Harry Styles fans are voicing their frustration after experiencing extended wait times and four-figure ticket prices due to demand during presale for the singer’s highly-anticipated “Together Together” tour.
The pop singer revealed last week that he will embark on a tour this year after he releases his fourth album, “Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally,” in March. Styles will travel to Amsterdam, London, São Paulo, Mexico City, Melbourne and Sydney to perform, and will also play a whopping 30 shows as part of a residency at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
But excitement to see the Grammy winner in person turned to frenzy when fans attempted to purchase presale tickets for the concerts. Those trying to access the American Express and artist presales posted screenshots on social media of them waiting in lengthy queues with over hundreds of thousands of fans hoping to score tickets.
The earliest presale for New York City, Amsterdam and London opened Jan. 26 and Melbourne and Sydney on Jan. 27, according to Styles’ website.
“Whatever it’s not like I wanted to see Harry styles,” one social media trying to buy for Madison Square Garden sarcastically tweeted on X and included screenshots of three queues all with more than 100,000 fans in them.
Another wrote, “17,000 people in line for presale for a tour where people have to travel across the US because the artist is only playing one city. Concert culture has gotten out of hand and live music is no longer accessible to those who it is supposed to inspire.”
Others said that their wait time was so long that tickets sold out while they were still in the queue.
“This is the WORST presale experience I’ve ever had,” one fan tweeted. “I really thought I had a chance to see Harry since I was 20k in line but they sold out in 30 minutes.”
The post included a message on Ticketmaster informing fans that the presale ended but they still have an opportunity to purchase tickets during the general sale.
General sale tickets will be available starting Friday, Jan. 30, for fans wanting to attend shows in Amsterdam, London, Melbourne, Sydney and New York City. For São Paulo and Mexico City fans, the general sale begins Jan. 28 and Jan. 29, respectively.
For some who managed to make it through the queue, the relief was short-lived when they were met with ticket prices exceeding $1,000. The AmEx presale featured platinum packages that accounted for some of the high prices.
Fans in the queue for New York City tickets were given a message from Ticketmaster: “Update: $50, $94.15 and $129.70 tickets are now limited, other options remain. Tickets for this event have been priced in advance by the tour from $50 — $1,184.40, including service fees. Ticket prices will not change during the presale or onsale. Price ranges do not apply to VIP packages. Tickets are subject to availability.”
The message also advised that wait times could exceed one hour.
A fan in the United Kingdom said that ticket prices in general have gotten out of hand.
“I’m a massive Harry Styles fan but we need to have a serious conversation about the absurd ticket prices some artists are now charging,” she said on X. “Makes music & entertainment completely inaccessible for a whole demographic of fans who don’t have hundreds to spend on a single ticket!”
Some poked fun at the situation, tweeting that Styles will be on stage dancing in an empty arena since “no one can afford to go.”
Ticketmaster has confirmed that demand for Styles’ New York City concerts was so high, it broke a record for the largest presale registrations in a single market, with 11.5 million sign-ups.
Ahead of the presale, Ticketmaster posted information on Instagram advising fans to look out for possible scams, like tickets posted on other sites before they are officially on sale. The post also included tips on ways to prepare for the sale, including joining the waiting room up to 30 minutes before tickets are available.
