There are few things more stressful than the dreaded Ticketmaster pre-sale queue. True music fans know well in advance when it’s happening. We’ve been waiting, cherished passwords in hand, for that special moment. We log in, one of hundreds or even thousands in a virtual lineup snaking through the interwebs. We hit the sale site, and we see it. The astronomical ticket prices, thanks to Ticketmaster’s very awful dynamic pricing.
This pricing system might have a place in lopping the heads off of the scurrying rats of the resale ticket racket. But when it comes to big shows with the most popular artists in the world, it is a nightmare.
We might despise Ticketmaster for its dynamic pricing that hits true music fans hardest. But you know what? There is more than enough shade to be thrown at the artists as well. Our beloved bands and singers have the option of opting out of this severe pricing option. Just ask the Cure’s Robert Smith who opted out of the pricing option when he played in Toronto and elsewhere.
One of the biggest artists on the biggest tour of all time, Taylor Swift, could have made even more money if she implemented dynamic pricing. But she also would have made it really hard for her real fans. So she said no, and everyone had a fair chance to nab the golden Eras ticket.
You could do more than what you / the team are doing. Not adapting prices of additionally dropped tickets on Ticketmaster to scalpers’ prices (821.40 in Toronto, what?), changing the settings on Ticketmaster like Oasis did & keeping your Facebook/Insta/Tiktok clean from scalpers. pic.twitter.com/5D8xPEEEfS
— achanqaray (@achanqaray87) June 28, 2025
Did Coldplay, one of the world’s biggest bands, opt out of dynamic pricing when they played four sold-out shows at the massive Rogers Stadium last month? Heck no.
There was no ticket price range offered, there was just a lineup of fans who had to cringe and bear the incredible weight of skyrocketing prices because they love the band and wanted to be sure they got tickets.
While the coddled Coldplay crooner was dissing the new stadium in Downsview Park, he was also pocketing astronomical sums on the backs of his true fans. Way to go Chris. At least Oasis, the next big band to play Rogers Stadium, realized the issues with dynamic pricing and dropped it for their North American tour.
“When unprecedented ticket demand (where the entire tour could be sold many times over at the moment tickets go on sale) is combined with technology that cannot cope with that demand, [dynamic pricing] becomes less effective and can lead to an unacceptable experience for fans,” the band wrote in a statement. Good lads.
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So sure, let Ticketmaster know dynamic pricing is bad for real music fans and needs a rethink but also demand your favourite artists just say no.
Ron Johnson is the editorial director of Post City Magazines and is still sore about David Byrne tickets.
