There are a few key reasons why the queue on Ticketmaster seems to not be moving for highly coveted events or concerts:
High demand
For major concerts or sporting events, the demand for tickets is incredibly high. Thousands or even millions of fans may be trying to buy tickets at the same time. This creates a bottleneck effect where there are far more people trying to access tickets than there are tickets available. The massive influx of traffic overwhelms the Ticketmaster servers and queue system.
Bots and scalpers
Along with real fans, ticket scalpers and bots also overload the Ticketmaster queue system. Scalpers try to buy up as many tickets as possible to resell at a higher price. Bots automate the ticket buying process to try to cut in line and snap up tickets ahead of real fans in the queue. All of these bots and scalpers cramming the queue makes it appear to barely move for regular customers.
Queue placement uncertainty
Ticketmaster intentionally keeps queue placement uncertain to discourage bots and scalpers. It does this by randomizing queue placements instead of assigning a specific numbered position. However, this makes it seem like you’re not making any progress in the queue when in reality you are slowly moving up.
Intermittent queue position updates
For the same reason as above, Ticketmaster also only provides intermittent queue position updates instead of constant feedback. This is meant to foil scalpers but has the unintended consequence of making fans feel like they are stuck.
Long waits by design
The Ticketmaster queues are intentionally designed to have long waits to act as a deterrent against scalpers trying to overwhelm the system. The company knows real fans will wait through the frustrations of a stagnant queue while scalpers may eventually give up.
What are some tips to improve your Ticketmaster queue experience?
Use pre-sales when available
Many events will offer pre-sale windows for loyal fans ahead of the general public on-sale time. This spreads out demand over multiple queues and sale times instead of one massive rush.
Verify your Ticketmaster account
Having a verified Ticketmaster account with your info pre-loaded makes the checkout process faster if you do reach the front of the queue. You want to already be logged in and ready to go.
Use multiple devices
Have friends or family also join the Ticketmaster queue on different devices to increase your odds. Whoever gets through first can buy tickets for the whole group.
Persist and be patient
As frustrating as it seems, the best way to get through a Ticketmaster queue is to stick with it and not give up too soon. Persistence is usually rewarded over time.
Avoid last minute queues
If you log into the queue at the very last minute when tickets go on sale, you’ll likely have hundreds of thousands of people ahead of you. Join as early as possible.
What causes Ticketmaster outages and site issues?
There are a few primary technical factors that can cause Ticketmaster to crash or experience major site outages:
Traffic spike overload
As mentioned earlier, extremely high traffic for major events simply overloads Ticketmaster’s servers. Too many requests bombard the system and cause it to reach maximum capacity and crash.
Bot traffic flood
Bots trying to unfairly cut in line and grab tickets also contribute to massive spikes in traffic and system crashes. There may be millions of bot requests flooding Ticketmaster during a popular event on-sale.
Technical issues
Like any website, Ticketmaster could have backend technical problems with its servers, network infrastructure, or database technology. Complex systems like theirs are prone to technical glitches.
Cloud infrastructure failure
Ticketmaster relies on public cloud platforms like AWS to run its online operations. If there are any outages or service disruptions on those cloud providers, it would directly impact Ticketmaster too.
DDoS attacks
Malicious denial of service attacks could be launched on Ticketmaster to overwhelm its servers and take the site offline. However, this is a less common occurrence.
Factor | Description |
---|---|
Traffic spike overload | Too many requests bombarding servers |
Bot traffic flood | Bots trying to unfairly grab tickets |
Technical issues | Glitches with servers or infrastructure |
Cloud infrastructure failure | Outages from cloud providers like AWS |
DDoS attacks | Malicious denial of service attacks |
What are some alternative ticket sites besides Ticketmaster?
While Ticketmaster is the dominant ticketing site, especially for major concerts and shows, there are some alternatives fans can use:
StubHub
StubHub is a major secondary ticket marketplace where resellers can list ticket inventory. Prices are often above face value.
Vivid Seats
Similar to StubHub, Vivid Seats is another secondary ticket exchange with ticket listings above face value.
SeatGeek
SeatGeek is a search engine that compiles listings from primary and secondary ticket sites. It shows buyers different options in one place.
AXS
AXS is Ticketmaster’s main competitor owned by AEG. It sells primary tickets for concerts and shows run by AEG venues.
Altitude Tickets
Altitude Tickets sells primary tickets for select concerts, theaters, and festivals. Inventory is limited compared to Ticketmaster.
TickPick
TickPick is a secondary no-fee ticket marketplace where buyers won’t get hit with service charges like other reseller sites.
Gametime
Gametime specializes in last minute sports, concert, and theater tickets to help fill unsold inventories.
Site | Details |
---|---|
StubHub | Major secondary ticket marketplace |
Vivid Seats | Another large secondary ticket exchange |
SeatGeek | Search engine compiling listings |
AXS | Ticketmaster’s main competitor |
Altitude Tickets | Primary tickets for select events |
TickPick | Secondary no-fee ticket marketplace |
Gametime | Last minute tickets marketplace |
How has Ticketmaster responded to complaints about its service?
Ticketmaster has taken some measures to address ongoing customer complaints, criticism, and frustration with its services:
Queue system updates
They have tweaked their queuing systems over the years to try to reduce wait times and improve fan experiences. This includes things like Verified Fan queues.
Anti-bot efforts
Ticketmaster claims to be deploying the latest technology to identify bot traffic and keep it from cutting in line or gobbling up inventory.
Customer service staffing
During big on-sales, Ticketmaster tries to staff up their customer service operations to handle increased call, email, and social media volume.
Ticket limits
Some event tickets now have purchase quantity limits to try to reduce scalpers buying up inventory. However, this also impacts regular fans trying to buy extra tickets.
Primary-only sales
In limited cases, Ticketmaster has done ticket sales only available to the primary cardholder without allowing transfers. This prevents scalping those tickets.
Cancellation policies
They have eased some ticket cancellation and refund restrictions to allow fans more flexibility in unforeseen circumstances.
Response | Details |
---|---|
Queue system updates | Reduce wait times |
Anti-bot efforts | Limit bot ticket purchases |
Customer service staffing | More staff for increased demand |
Ticket limits | Per-person caps on purchases |
Primary-only sales | Restrict transfers to cut scalping |
Cancellation policies | More flexible refunds |
Ongoing criticism
However, many customers continue to be critical of Ticketmaster and feel their responses have not gone far enough. Common complaints include:
- High fees
- Difficulty getting tickets
- Technical issues
- Scalpers still dominating
- Poor customer service
So while Ticketmaster has made some attempts to modernize and improve, they still receive heavy criticism from fans who are dissatisfied with the ticket buying experience and see areas for continued improvement.
What are the technology and infrastructure requirements to handle massive demand?
To handle the huge spikes in traffic and demand during popular events, Ticketmaster requires robust technology and infrastructure capabilities:
Cloud hosting
Ticketmaster relies on public cloud platforms like AWS to dynamically scale capacity as needed. When demand surges they can rapidly deploy more cloud servers.
Load balancing
Load balancing distributes network traffic across multiple servers. This prevents any single server from being overwhelmed.
Caching
Caching frequently accessed data in memory speeds up page load times by avoiding slower database lookups for the same info.
CDN
A content delivery network (CDN) like Akamai or Cloudflare caches site content in data centers globally. This reduces latency and improves performance.
Microservices
Microservice architecture allows easier scaling of specific services rather than monolithic apps. Individual components can be scaled as needed.
Autoscaling
Autoscaling automatically launches additional cloud servers when certain demand thresholds are reached. This provides real-time capacity adjustments.
Queue management
Advanced queue management technology helps process huge volumes of queued users while minimizing wait times.
Security infrastructure
DDoS mitigation, bot detection, credential stuffing prevention, and other security measures are critical to combat attacks.
Conclusion
In summary, Ticketmaster’s queue and website struggles are largely driven by the enormity of demand for hot events, much of which now comes from bots and scalpers. While Ticketmaster has worked to improve its systems, many unhappy customers feel more could be done. Operating a reliable, high-volume ticketing site requires significant technology and infrastructure investments to handle the massive spikes in traffic.