The new upcoming star, Olivia Rodrigo, has instantly gained attraction especially from the younger generation after her hit song “Driver’s License” and her album “Sour.” However, she has recently left fans sour after her tour tickets pre-sale.

On December 10th, 2021 Rodrigo opened the pre-sale site for tickets at 10 AM for her U.S. tour to perform her new album. The presale was only for verified fans that signed up on Ticketmaster to be placed on the list. Not all individuals that signed up were confirmed as verified fans, for there was a specific deadline they had to meet to be placed on the list. In order to be a verified fan, one merely had to provide their information to the link Rodrigo released both on her website and Instagram. Though the term “verified fan” may imply that proof of being a Rodrigo fan would need to be provided, that was not the case, since technically anyone could have signed up. Being on said list would have qualified an individual for a decreased price for Rodrigo’s tour tickets.

As Rodrigo has gained fame over the past year, the tour tickets were sold out in a matter of hours. Fans were left disappointed because of her choice of small venues which allowed for fewer tickets to be available. One must also account for the fact that this is Rodrigo’s first tour which in itself is nerve-wracking, thus explaining her choice of smaller venues. Additionally, the tour would be taking place during a pandemic, and smaller shows are significantly more COVID-safe. 

Junior Catie Galloza expresses her discontent when trying to purchase a ticket: “Olivia’s setup for purchasing concert tickets was horrendous and unorganized. Not only did she only allow fans from verified sales to purchase tickets- but she reserved a small venue knowing she is one of the most streamed artists of the year. Those who were not accepted into verified fan sale had no chance of purchasing tickets unless you signed up seconds after she posted. She refuses to add more shows knowing her tickets sold out in less than two hours. She’s angered thousands of fans- who are justifiably angry. The entire purchasing process took over an hour for me to get into the venue- and when I did almost nothing was left and the site crashed.” 

Rodrigo addressed this issue in an Instagram post thanking her fans and assuring those who were not able to get tickets that “there will be more tours in the future.” Though fans are hurt, they can understand the unique circumstances of Rodrigo’s ticket pre-sale.