, think of it this way. Say there are 1000-2000 MAX GAs for a floor show. That's only 100-200 GAs available in the presale. Take away from that radio contest winners etc., and you have a very small pool of GAs to work with. Having said that, I will be trying in one hour for GAs on the West Coast.


*edit

Ebay already lists GA floors for sale for San Diego, Anaheim, and LA.

How did those *&(*&(*($# get those tix so soon?

I can reveal a great deal of information; granted most of my info is based on the system that existed over a decade ago, but I am sure the “system” is still the same. Ok, do you want the blue pill or the red pill?

The promoters hold tickets back for themselves (yes, I know there are band guests, etc., but the majority of the best seats are held back by the promoter). The cold hard ugly truth is (and I feel like Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men) that the majority of the best tickets are funnelled to the ticket agencies. Not by ticketmaster employees, but by the show’s promoters. Yes, its true, the same people who agree with the band to promote the tour are skimming off the tickets in a black market. Unused tickets are suddenly released (many times, it is the venue’s or the band’s unused tickets, and yes, U2 has a good habit of making sure extra tickets become available). Those tickets for sale on ebay are most likely directly funnelled by the promoters to the ticket agencies (for extra cash of course) and never go on sale to the general public. In some cases, if you follow the ball, or the ticket trail, you will find out that the agencies are somehow owned or directly related to the promoters. In many states, the agencies can legally scalp these tickets for outrageous amounts. Even in cases where state laws prohibit sales above face value, exceptions generally exist for these rotting scum.

This is why I miss Propaganda. Now that everything is out of U2’s hands, there will be no ticket benefits for the long time fans.

 

[Chrisedge]

Then fix it, and offer much more than 10% that the total tickets for the pre-sale.

Don't make the same stupid mistake again.

10% of the tickets ONLY available to fans that paid $40 vs. 90% of the tickets available to EVERYONE ON THE PLANET.

10% is a fairly large number, given the amount of people that would like tickets, and wouldn't pay to belong to a fanclub...

8 Minutes to go for me...

 

[Guinness Stout]

what you dont understand- although you will after 10am, is that the 10% of the tickets held for the presale are the worst tickets in the stadium- very few ga's- everything else i saw was at the back of the arena- far away from the stage- anyone else notice this?
now i got tickets to bston, nyc, and chicago, but the seats are all terrible! i only bought them to trade up with. and i got in right away for each show and tried for ga's-
90,000 pre-paid subscriptions x. $40.00 = 3.6 million us dollars-
they are doing just fine off of us-

"lets get rid of the crappy seats during the pre-sale- those suckers will pay for anything"
fanfire/u2.com

 

[mcranston]

Seems logical. Going by what u2.com was telling us, I was expecting all fan club members to be able to get GAs, or at least have a chance. Realistically, it seems like no one got GAs (although I'm sure there are exceptions). I wish there had been more info on exactly how many 'good tickets' were being held for u2.com members. Personally, I don't think $40 is worth it for some upper bowl seats to be held for me

Mike

 

[grant72]

what a disaster. I payed $40 to u2.com and got presale nose bleeds. talk about sticken it to your fans. people who never even been on U2.com and dont give a F*ck will end up with better seats then me.

I've been as big of a U2 fan as anyone, but they can shove their website, their $40 membership, their $170 tickets and that stupid keychain up their a**es. They are a bunch of $$$ greedy scumbags as far as i'm concerned.

The only reason they charge a smaller price for the floor is because they can jam people in there like cattle. If it was reserved seating on the floor you bet it would be $160 a seat down there too.

I'll be glad to download all their songs for free from here on in. Bono and Co say they want to get through to the younger masses....how the hell is a high school kid going to pay that price...???

I am disapointed with these guys big time. if you say your going to hook up your fans then DO IT!!!!!!!!

 

[Guinness Stout]

my seats are so bad, i probably wouldnt even be able to sell them on ebay if i get better ones.

 

[Mike P]

I'm the "sold out in 10 seconds" guy. And it WAS gone that fast.

Just like several other people in this thread, I was refreshing the ticket page every 5 seconds for a couple minutes before 10:00. So when the info loaded, it had been available for no more than 5 seconds. I clicked 2 boxes, Ctrl+V'd my presale code, clicked the box, typed the code, and had NO wait time time before the system responded with the "no ticket" message. Total time until "no GA left": 10 seconds MAX

This is complete horseshit. Where's propoganda when you need them, right? I suppose everyone sells out in the end, even the best.

-Mike

 

[wad2k]

good job taking care of the true fans

First off, I'm not bashing U2(the four guys that make the music!)...Im bashing "U2----the system"------which is everything related to ticket distribution.....u2.con,fanfire,ticketmaster,and even those in the u2 organization that have been put in charge for promoting/ticket distribution.

It's all about money...I truelly believe that the scalpers(a.k.a. ticket brokers, a.k.a. scum bags) are being catered to by "U2----the system" ....And when I say scalpers, I'm not talking about the fans out their that buy a pair of tickets for themselves and pick up an extra pair of tickets to sell and help offset the cost of their own tickets for an overpriced entertainemnt event(not just a u2 concert).

I'm talking about all the "behind the scene", "backdoor deals" that go on in the system...the scalpers/brokers/lowlifes are buying the "hot" tickets( in this case u2-ga's) in bulk... and with all the kickbacks going on, they are paying more than that price printed on the ticket.....but they don't mind becasue they know that the demand is soooo high from us, the fans, that they will make a very healthy profit.........and what happens in the end....we end up getting a "backdoor deal"...we all take it up the keister!....

The entire system is flawed....Back when Pearl Jam tried to changes things over and make it more fair for the true fans, its too bad that all of the rest of the touring bands at that time didnt get together and join in the fight....they could have easily combined their resources and formed a consortium of fan clubs to handle the presale of the good tickets to real fans the way Propaganda was able to deliver. These "who ya' know/who ya' blow" followed by "first come" "first served" methods for ticket distribution are causing loyal fans to jump ship....

Bottom line... If a person has been a loyal fan and member of a fan club for 20+ years then there is NO excuse why he or she shouldn't be given an opportunity to purchase one lousy pair of tickets of THEIR OWN choosing....I don't mind spending the 100 bucks on a pair GA tickects but I'm not shelling out a rediculous $390+ for "gold circle" seats to watch a 2 hour concert. No thanks...

My own person reality check--- I rather put that $390+ towards Walt Disney World passes for my family-----for me, more lasting memories in the long run.....

And yes, I know I sound like a cynical A-hole, but that is exactly what this bunch of crap has turned me.....and many others....into!

Thanks to Interference for letting me vent adn thanks to you for taking time to read this....

PS :"20+ years" and "passes for my family" Wow, I guess I am really showing my age!

 

[Johnovox]

wad2k, I agree with most of your post. However, I don't think it is necessarily "U2 the system", but the ticket system here in the US.

What U2 did was try to maximize interest in the band through the website. Remember that some of the band members (especially the Edge) are really interested in developing technologies and really wanted to make the band's website a first class experience. We have heard rumors for a long time that they wanted to centralize communication with the band to the website and transition away from Propaganda. I really think they thought they were going to offer people much more through the website and create an overall better experience for the fans. Of course, financially, I am sure that in this digital age there are 5-10 times as many U2.com paid subscribers as old prop members. From their perspective, it was a win-win.

The problem with this ticket issue is either they lost track of the ball or they trusted those who do not have the fan's interest at heart. By turning control over all tickets to 3rd parties (ticketmaster, fanfire and most importantly, the promoters), they lost touch with the longtime fans and especially the old Prop members. The reason Prop worked so well for fans is that it was outside the "system" - these 3rd parties never had access to the tickets, which were held aside for Prop members. I have been a member of Prop since 1986 (talk about dating yourself) and the membership was worth every penny. No fan club treated its diehards better. Now its gone and we have to deal with the "system" like everyone else.

Our only hope is that U2 recognizes this situation and makes improvements. For example, Pearl Jam recently played Boston and made all tickets to this show available to its fan club members. I understand that the show sold out solely based on fan club tickets alone! They then added a second show which went on sale to the general public without a presale. Are U2 listening?

 

[Judah]

Hey, u2.com, please send my $40 to ateaseweb.com. I never have trouble getting GA tickets for Radiohead concerts!

Just kidding...

I agree with wad2k...wait until people see Gwen Stefani and her peeps with GA tickets at the LA shows. The in-crowd will all be there, and the commoners will be in the nose bleeds.

And wad2k, i'm pushing 23 years as a fan and am seriously thinking of trips to Disney for my family also!

 

[mmueller]

... Ok, do you want the blue pill or the red pill? ...

How about if U2 and U2 management came down hard on the promoters and said that they would sue / cancel contracts / do something if they get any evidence of the promoters and ticket people participating in the 'black market'

ie. try to plug the roof from the top, rather than from underneath?

 

[lgal614]

you lucky shit

I got right through at 10 on the dot-put in for GA got nothing.
I tried three more times-nothing

4th try I put in best available just to get something and got GA

(This was for 5/26 in Boston)

I tried for 30 minutes just doing GA. Finally went in asking for 1 ticket BA and got Lodge for $165. Wasn't expecting to pay that much but I'm desperate to see them. Actually went in for the second show and got Lodge again and bought that one to. Really wanted GA will try on Saturday.

 

[Derek]

I opted not to buy any tickets at presale and to take my chances with the regular sale. I wasn't going to sit in the balcony, and frankly I can scalp 2 GA's for less than 1 of the $165 tickets.