- Olivia Rodrigo fans were met with "technical difficulties" on the Ticketmaster website.
- Disgruntled fans shared their experiences being unable to log on to the site or stuck in queues behind thousands of people.
- Rodrigo's 'Sour' tour went on sale Friday for users with "Verified Fan" access.
It's brutal out here for Olivia Rodrigo fans.
After tickets for the singer's "Sour" tour went on sale Friday morning, fans were met with messages of "technical difficulties" on the Ticketmaster website, which many assumed was a result of overwhelming demand. While some were able to bypass the outages and get into a waiting room to purchase tickets, several were relegated behind queues of thousands of people and ultimately left empty-handed.
Rodrigo, who has exploded to global stardom since the popularity of her hit single "Drivers License," first announced her much-anticipated 2022 tour in early December. The tour will take her to 41 cities across the US, Canada, and Europe.
A majority of these venues include ballrooms and theaters that are smaller in scale than most fans anticipated, increasing competition for a limited pool of tickets. In North America, fans could sign up for "Verified Fan" registration on Ticketmaster that would allow them to participate in a lottery to purchase tickets.
The feature was created by Ticketmaster in 2020 in an effort "more tickets into the hands of fans fairly, at the prices set by the artists, teams, or event organizers." While Ticketmaster states on its website that the feature does not guarantee entrance to a show, the aim is to "level the playing field so that more tickets go to fans who intend to go to the show — and not to ticket bots."
However, even those who were able to secure verified fan codes on Thursday were unable to access the site, or were otherwise stuck to lengthy lines to make a purchase.
Insider was among the legions of users unable to sign in to the Ticketmaster site, where we were met with a message apologizing for the "interruption."
"We are currently experiencing technical difficulties and our team is working to resolve this as soon as possible," a homepage message read. "We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience. Please check back soon to continue."
On Twitter, many disgruntled fans aired their frustrations with the ticket marketplace, claiming that the verified fan feature had failed by letting scalpers in to immediately snatch up the tickets and resell them at a huge markup.
In screenshots shared on the platform, users claimed general admission seats are now selling for more than $1,500. Under Ticketmaster's "Official Platinum" service, the price of remaining seats are adjusted according to demand.
Ticketmaster did not immediately respond to Insider's request to comment on the technical difficulties.