Zach, What Happened To All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster?
Zach Bryan has quickly stolen the hearts of many in the country music world. His single “Something in the Orange” launched him into the spotlight in 2022. Since then, his rise to fame has not ceased.
Bryan’s 2023 tour “Burn, Burn, Burn” was nothing short of a hit, selling out 28 venues. His latest album, self-titled Zach Bryan, was released in late August, with all songs on the track making Spotify’s top 20. “I Remember Everything,” a track from the album, landed number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained there for an entire span of two weeks. Days after the release of his newest album, Bryan announced his first stadium tour, “Quittin’ Time,” set to take place in 2024.
Now, let’s backtrack. Before the opening of ticket sales for the “Burn, Burn, Burn” tour, Bryan made a promise to his fans that many artists haven’t ventured to do: to keep concert ticket prices low.
Image Courtesy: Instagram (@zachlanebryan)
“I have met kids at my shows who have paid upwards of four hundred bucks to be there, and I’m done with it,” Bryan said in his 2022 Instagram post. Bryan went as far as to drop an album titled All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster (Live from Red Rocks), further shading the music industry’s extreme concert ticket prices, specifically the world’s largest ticket-selling marketplace, Ticketmaster.
Fans were refreshed to finally have an artist vouching for the working class, and Bryan kept his word to keep the “Burn, Burn, Burn” tour prices low. But when they hopped on his site to purchase presale tickets to his 2024 “Quittin’ Time” tour, many were left broke and confused.
To start, the presale link took you directly to a site none other than… Ticketmaster? What the hell, Zach? I thought we hated them! But it didn’t stop there. The first couple thousand fans to make it on the site found somewhat reasonably priced tickets. However, 30 minutes into the presale, it turned into what could best be described as a civil war between Zach Bryan fans. Tickets disappeared left and right, and the message, “Sorry! Another fan beat you to these tickets!” became your worst nightmare. Prices increased by the minute as seats were filled, leaving fans with a sh*tty decision: over-priced (but affordable) nosebleeds or break the bank? Tickets that were selling for around $95 at the beginning of presale were quickly selling for $300+, some tickets even in the $500-$1,000 range.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I love Zach Bryan, and like many other fans, I was willing to nearly empty my pockets (and I did). But this does not justify the outrageous concert ticket price crisis, the very one Bryan was (just a year ago) fighting against. It poses the question: what changed?
Zach Bryan fans are not the only ones upset. Concert tickets to artists such as Drake, Beyoncé, Morgan Wallen, and especially Taylor Swift easily dipped into the thousands, with some Swifties paying up to five figures to see her live.
The blame is divided among venues, promoters, ticket resellers, and sometimes the artists directly. A large portion of it is blamed on ticket-selling companies like Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster has become such a large player in the ticket-selling game because there are no other ticket-selling companies that have the technology and money to sell tickets for high-demand events the way they do, allowing them to completely corner the market.
It’s a complicated system, so let's break it down: promoters pay artists a set amount. Top artists in the industry have the ability to make decisions about ticket prices with promoters, while smaller acts do not. Venues and promoters work together to negotiate ticket prices. Venues earn money from promoters, and the promoters are paid through ticket sales. Ticket-selling companies consult with venues. These ticket-selling companies make their money through ticket sales and service fees, which can be up to 30% added to the initial ticket cost.
Basically, artists don’t have as much control over the price of tickets as most think. Once these artists’ tickets become in high demand, it’s nearly impossible to control.
So, although Zach Bryan made and fulfilled his promise during his first tour, keeping his promise now is simply not feasible due to his sky-rocketing popularity. Many fans are disappointed, but I’d like to think that Bryan is too, and the pricing of his tickets is, at this point, truly out of his hands.
The ridiculous and rising price of concert tickets is a nationwide problem. It doesn’t seem like there will be any solution in the near future. As concerts become less affordable, all we, as working-class fans, can do is save our cash and maybe come to terms with jamming from the nosebleeds. Don’t worry, Zach. We still love you, but the homies will forever hate Ticketmaster.
Strike Out,
Morgan Harms
Morgan Harms is a Content Writer for Strike Magazine Boca. She is a Pisces mermaid with a love for the ocean. She spends her free time daydreaming, wave-watching, and blasting whatever music she’s into that day. You can reach her by email at morganjharms@gmail.com or on Instagram @morganjharms.
