Ticketmaster is one of the largest ticket sellers for live events like concerts, sports games, and theater shows. When there is a high-demand event going on sale, Ticketmaster uses an online queue system to control access to tickets and prevent their website from crashing due to too much traffic. However, these queues often move very slowly, with wait times frequently stretching into hours before customers can buy tickets. There are several key reasons why Ticketmaster’s queues seem to take so long.
High demand for limited tickets
The main reason Ticketmaster queues move slowly is simply the huge demand for tickets relative to the limited supply. For very popular artists or big games, there might be hundreds of thousands of fans all trying to buy just a few thousand tickets. With such an imbalance between demand and supply, most people will inevitably be stuck waiting in the virtual line for a long time as the limited quantity sells out.
For example, when tickets went on sale for Taylor Swift’s upcoming tour, over 3.5 million fans registered for the Ticketmaster Verified Fan pre-sale. However, most arena venues Swift is playing at only hold 15,000-20,000 people. So there was massive competition for a very limited number of seats, which translated to queues that took hours to get through.
Bots and scalpers inflating demand
The problem of high demand is further exacerbated by bots and scalpers trying to buy up large quantities of tickets. They will use sophisticated bots that automatically enter the queue and purchase tickets faster than any regular fan could. Some large scalper operations will have hundreds or thousands of bots trying to buy tickets, meaning they take up a disproportionate number of the available seats.
Ticketmaster does try to fight bots and scalpers with measures like CAPTCHAs and limiting the number of tickets each person can buy. But many scalpers still find ways around these restrictions. The bots essentially inflate the already massive demand, forcing regular fans to wait longer in queues since more tickets are being snapped up before they have a chance.
Verification requirements
In order to try to get tickets to real fans rather than scalpers and bots, Ticketmaster has implemented a Verified Fan program for high-demand events. This requires customers to register ahead of time and get a unique code to access the ticket sale. The code is supposed to prove you are a genuine fan and not a bot.
However, this extra identity verification step also adds time to the queue process. Fans must wait to get approved for a code, then enter the code when the virtual waiting room launches, before finally reaching the front and buying tickets. All these steps inevitably extend the total queue time.
Staggered ticket releases
Another tactic Ticketmaster uses to handle high demand is staggering when certain tickets get released. For example, they might open up seats for fan club members or credit card holders a day before the general public on-sale. This helps avoid all the demand crashing the website at once.
But it also means if you are waiting for the general on-sale, the queue takes longer because some tickets have already been sold. You might be 200,000th in line when the queue opens, instead of 50,000th if it was just one big sale, adding more wait time.
Slow page loading and ticket selection
After finally reaching the front of the queue, there can still be frustrating delays and waits to actually select and purchase tickets. With millions of people bombarding the website at once, pages are often slow to load. Fans frequently encounter lagging screens, error messages, or needing to refresh and re-enter queue positions.
The ticket purchasing process itself also takes time for each user. After already waiting for hours, fans are faced with picking specific seats from a map view and entering payment and shipping info. Since the best tickets sell out quickly, you cannot take too long to make your selections. But you also do not want to rush and make a mistake that could cost you tickets entirely.
Lack of ticket purchase guarantees
Unlike some other virtual queue systems, Ticketmaster does not guarantee users at the front of the line will get a chance to buy tickets. Your queue position essentially gets you access to whatever tickets remain by the time you reach the front. If a show is very small or popular, it could sell out entirely before you ever get through.
So even after waiting 3+ hours, some unlucky fans will get nothing. Worse, you have no way of knowing if tickets are left until fully going through the queue. Not getting the lock on tickets they waited for leaves many people frustrated with the lengthy queues.
Deliberate slowing of queues
There is also some speculation that Ticketmaster intentionally slows queue movement to build up anticipation and tension around buying tickets. Releasing tickets gradually in small batches could help create a fear of missing out that pressures people into purchases. Slower queues also discourage scalpers using bots from rapidly gobbling up tickets.
However, there is no hard evidence Ticketmaster purposefully throttles queue speed beyond what is needed to maintain website stability. The company claims queues move at the maximum safe pace based on demand, and slowing them further would simply frustrate real fans.
High web traffic crashing servers
During major on-sales, Ticketmaster will see millions of fans flooding their website all at once. This extremely high traffic volume can sometimes literally crash their servers. When the servers go down, no one can progress further in the queue until functionality is restored.
Ticketmaster has put significant work into upgrading its website infrastructure to handle bigger crowds. But server overload can still occasionally occur, grinding queues to a halt for extended periods. Mass excitement over a new Beyonce tour announcement, for example, might briefly break the waiting room altogether.
Lack of queue information
One of the most frustrating parts of Ticketmaster queues for customers is the lack of transparency around wait times or queue progress. All you see is a spinning loader graphic and a message to “please wait.” There is no exposed queue position number, estimated time left, or any indicators you are getting closer to the front.
This uncertainty makes queues feel longer, as fans anxiously wonder if it is bugged or if they will ever reach the end. Even a simple progress bar or queue number would provide some reassurance and patience. Ticketmaster has kept the queue experience opaque on purpose to some extent, but it leads to anxiety.
Bugs and technical errors
With millions of simultaneous users, it is inevitable that some people will encounter technical bugs or glitches along the way. Bugs could include:
- Queue freezing and losing your place
- Pages not loading properly
- Errors adding tickets to your cart
- Getting kicked out of the queue abruptly
Most of these are not due to anything on the user end but rather overwhelmed Ticketmaster servers. But they still result in fans needing to rejoin queues from the back. The more errors you hit, the longer your total wait becomes. Even a small hangup like a CAPTCHA refresh can lose your spot.
Difficulty securing fan verification
As mentioned earlier, Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan program adds time to the ticket buying process. You must register ahead of on-sales and be approved for a code. However, for very popular events, Ticketmaster may not be able approve everyone interested.
If you do not get approved as a Verified Fan initially, you may need to re-apply multiple times or reach out to customer support. Chasing down an approval code can take a great deal of extra time and effort prior to queues even opening up. And if you cannot get verified in time, you cannot buy tickets at all.
Table of Main Reasons Ticketmaster Queues Are Slow
Reason | Description |
---|---|
High demand vs low supply | Massive fan demand for very limited event tickets |
Bots/scalpers inflating demand | Large scale bots and resellers taking up more tickets |
Verification requirements | Steps like Verified Fan code slow process |
Staggered ticket releases | Tickets open in waves for different groups |
Slow page loading | High traffic crashes site and delays loading |
No purchase guarantees | Reaching front doesn’t guarantee tickets left |
Deliberate slowing | Queue speed throttled to increase sales pressure |
Server crashes | Traffic overload crashing Ticketmaster servers |
Lack of progress info | No queue position or time estimate provided |
Technical errors | Bugs, glitches force rejoining queues |
Fan verification issues | Difficulties getting approved code in time |
Solutions and improvements
Ticketmaster has certainly tried different strategies over the years to improve queue wait times. But fans continue to be frustrated with seemingly endless waits and lack of transparency. Here are some potential solutions Ticketmaster could implement:
- Increase capacity limits – Allow more fans into the virtual venue to reduce competition
- Tighter bot prevention – Ramp up bot blocking efforts like CAPTCHAs and blacklisting
- Simplified purchases – Streamline selection and payment steps to move fans through checkout faster
- More rapid server scaling – Use cloud infrastructure to allocate more capacity dynamically in peak traffic
- Progress indicators – Show queue number or estimated wait so fans know if they are advancing
- Reserved ticket pools – Set aside a percentage of tickets for Verified Fan groups to guarantee some inventory
- Staggered inventory release – List certain high-demand ticket batches at different scheduled times to spread traffic spike
- Fast pass options – Provide higher tiered products like “Fast Lane” for a fee to skip some queues
- Minimize errors – Improve QA testing and fix bugs that tend to boot people from queues
Ticketmaster is clearly aware of customer frustrations around queues and has tried enhancing communication around known delays. But technical realities of managing live event ticketing at massive scale makes eliminating queues entirely quite difficult.
Conclusion
In summary, Ticketmaster’s queues move slowly due to surges in traffic beyond current website capacity, technical hiccups under load, extra steps to deter scalpers, intentionally slowed queues to increase sales pressure, and lack of transparency for customers. While queues can certainly test fans’ patience, they do ultimately aim to provide the fairest and most reliable system for buying highly coveted tickets.
Implementing solutions like better queue tracking, increased server capacity, and simplified purchasing could help improve the situation. However, as long as demand continues to vastly eclipse supply for major live events, most fans will need to accept that waiting in some kind of line remains an inevitable part of vying to see your favorite music, sports and entertainment live.