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Seat HistoryBuilt byTicker

Why do tickets sell out so fast?

Tickets go fast because far more people want seats than a sale puts on sale at once, and presales go first: Metallica at Alamodome went from 6,886 seats on sale to under 1% of its map within a day of its general sale.

Demand meets a fixed number of seats

An arena has a set number of seats. A popular tour can draw far more buyers than it has seats in a night, so the seats on sale go fast once the sale opens.

Presales take the first share

Across 100 events here, the general sale put a median 5% of the seats on the map on sale for the first time, and at 57 of them the presales released more seats than the general sale. By the time the general sale opens, many seats are already taken.

Brokers and holds

Brokers buy to resell, and some seats never reach the general sale at all: holds for the artist, the promoter and the stage. Production holds and presale vs general sale show where those seats go.

Questions

How fast do seats go for a popular tour?

For a popular tour, fast. Metallica at Alamodome went from 6,886 seats on sale at its general sale to under 1% of its map within a day.

See which sections went first for your event on Ticker.

Events to look at