The Chances of Seeing Your Favorite Artist

While snagging tickets to your favorite artist's concert might seem like a daunting task that involves long online queues, lots of devices and even roping in your family and friends, our latest research revealed some surprising trends about concert ticket availability in the US.

Would you believe us if we said that it was statistically easier to get your hands on two tickets to see Taylor Swift on the US leg of her world tour, than it was to get two tickets to see Nickelback? Well, believe it, because it’s true.

Half of all concert tickets make it to general sale

For music fans, understanding the real odds of getting concert tickets can often feel like decoding a mystery. Our research into the US legs of major tours and festivals sheds some light on this. We analysed a variety of aspects around some of the biggest tours in the US, such as how many locations an artist or band was performing in, the number of performances and venue capacities, as well as online demand during the peak sales period, all of which helped to provide a clear picture of which fanbases face the stiffest competition for getting their hands on concert tickets.

Once we had all of that data, we then found out that, on average, just 46% of concert tickets make it to general sale (sometimes as little as 10% of tickets make it to general sale!). You might wonder how that’s possible, but artist promoters typically hold back the majority of tickets for industry insiders and presale programs.

A 50/50 chance of getting Taylor Swift tickets, but less than a 1 in 5 chance for Nickelback tickets

You read that right. According to our research, these are the five easiest concerts to get tickets to within the US:

1. Nickelback, Get Rollin’ World Tour – 17.63%
2. Taylor Swift, Eras Tour – 51.30%
3. Beyoncé, Renaissance – 67.03%
4. Drake, Big As The What? – 99.56%
5. Bruce Springsteen, Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band World Tour – 103.74%

As we said, while this looks at how many venues and performances a singer or band does, multiplied by the venue capacity (estimating how many tickets are going on sale), we also looked at the online search demand for getting two tickets and based this on less than half of all available tickets making it to general sale.

Fancy Fancy Foo Fighters tickets? No problem!

In comparison, the Foo Fighters topped the list for the easiest concert to get two tickets for, with a staggering 1,795.83% chance of securing tickets for their 'Everything or Nothing At All' tour.

1. Foo Fighters, Everything or Nothing At All - 1,795.83%
2. Madonna, Celebration Tour – 647.18%
3. Coldplay, Music of the Spheres – 481.99%
4. Tenacious D, Spicy Meatball Tour – 280.11%
5. Pink, Summer Carnival – 258.47%

Festival tickets have better odds than you might expect

US festival lovers also had favourable odds, with a 239.58% chance of securing two tickets to the renowned Coachella festival which just recently took place in Indio.

Ultra Music Festival, which also took place earlier this year, had a 632.50% chance of fans getting their hands on two tickets, while Burning Man, which is set to take place later year this (August 25th to September 2nd) has the best odds for festival fans (643.18%).

What drives ticket availability?

The number of venues and nights each artist or bands performs plays a crucial role in ticket availability. For example, Taylor Swift was set to perform across 59 nights, within 22 venues, accounting for roughly 4.1 million tickets available to the US leg of the Eras Tours (although it’s estimated just 1.89 million tickets made it to general sale).

In contrast, artists with fewer dates and venues, like Nickelback on their Get Rollin’ World Tour (performing over two nights in just two venues), had far fewer tickets available, therefore reducing the chances of fans being able to get two tickets. We estimated that there were roughly 92,000 tickets available across the two performances, with just 42,000 making it to general sale.

Insights for concertgoers

For fans, this data highlights the importance of being quick on the draw for artists with fewer shows, but also reassures music lovers and concert goers that tickets for some high-profile tours and festivals might not be as hard to come by as they might initially think.

Here are a few strategies fans can you to increase their chances of attending their favourite concerts:

1. Sign up for presale: Stay closely updated with your favourite artists as they often provide methods for fans to sign up for presale tickets. By registering for these presales, you can access tickets before they become available to the general public, enhancing your chances of securing a seat at the concert. Even if you don’t follow the artist themselves, brands like American Express and CITI Financial often have access to presales, so if you’re a customer make sure to take advantage of the perks available to you.

2. Use Multiple devices: When tickets for a popular concert are expected to sell out fast, it’s a good idea to use multiple devices to grab tickets. Being able to have multiple apps open gives you better odds and getting them. Often you can’t log in to multiple devices with the same account, so you may need to rope in your family, friends and even your colleagues.

3. Choose less popular dates and venues: Choosing concert dates and venues that are less sought after by the public can be a good idea. Not only are tickets for these shows typically easier to obtain, but you might also find yourself with better seats!

4. Don’t be afraid to travel: It goes without saying that some states are more populated than others, so consider travelling to a different state and make a break of it. Book a hotel, see the sights, enjoy the culture and squeeze in a concert all at the same time. It’s a win-win.