UPDATED 4/24: As anticipated, tickets to see Governor's Ball Headliner Deadmau5 at Verboten for an intimate afterparty sold out almost instantly. With only about a 700 person capacity, Verboten will provide a rare up close show of the superstar producer, who is mainly seen at major festivals like Veld. While nobody is surprised at the notion that Mau5 could sell out such a small venue, the amount these tickets are reselling for has turned a few heads.
Tickets reselling for way above their face value is nothing new to to music events, and with the recent EDM bubble reaching its peak, the markup for major shows and festivals on the secondhand market has skyrocketed. These markups have become such an issue that major artists like Kaskade have taken a public stance against scalping.
Since tickets went on sale and sold out to scalpers in mere seconds, Verboten has taken a stance and has informed everyone that they WILL NOT take 3rd party tickets and that an ID matching the name on the ticket must be presented at the time of pick-up.
All ticket sales are final. No refunds, name transfers, or resales are permitted. Orders over the single order limit are subject to cancellation without warning. Please bring ID and credit card used to purchase for verification at the door.
They even got StubHub to stop selling the overpriced tickets:
Tickets on sale from Verboten for only $30 to keep it affordable for fans.
With festivals like Burning Man and Electric Forest going from modest amounts to thousands of dollars in only a few years, more artists need to acknowledge this issue publicly. Were reaching a point where the only people that can attend major shows are trust fund babies and the super rich. Not to knock the fandom of this demographic, but it will become an issue for artists if only these fans can attend live shows. Buying secondhand tickets supports neither the artist or the event; fans simply succeed in lining the pockets of selfish individuals out to make serious profits. Some of the fondest memories people have of their favorite artists come from live showings. If the average fan cannot afford shows, were bound to see this "EDM bubble" burst. And while some may see this as a good thing, in the meantime thousands of fans will miss out on experiences everyone should have a chance to be a part of.