Ticketmaster General Sale for Ariana Grande Tour Launch Marred by Site Outages

Lead: Ticketmaster opened general ticket sales for Ariana Grande’s “Eternal Sunshine” Tour across North America on September 10, only to encounter widespread technical issues and queue disruptions that left fans locked out of the site.

Nut Graf: The long-awaited general sale, set to begin at 10:00 a.m. local venue time, was met with unprecedented demand that overwhelmed Ticketmaster’s infrastructure. Reports of site crashes, reset queues and error messages overshadowed the excitement for Grande’s first tour in seven years, fueling frustration and widespread social media backlash.

Sale Details and Ticket Limits

Tickets for the 26-show “Eternal Sunshine” Tour went on sale September 10 at 10:00 a.m. local venue time, with a purchase limit of six tickets per customer. Venues across North America-from Oakland to Sunrise, Florida-were included in the sale, with prices and VIP package details to be released by event organizers as sales progressed.

Technical Failures and Fan Frustration

  • Within minutes of the sale opening, thousands of fans reported being thrown out of the virtual queue or unable to load the Ticketmaster website, with error messages accusing users of bot activity.
  • Social media posts described site crashes and queue queues swelling from a few thousand to over 50,000 in an instant, effectively blocking many genuine fans from purchasing tickets.
  • Fans took to platforms like X to decry the ongoing issues, noting that problems reminiscent of past high-profile ticket events continue to plague Ticketmaster’s operations.

Industry Reactions and Broader Implications

Event industry analysts warn that this latest failure could reignite debates about Ticketmaster’s exclusivity in the live-event market and its ability to handle peak demand. Critics argue for greater competition or regulatory scrutiny to ensure fairer access for fans. Meanwhile, resale platforms like StubHub are already listing tour tickets at substantial markups, raising concerns about secondary-market profiteering.

Next Steps for Fans

Ticketmaster advises affected customers to remain in the waiting room for the duration of the sale and to avoid multiple parallel login attempts, which can trigger security blocks. Fans are also encouraged to monitor official venue and artist channels for any updates or potential additional sale dates.