A scalper is trying to get $18,093 for a single Coldplay ticket.
Re-sale records are being broken over this one.
It’s true.
I’m not making this up.
Normally, I’d tease this out, build things up to a big reveal.
I’d show you ticket prices increasing in incremental amounts until we get to an unfathomable number, one that makes you spit coffee all over your screen.
Not today.
The numbers are just too massive.
This is too gross, too blatantly repulsive, just too damned slimy, to muck around with any of that today.
So take a look at this and then we can discuss it…
That right there is a scalper attempting to get $18,093 for a single Coldplay ticket to one of the band’s three Eden Park shows planned for next year.
It gets worse.
These tickets, which I found on Viagogo, come in pairs.
If you want them, you have to buy two of them. At that price, they’d end up costing you $36,186 – and probably a hefty whack of service and booking fees on top of that.
Sigh.
The grifting never stops, especially when we’re talking about Viagogo.
I’ve covered this company often, from finding out how scalpers are faking tickets to make money, to straight up warning people to stop using them.
I covered them so much their PR boss gave me a call from the UK late one night.
It was sadly all off the record, but he attempted to tell me, in increasingly complex language, how legit Viagogo really is.
I laughed long and hard after that phone call.
A reminder: Viagogo is a ticket reselling site with few scruples. Tickets are often sold at huge mark-ups. Most of those tickets are being scalped. It’s alleged that sometimes the tickets being sold don’t exist at all. (My deep dive on this can be found here.)
Some people who use the site don’t end up with any tickets.
It’s not just me saying that. Earlier this year, Auckland’s High Court heard how up to 90% of tickets sold through Viagogo were from scalpers.
That court case resulted in Viagogo making concessions, including removing phrases like, “All tickets 100% guaranteed!,” or, “100% guaranteed,” from its marketing.
But it hasn’t stopped the blatant scalping that’s allowed to happen on the site.
So, here we are in early December, with two Coldplay tickets being scalped for $36,186 (+fees) – and whoever buys them could end up with nothing.
I’m going to point out a few obvious things at this point.
Coldplay is not selling tickets to its New Zealand tour – that’s November 13, 15 and 16 at Eden Park next year – for anywhere near that price.
The most expensive official Coldplay ticket I can find is around $250 (not including VIP and in-demand packages).
If this particular scalper does have tickets, it’s likely that what they’ve paid for these tickets is around that mark.
That means they’re attempting to mark up the price of those tickets on Viagogo by more than 7000%.
They’re not the only ones doing this. There are other tickets available on Viagogo at astronomical prices.
And so, a plea.
Please don’t buy your concert tickets from Viagogo.
Especially at that price.
Tickets for all three of Coldplay’s Eden Park shows are still available (Ticketmaster reports “low availability” but I found in-demand tickets available for each show at the $600 mark).
At $36,186, you could buy yourself a pair of those official tickets and have enough money left over for a very nice car.
Save yourself the stress.
Save yourself the worry.
Please. Don’t. Use. Viagogo.
(And please don’t make me write this story again.)
The week ahead….
“Face-warping” is how the New York Times ($) describes Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé, the movie experience based on the megastar’s globe-trotting (but not New Zealand) tour. So I guess it’s pretty good then? It’s in select cinemas now and judging by reviews like that, you should totally go. The trailer’s here.
We had a couple of great concert announcements last week: TLC, Busta Rhymes and En Vogue join forces at Trusts Arena on February 24 (Stuff has an interview with Chilli about it) with tickets on sale on Thursday; while Souled Out brings Summer Walker, Tinashe and Bryson Tiller to the same venue on March 28. First release tickets are sold out, second release are available now.
Album of the year lists are beginning to drop en masse, and there’s already a clear frontrunner. It’s SZA, but her album, SOS, came out in December 2022. Does it count? Does it matter? She’s number one with both Rolling Stone and NYT.
If you’re still wondering which music festivals to attend this summer, I’ve updated my list with the latest additions and we’re nearly at a mind-blowing number: 90. Yes, we have nearly 90 music festivals happening between now and March. Good luck choosing: my head hurts just reading them all let alone picking some to go to.
Finally, it’s another big December week for shows: L7 play The Powerstation on Wednesday; Royal Blood are at Spark Arena on Thursday; Earthgang play at Neck of the Woods the same night; and Blindspott are at the Powerstation on Friday, the same night Erny Belle celebrates her new album at the Wintergarden.
Thanks to everyone who has signed up in recent weeks. The numbers are kind of staggering! It’s been a great way to end what’s been a pretty tough year for me, so I appreciate the support. I’d love to keep this going next year, so please consider upgrading your subscription: the more that do, the more I can do.
And the legendary Donny Benet is playing Tuning Fork on Sunday!