How can I save money on concert tickets?
Why Concert Ticket Prices Are High and How You Can Work Around It
It is a fact that attending a concert can be very costly, especially today when the cost of tickets is rising each day. Especially if one has to attend a concert featuring a big name in the entertainment industry in a prominent venue, one might end up going over $100 for a ticket. And if you wish to have relatively good seats, then you are sure to find the prices soaring steeply from there. But I would also like to say that there are ways through which one can get discounted concert tickets and enjoy the performances of his/her favorite bands and artists. Here are some tips:
Sign Up for Presales
Almost all artists and show venues have presales before they go on sale to the public. Check with your favorite artist. Such presales usually involve passwords or codes before one can gain access to the tickets. Join the mailing list or the fan club of the group that you wish to watch. Pre-sale codes, when sent by artists in their emails, are usually first sent to the base fan audience. To look for the presale code, try to look into the band and venue’s Twitter and Facebook accounts. It is an advantage to be able to purchase the tickets before other people can, and you have the option of having the best seats.
Use pre-verified fan pre-sales.
While there were relatively few bands using “Preverified Fan” presales before, today it is quite common. This means that fans have to pre-sign up to get a code that enables them to access the pre-sale. The concept is to acquire tickets directly from genuine fans, with no bots or scalpers in the way. These presales also usually include certain restrictions on the number of available tickets. Signing up for a pre-verified fan presale is a little more complicated than just getting online and clicking a button, but it can pay off big with face-value tickets.
Check Venue Presales
There will also often be presales for all events that are planned to take place in a particular building that houses several venues. Visit the band’s official website or the venue’s website and join their mailing list, fan club, or whatever it may be to receive the presale code. A few also give season ticket members the option to buy tickets before the general public can do so. For those who have a favorite venue, it would be wise to consider season tickets, which will grant you presale codes for tickets and other benefits.
Use Presale Code Websites
There are some websites that collect and share pre-sale codes; some of these websites include Presale Password Info and Presale Codes. These sites are pretty helpful in finding passwords for various artist and venue presales. Nonetheless, while using it as a reference, it is important to note that the validity of all the posted codes cannot be ascertained. However, it is worth trying, as you might be a lucky recipient of a working presale code.
It is also very important to join the Artist and Venue Loyalty Programs.
Major concert venues and most of the live event companies, like LiveNation or AEG, let you sign up for free rewards programs. Some examples of ticketing brands include Live Nation’s TicketsNow Fan Club and AEG’s A-List. These programs entitle the members to buy presales for all events that are held at the participating venues. Likewise, artists who partnered with Live Nation under the Artist Nation program provided fan club members with presale tickets.
Shop Presales on Ticketmaster
Like most ticketing platforms, Ticketmaster also has presales that are well worth a look since the company is one of the biggest ticket sellers in the world. Their Platinum Seats presale doesn’t come with codes but grants you an exciting chance to buy excellent tickets before people even know they are on sale. Pre-sales are also available if you have an eligible American Express Card, which is an American Express card.
To stay updated with the latest from the bands, make sure to tap into the bands’ social media platforms.
Of all the approaches, the use of social media is the most convenient for both bands and venues to announce pre-sales. Make sure you are friending or following your favorite musicians and concert venues on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, as that is where some of the codes will be released. Some perform presales codes to help them announce that tickets are up for sale and turning on notifications on your phone will help you catch a glance of such codes at a particular day that the tickets are up for sale.
Use Presale Links
Another strategy is to locate and use artist and venue presales instead of waiting for a password to unlock the codes. These usually have separate presale web addresses and are launched several hours before the scheduled onsale. Some of these links should appear on the website of an artist or venue that sells the tickets, and these should be saved when the on-sale date is not yet fixed. Then, instead of running around looking for a password, just type in the presale page URL once presales have started!
Subscribing to newsletters that specialize in concert tickets is another way of keeping yourself updated.
Among the many Web 2.0 tools like the ones we have mentioned above, there are particular services such as Bandsintown that will monitor tour announcements by artists that you are a fan of. It is also possible to register for a newsletter with ticket distributors such as Ticketmaster, which will include artist presale information and ticket availability. These newsletters will notify you when your favorite artists go on tour and when tickets are being sold.
Check Groupon and LivingSocial
Surprisingly, sites that serve as discount vendors, such as Groupon and LivingSocial, can often provide some of the best rates for show tickets, including those featuring known performers and groups! This is more prevalent in some cities but is still worth visiting in the search for concert ticket deals in your vicinity. As long as you understand that there may be limitations placed on the use of the ticket when you purchase it at a lower price, then it should be fine.
This song is popular for its lyrics, “If you want to buy at the box office, don’t come to me.”
Although it is quite traditional, one could get the tickets directly from the venue box office and avoid extra charges from online ticketing services. This means that it is cheaper than ordering tickets over the phone or via the Internet, where they add on extra fees. You also stand to benefit from the fact that there are no shipping costs when ordering hard tickets. Tickets go on sale before the main event and the only way to get better seats is to be at the box office.
Take the General Admission or Lawn Seats
If you only wish to get inside the venue in order to watch a performance, then you can purchase lawn or general admission (GA) tickets, which will cost much less than reserved seats. Of course, you do not get assigned to a seat but GA or lawn tickets can help you watch a performance for much cheaper. This is because people would like to get to the venue early on the show day to ensure that they book the best places! This is a concert budget hack for festivals as well, which are pretty much GA access only.
See Also: Be flexible on the show date and or city
A concert’s price can depend on the day of the week, the city where the concert is to be held, and the particular time of the show. As many will agree, midweek shows are normally cheaper than shows conducted during the weekends. Pricing is normally low on days they consider to be no business days, such as Tuesday, Wednesday, and Sunday. In the same way, shows that are held in areas that are not characterized by large metropolis cities are relatively cheaper in most cases too. Try to tap into these less expensive date and location alternatives and slash costs.
Buy Just Before Showtime
While high, the price of unsold tickets drastically slashed in the few hours remaining before the intended period of the show. Other third-party re-sellers and even the official box office tend to cut deeply into prices just a few days before the show, which remains without spectators. Get yourself apps like Gametime or get into Last Minute Ticket Alerts on Ticketmaster. If you get tickets, then you are ready to buy them and move to the ground as early as possible. Some of these implications are, however, extremely beneficial, as they save a lot of cash.
Separate Your Accommodation and Tours Expenses With Friends
As if getting a fixed cost for seeing the concerts is not bad enough, travel and hotels push this even higher, especially for out-of-town concerts. Share costs with other fans who are also planning to travel to the respective place. Group travel packages for concerts or festivals can be planned on sites such as Groupize so that everyone gets to score cheap activities, hotels, and car rentals by making bulk purchases. File expense reports and cash with your group when you return home.
If the tickets look too expensive, remember that there are plenty of ways to avoid having concert sticker shock. Based on the above-discussed ideas, here are some ways to watch live shows while still saving money. Want to know how to get cheap concert tickets? Some of the possible strategies are presales, score deals, buying just before or on the day of the concert and so on.
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