Ticketmaster, the popular ticket sales and distribution company, has been experiencing major technical issues leading to crashes and disruptions for customers trying to purchase tickets online. This has led to a great deal of frustration and confusion among fans hoping to buy tickets for highly anticipated concerts and events.
What is causing the crashes?
According to Ticketmaster, the primary cause of the recent crashes is an overwhelming surge in demand for major events. With high profile tours like Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen announcing new dates, millions of fans are flooding Ticketmaster’s site all at once when tickets go on sale. This spike in traffic is overloading their servers and systems, leading to slowdowns, disruptions, and outright crashes.
In addition to the inbound traffic, bots and scalpers are also pounding Ticketmaster’s site trying to buy up tickets quickly and resell them at a higher price. All this bot traffic compounds the demand issues and makes crashes even more likely.
Are there other factors at play?
While surge demand is the main culprit, some experts believe there are other factors contributing to Ticketmaster’s technical problems:
- Outdated technology – Ticketmaster relies on legacy systems that may not be able to handle today’s much higher online traffic. Their systems need upgrading.
- Integration issues – Ticketmaster has acquired numerous smaller companies over the years, leading to potential integration issues between disparate systems.
- Mobile challenges – Developing a reliable mobile experience across all devices and platforms adds complexity that can lead to crashes.
- Staffing problems – Some analysts think Ticketmaster may be understaffed when it comes to its technical team handling such demand surges.
So while the surge in customer interest is the primary cause, there are likely some internal technology and infrastructure issues hampering Ticketmaster’s ability to withstand the traffic flood.
What is Ticketmaster doing to address this?
Ticketmaster has acknowledged the problems and says they are taking steps to improve the situation. Some of the changes they are making include:
- Adding more servers and capacity to handle larger volumes.
- Reengineering their queueing system to improve access during high demand.
- Using load balancing techniques to distribute traffic across a wider infrastructure.
- Working with multiple CDNs and providers to reduce risk of outages.
- Enhancing their mobile and web-based architecture for better stability.
- Increasing fraud monitoring to reduce bot activity.
The company says they are treating this as their top priority. But re-architecting major components of their technology stack will inevitably take some time. They are also limited in what changes they can make in the short-term. So while improvements are coming, customers should expect ongoing challenges with web traffic and mobile access at peak demand times.
What can customers do to get tickets?
Here are some tips for customers to improve their chances of getting tickets during these high demand situations:
- Avoid peak demand times right when sales open. Try accessing later in the sales window if possible.
- Use the Ticketmaster app which may perform better than the mobile site.
- Make sure to log in ahead of time so your info is pre-filled for faster checkout.
- Only keep one browser tab open – multiple tabs increase failure risk.
- Refresh consistently if you get booted – don’t give up immediately.
- Consider alternative sellers like the box office to avoid the online rush.
- Register ahead of time for presales and early access if available.
- Familiarize yourself with the ticket buying process so you don’t waste time.
And most importantly – be patient! With extremely high demand events, selling out quickly is almost inevitable. Don’t get too frustrated by crashes and access issues.
Will this lead to any changes in the ticket industry?
The recent problems have led some people to question Ticketmaster’s dominance of primary ticket sales. While any meaningful changes are unlikely in the short-term, there are a few possible impacts over time if the technical issues continue:
- Class action lawsuits – Customer anger could boil over leading to legal action around site stability claims.
- Government hearings – Calls for Congressional/Senate hearings on lack of competition in the sector.
- Promoter friction – Promoters move events away from Ticketmaster if problems persist.
- New startups – New disruptive ticketing platforms capitalize on the unrest to challenge the status quo.
- More season ticket/subscription models – Teams/artists look for direct stable revenue streams.
However, Ticketmaster is still an entrenched incumbent with major competitive advantages. Most experts believe that meaningful industry disruption is still a long way off. But the recent issues have put a bit of a crack in Ticketmaster’s armor of invincibility that bears watching going forward.
Key Takeaways
- Surges in demand for major events are the primary cause of recent Ticketmaster crashes.
- Legacy technology systems and integration challenges may also contribute.
- Ticketmaster is adding capacity and working to upgrade their architecture.
- Customers should try accessing sales at off-peak times.
- Some minor competitive disruption may emerge but Ticketmaster’s dominance looks secure for now.
Conclusion
Ticketmaster’s technical problems are frustrating for customers but largely caused by the company’s huge success in selling the hottest events. Demand has simply scaled beyond their current infrastructure’s capabilities. While Ticketmaster certainly deserves criticism for stability issues, the reality is that no ticketing platform could smoothly handle the instant load of millions of fans flocking for the same on-sale event. Ticketmaster will need to continue innovating and improving their systems over time. But the core challenge reflects their dominant position in the industry – elevated demand for live entertainment combined with a lack of serious competition.