Unfolding the drama around concerts and music festivals lately
Written by Hani Fauzia Ramadhani | Read in Indonesian
Concerts and festivals have become a hot topic among young people, both in Indonesia and abroad, these days. This is because musicians and event organisers who had been on an extended hiatus since the pandemic have started organising various events for the public, who have been thirsty for entertainment.
However, it turns out that organising and attending concerts or festivals is more complex than it sounds. There are so many dramas that can make people lose their minds or even money.
The fierce ticket war
Along with technological developments, the process of selling and buying tickets has indeed become more sophisticated. There is no need for us to line up in front of Ibu Dibyo's house, a legendary figure who in her time served ticket sales for various events in Indonesia. Unfortunately, the sophistication of the online buying and selling system does not mean that the process of actually getting the desired tickets is any easier.
The term "ticket war" is used to describe the struggle to buy tickets to the desired concert or festival. With high public interest in attending various shows, plus everyone's desire to get the best price in the pre-sale or early bird phase, event organisers usually manage ticket sales through an online platform that automatically regulates virtual queue flow with a first-come-first-served system.
In order to win this war, many people are willing to stand by in front of their laptops for hours before the sale starts, even moving locations to find a fast connection to support the smooth check-out process.
The latest ticket war hit the country for the March 2023 BLACKPINK concert, which will be held at the Gelora Bung Karno stadium. Social media was filled with various emotions; some netizens are delighted since they managed to secure tickets, some are disappointed for not getting tickets, and there are those who focus on cursing the opportunists who bought the tickets and resell them at unrealistic prices, reaching tens of millions of rupiahs. It is infuriating when in reality, the official price ranges from Rp1,350,000 to Rp3,800,000.
Maria Elisa, a media worker, is one of the BLACKPINK ticket hunters who was lucky enough to get the VIP ticket she wanted. Maria said that in order to get the ticket, she implemented several strategies. First, carefully read the T&C on the ticketing platform. Second, Maria made sure she had created an account on the ticketing platform and filled in all personal data, including payment information.
"Third, and this is essential, find out on the ticketing platform how long the maximum payment limit is. For example, ‘10 minutes’ means we should refresh the page every 10 minutes, because surely someone would somehow cancel their payment. Therein lies our chance. So even if you see the 'sold out' text popping up, don't give up and keep pressing refresh!” she explained.
For Maria, the BLACKPINK ticket war experience was not even the most brutal. "It was a lot more tense when buying tickets for IU because it was IU's first concert in Indonesia and was held in a smaller venue," she said.
Ticketing platform monopoly
The tension of ticket war is not only felt by Blinks in Indonesia, but also Swifties in America. Pre-sale tickets for Taylor Swift's “The Eras Tour”, which went on sale starting 15 November, sparked mass outrage. Ticketmaster, the ticket platform, became a trending topic on Twitter since many Swifties failed to get tickets due to technical problems on their page.
The ticket prices on the platform are also crazy, making many reluctant to buy even though they have entered the queue after hours of waiting. On the same day, Ticketmaster released an official statement saying that millions of people accessed its platform to buy Taylor Swift concert tickets and this was an unprecedented historical moment. Sales for the public (not pre-sale) were postponed because the system and ticket availability needed to be adjusted first.
This incident stirred up negative public sentiment towards Ticketmaster, which has long been an enemy of many for its monopoly in the industry. Music researcher and musician Aris Setyawan told TFR that the fight against Ticketmaster could be traced back to decades ago.
“In 1995, American rock band Pearl Jam tried to sue Ticketmaster because they felt the platform was overcharging its users for the tickets. They felt sorry for their fans who have to spend a lot of money to attend the concert. Sadly, in the end Pearl Jam lost in court, and Ticketmaster even boycotted the band," said Aris.
Despite failing, at least the Pearl Jam case shows that musicians – or their fans – have the power to fight the monopoly by Ticketmaster.
In addition to monopoly practices, Ticketmaster also implements dynamic pricing where the algorithm and demand fluctuations determine the ticket price. "Even Mark Hoppus, Blink-182's bassist and vocalist, admitted that he tried to buy tickets for his own show and was shocked by the amount of money he had to pay," Aris explained. Mark even failed to buy tickets because time ran out before he finished his transaction.
Shortly after Blink-182 announced Tom DeLonge's return and released their tour schedule, lots of memes flooded the Internet. People poked fun at the ticket price. There were anecdotes about millennials’ internal battle between buying Blink-182 tickets for hundreds of dollars or paying mortgage, and someone came up with an idea of dressing up as Blink-182 on Halloween since their ticket prices are terrifying.
Aris added that several politicians in the United States have spoken out about this. “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Republican congresswoman, suggested that it was time for Ticketmaster to be divided into smaller companies so that their monopoly could disappear, and I agree. In addition, musicians must have a strong awareness that concert tickets that are too expensive are not healthy for the music industry itself. If ticket prices go up too high, who wants to buy concert tickets anymore?” Aris explained.
He said that once musicians have this awareness, they must pass it on to their fans. He argues that fans also have the power to prevent monopoly. He added, “Fans must be able to think clearly and not be blindsided when buying concert tickets. Thus, ticketing platforms will think twice if they want to sell concert tickets at unreasonable prices."
The emergence of amateur EOs
Talking about problematic behaviour, it is not only ticket platforms and opportunistic individuals who are to blame. There are also many event organisers (EOs) who are not doing a satisfactory job in managing events. In the US, there is the When We Were Young Festival with an impressive lineup of popular pop-punk bands, from Paramore and The All American Rejects to My Chemical Romance. This festival got a lot of negative comments for its lack of preparation and disappointing execution.
Similar cases are rampant in Indonesia. "Until November this year, there were at least 40 music festivals in Indonesia and not all of them were successful. Well-established and experienced festivals such as Synchronize Fest and Rock In Solo ran smoothly without significant obstacles. But there are also many music festivals that failed because of amateur event organisers. One of them is the Fosfen Festival in Bandung," Aris explained.
Before the Fosfen Festival, there was Festival Berdendang Bergoyang which was forcibly disbanded by the police because the number of tickets sold doubled the venue capacity. The negative impacts of EOs’ incompetence are quite fatal; the authorities are now tightening the permits for organising music events.
Cited from Tempo.co, the Indonesian Music Promoters Association (APMI) has received many complaints about how concerts and festivals are struggling to obtain permits since the Festival Berdendang Bergoyang incident. The APMI found that there are new regulations enforced on event organisers, including a ban on concerts after 18:00, which makes no sense. The APMI also stated that it would consolidate with various parties to formulate a standard operating procedure for concerts and music festivals so that they can be held safely and smoothly, which would support the healthy growth of the industry.
Well, with so many upcoming concerts and festivals at the end of this year and early next year, hopefully those problems won't end people’s dreams to see their idols live! ***
