Sale of tickets to J-pop duo Yoasobi's upcoming Singapore concert in January 2024 have been far from smooth.
On Dec. 1, when ticket sales went live, numerous users complained about long queues and frequent website crashes.
Some even reported a glitch where they could see other users' accounts and personal info when making their purchase.
Recovered tickets up for ballot on Dec. 6
The event's organiser, SOZO, has since recovered a limited number of concert tickets from fraudulent resellers and suspicious accounts, and will be putting these tickets up for a ballot on Dec. 6.
This was announced in their Facebook post on Dec. 5.
SOZO said there will be a limited quantity of tickets available for ballot.
Fans who have yet to secure their tickets can submit an application on Dec. 6, 2023, from 2pm to 6pm, via this link.
Winners will be notified by ticketing platform Ticketmaster no later than Dec. 11, and will be allowed to purchase up to two tickets.
Yoasobi ticket sales controversy
Yoasobi, a collaboration between producer Ayase and singer-songwriter Ikura, is set to perform at Resorts World Sentosa on Jan. 11, 2024.
The duo is known for viral songs inspired by short stories, such as their 2023 single "Idol", which became the first Japanese act to top global charts.
Tickets for Yoasobi went live on the Ticketmaster website on Dec. 1 at 10am.
However, the sale quickly ran into some issues.
Numerous Mothership readers came forward with unpleasant experiences, the worst of which included being automatically logged into another person's Ticketmaster account when brought to the payment page.
One reader said she was redirected to a strange account three times despite multiple attempts to log-in, and was able to access the individual's personal data, including names, email addresses and ticket details.
Another user complained about being stuck in the virtual queue for the tickets despite being next in line.
Some fans said most tickets were sold out minutes after the sale began.
One user shared about her unpleasant experience on TikTok, and said that the website lagged, crashed and experienced multiple glitches before she managed to get her tickets.
She pointed out that the concert venue — Resorts World Ballroom — has a maximum capacity of 6,500 people, but users were reportedly allowed to purchase up to 10 tickets each.
@miratgx truly traumatic experience i don’t think i will ever recover from this. WHO decided that it was a good idea to have a 6.5k capacity venue like ITS NOT GONNA FIT ALL THE FANS BRO. TICKETMASTER also had NO queuing system and allowing 10 TICKETS PER PERSON? THAT MEANS ONLY 650 PPL CAN BUY TICKETS if everyone gets 10 each. not to mention all the bots we’re NO MATCH for them bro. NO PRESALE or physical queue too?!! this whole ticketing system needs to improve bro im actually so upset. its just so disappointing how this was my FIRST concert and only one i am actually passionate about. cant believe i actually thought i stood a chance. #yoasobi #ticketmaster ♬ nintendo wii (mii channel) song - julie on the internet
Other fans took to TikTok to complain about scalpers emerging out of the woodwork that afternoon, hawking the tickets at marked-up prices.
Ticketmaster reaffirmed their commitment to data privacy, in a statement shared with Mothership.
"A temporary issue on our website has been quickly identified and fixed. No sensitive information was shared," the platform added.
Tickets purchased from unauthorised resellers may be voided
SOZO wrote in the Dec. 5 post that it collaborated with Ticketmaster to crack down on unauthorised resellers, as part of their stance against the practice.
Resellers who contravene Ticketmaster's terms and conditions of sale will have their tickets voided.
This potentially affects users who purchased tickets from such resellers, who risk having have their tickets rendered invalid.
"We regret to inform you that in such instances, we will not be able to refund or exchange these tickets," the organiser wrote.
Users who come across such resellers are also encouraged to report them to the organiser.
Mothership also found Category 1 tickets for the concert being sold at prices of up to S$650 on Carousell.
The tickets are originally priced at S$238.
Screenshot from Carousell listing.
Screenshot from Carousell listing.
Top image from Yoasobi Facebook.