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The little monsters are not happy. Lady Gaga fans have swamped social media to complain about exorbitant ticket prices for the pop star’s Australian concerts, with many speculating that dynamic pricing is involved – a claim the official ticketing agency for the Melbourne and Brisbane shows, Ticketmaster, has denied.
Off the back of her chart-topping album Mayhem, Lady Gaga is heading to Australia for the first time in 11 years, with Live Nation bringing the Mayhem Ball to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane in December. Ticketmaster, which is owned by Live Nation, is responsible for the ticket sales in Melbourne and Brisbane. Ticketek is separately handling the Sydney show, because of its affiliation with Sydney venue Accor Stadium.
Ahead of the Melbourne pre-sales opening on Monday, Ticketmaster’s website said tickets “have been priced in advance by the tour from $113.06 to $1581.12”, excluding a ticket handling fee.
But fans swamped social media on Monday and Tuesday to complain that even seats in the nosebleeds were costing hundreds of dollars.
One fan posted a screenshot of the ticket prices for the Melbourne concert at Marvel stadium, ranging from $204.80 for standing-room tickets and $255.77 for tickets in level 3 (the further tier back) to $649.38 for tickets in level 1 (the tier of seating closest to the stage).
“Dynamic pricing is on (ticket prices rise due to demand),” the fan wrote.
Dynamic or in-demand ticketing means ticket prices rise and fall according to demand, much like Uber surge pricing or airline tickets. The practice has proved controversial with live music fans, who can find themselves forking out hundreds extra for a ticket, depending on when they buy it.
Another posted a screenshot showing a ticket in the back tier of seating at Marvel Stadium priced at almost $500, writing: “No bloody way. I’m not paying that much for seats in the nosebleeds for Gaga. Bloody dynamic pricing.”
Some said they were seeing prices leap hundreds of dollars while they were queueing to buy them.
Dynamic pricing can work the other way, too: Melbourne fan Jacinda Chenelle said in a TikTok video that she had seen the price of the same ticket reduce from $300 to $153 in less than two hours.
On Wednesday during the Live Nation presale, Guardian Australia was able to find a seat in the nosebleeds – level 3 of Marvel stadium – selling for $316.65. Level 2 tickets were available for $609.28, level 1 for $709.28, and a VIP ticket for the standing-room-only front section, with early entry, was selling for $714.55.
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The various prices for these tickets were not disclosed in advance, and fans reported spending hours waiting to reach the front of the queue before finding out the cost, while a countdown clock showed the diminishing window of time in which they had to either purchase or get kicked out of the sale.
Many fans have accused Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation Entertainment of turning on dynamic pricing for the presales.
In the past, both Ticketmaster and Ticketek have defended the practice, telling Guardian Australia prices were set by artists and their teams. They also claim demand-driven pricing mitigates the problem of ticket scalping, when tickets are bought and resold at inflated prices – though consumer rights group Choice has argued that the practice actually makes it harder to regulate scalpers.
Ticketek, the official ticket agent for Lady Gaga’s Sydney show, told Guardian Australia on Wednesday that pre-sale tickets for Sydney were not dynamically priced. But Ticketek’s page for Lady Gaga’s concert includes the warning that “the price of a ticket offered for sale for this event may increase or decrease anytime prior to the event, based on demand.”
A Ticketmaster spokesperson told Guardian Australia: “Tickmaster does not have surge pricing or dynamic algorithms to adjust ticket prices. Tickets were priced in advance of the sale and set at the individual seat level.”
Demand for the 14-time Grammy award winner’s first Australian tour in 11 years was always going to be huge, and coming off the back of her headline slot at Coachella on the weekend, online ticket queues for her Australian shows reportedly reached upwards of 100,000.
On Tuesday, Live Nation added a second Melbourne show, on 6 December, but some fans were unhappy with this tactic. One fan posted under Live Nation’s Facebook post announcing the second date: “Why can’t you release all show dates at once? There is always huge demand! Yet you release show dates one at a time.”
Another fan complained on X: “Two days ago we paid $726 for two tickets to Lady Gaga’s Melbourne show. Decent seats. Today, ONE ticket in the same bay for the second show is $649.”
Two days ago we paid $726 for two tickets to Lady Gaga’s Melbourne show. Decent seats. Today, ONE ticket in the same bay for the second show is $649.
Dynamic pricing can absolutely get fucked. pic.twitter.com/rPMEAXdI2n
Tickets will go on general sale on Thursday 17 April.
