Olivia Rodrigo took the world by storm when she released her hit debut single, “Driver’s License” in 2021. She followed the unprecedented success of the single with her equally successful debut album, Sour. After breaking records, conquering the charts, and going on a world tour of the album, Rodrigo decided to take a well-earned break from the public eye and releasing music.
In June of 2023, she made her great return with the announcement of her sophomore album, Guts, and the release of the album’s lead single, “Vampire”. This single was another huge hit, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week. Guts was released on September 8th, 2023, and surpassed everyone’s expectations. Fans fell in love with the album and the perfect 2000s pop sound of Guts gained Rodrigo millions of new fans. She has reclaimed her spot as one of the world’s favorite pop princesses and proved that the success of her debut album was not just luck, she is here to stay.
In the week following the success of Guts, Rodrigo announced the 2024 GUTS World Tour. Fans excitedly registered for Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan Presale and did their best to manifest receiving that coveted “You’ve Been Selected!” email. Unfortunately, a vast majority of fans were left disappointed. Ticketmaster announced on its website and social media platforms that even after Rodrigo added 20 tour dates to help with the massive demand, “there are still more fans who registered than there are tickets available.”
Tons of fans who registered were waitlisted. Others who got a presale code didn’t feel much luckier. Many fans who got codes and successfully got through the queue were still left ticketless after seeing the insanely high prices of the tickets. For most of the venues, fans were unable to find tickets cheaper than $200 even before fees. For some venues, fees add an extra $60+ to the ticket price. People everywhere voiced their hatred for the notorious Ticketmaster, reminiscent of the great war of purchasing Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour tickets that took place late last year.
This debacle has added to the ongoing conversation about the issues in the live music business caused by ticket scalpers and the monopoly of Ticketmaster. This has furthered the concerns of concert lovers everywhere that seeing their favorite artists may never be affordable again. Fans have had similar negative experiences in the past year trying to purchase tickets for artists including Taylor Swift, Zach Bryan, Drake, Hozier, Beyonce, Noah Kahan, Sabrina Carpenter, and many more. At this point, it seems like face-value tickets are very hard to come by, even with fan presale events and artists adding extra dates to their tours.
Olivia Rodrigo fans who were unable to get tickets don’t have to accept the loss just yet. At an unknown future date, more tickets will be released for each show for only $20 each. She is calling these “Silver Star tickets.” These tickets can only be purchased in pairs and the seat number and section of each ticket will not be revealed until the fans collect their tickets. Fans will be able to pick up their tickets from the venue on the day of their show. Rodrigo is doing this in hopes of making tickets available to those who cannot afford the current prices or were unable to get tickets during the sale.
Details about this program will be later released. Fans everywhere (myself included) are hoping that this program is successful in getting tickets to true fans and that they may even be lucky enough to snag a pair themselves. In the meantime, all fans can do is hold on to hope, keep an eye out for further details, and stream Guts!