Ticketmaster hopes to block Olivia Rodrigo’s scalpers with 72-hour rule

Amid the anticipated chaos of sales for Olivia Rodrigo’s “Guts” tour, there’s an unusual caveat: In an effort to crack down on scalpers, purchased tickets will only be released 72 hours before the show, regardless of when they were purchased. – and they will be available only in electronic form.

In a statement, Ticketmaster told Good Morning America: “Artists routinely use delivery delays to ensure sales are thoroughly vetted and ensure that all ticket buyers comply with ticket sales restrictions and conditions.” This decision was made by tour operators as an “additional level of protection.”

While the 72-hour rule seems new to many, the source says it has been used in the past, notably for tours by Ed Sheeran, Jack Harlow and Doja Cat. However, it is unclear how this move will solve the problem of scalping, since secondary sites often sell “speculative” tickets (something Live Nation is trying to combat with the FAIR Ticketing Act), not to mention the fact that it could lead to a chaotic stampede in the market . on the secondary market after the three-day limit has expired. Although 20 more dates have been added to the tour, all available dates have already sold out.

Ticketmaster’s FAQ page says nothing about ticket resale price limits:

“How can I sell tickets?

“If something happens and you can’t make it to the show, don’t let your Olivia Rodrigo tickets go to waste – sell them to another fan on Ticketmaster. It’s simple:

Click the Sell button next to your event in My Account.

Set your price

Receive guaranteed payment for tickets sold and never have to deal with delivery

“And feel good knowing that your customer doesn’t have to worry about using their own verified Ticketmaster tickets.”

Representatives for Rodrigo and Ticketmaster did not immediately respond to Diversity’Requests for additional comments.

The move is the ticketing giant’s latest attempt to combat the predatory secondary market. It comes after the huge problems fans faced when trying to buy tickets for Taylor Swift’s Eras tour last fall, when servers crashed and fans waited for hours online, often to no avail. Tickets on the secondary market reached five figures, and the uproar was so loud that Ticketmaster CFO Joe Berthold, the parent company of Live Nation, was summoned to Congress.

Although he and the company largely blamed the problems on bots, the company launched a month-long rolling sales rollout for Beyoncé’s next major tour, “Renaissance.” Although this procedure was not perfect, there were far fewer complaints. (Or at least less loud.)

The Guts Tour kicks off at Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs, California. February 23 next year.