Country music sensation Zach Bryan sold out the ‘Burn, Burn, Burn’ tour Thursday despite not posting any tickets on Ticketmaster or other reselling sites.
Bryan partnered with AXS events to promote and sell the tickets privately on its platform. Fans were instructed to sign up for a verified presale lottery for a chance to buy tickets. AXS would then verify that all those who registered were not bots to prevent scalping. Fans with a unique access code and link were then granted access to purchase tickets.
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 24: Amy Edwards and Parker Harrison demonstrate against the live entertainment ticket industry outside the U.S. Capitol January 24, 2023 in Washington, DC. The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing this morning to explore whether the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster has stifled competition and harmed the consumer marketplace. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Ticketmaster has faced heavy scrutiny after tour announcements from Taylor Swift and Morgan Wallen. Swift and Wallen fans faced staggering prices due to the company’s “dynamic pricing system” that increases the cost of a ticket as demand and interest grow. Across various second hand ticket sites, such as StubHub and VividSeats, fans faced similarly expensive prices and processing fees.
Bryan echoed his original tour announcement in a Instagram post, saying that there will be no tickets on second hand websites to prevent scalpers and fans from getting scammed. He also said that no tickets for his tour were “sold for more than $156 including taxes and fees.” To deter scalpers, all the tickets sold were made non-transferable so that they can’t be shared and sent back and forth between scalpers and fans.
Bryan released the album “All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster, (Live From Red Rocks)” in December. He followed its released with a tour announcement that coincided with Ticketmaster’s hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Members of the subcommittee grilled top executives about possibility of a monopoly and if the consumer truly has enough options in the current market place. At the time of the hearings, Ticketmaster controlled 70% of the market with their nearest competitor, SeatGeek, in control of only 12% according to Front Office Sports. (RELATED: Tennessee AG Investigating Ticketmaster After Taylor Swift Presale Chaos)
Following a backlash on social media from Bryan fans who couldn’t purchase tickets, the tour added extra shows in Philadelphia, New York, Tulsa and Duluth.