Show in Quebec | Billie Eilish tries to curb resellers

For her new world tour, which will launch on September 29 in Quebec, American singer-songwriter Billie Eilish has put in place measures to curb ticket resellers. And yet, before the official presale began on Tuesday noon, exorbitantly expensive seats were already displayed on resale sites. How is it possible ? Decryption.

Up to $4,000 per ticket

Tuesday morning, a few hours before the pre-sale reserved in particular for American Express credit card holders, we searched on Google for tickets for the launch at the Videotron Center of the tour Hit Me Hard and Soft. The first results displayed refer to resale sites. On Tickets on Sale, seats are offered for $900. On StubHub, some are sold for $4,331. In the afternoon, we even come across tickets for more than $5,000. We are far from the actual selling price, which is between $78 and $556.

Measures to counter resale

In recent years, examples of seats priced at astronomical prices have multiplied. Just think of Taylor Swift, Blink-182 or Arctic Monkey concerts. Why are the prices of Billie Eilish tickets on resale sites surprising? This is because the 22-year-old singer is loudly demanding a reform of the way things are done in the sale of concert tickets. She is one of 250 artists who signed a recent open letter to the US Congress to support legislation to this effect. As part of Hit Me Hard and Soft, it has moved from words to action by putting in place a series of measures to “give fans, and not illegal resellers, the best chance to purchase tickets at their true value”, we can read in the press release announcing his concerts. To do this, “the tour has requested that all tickets be mobile only and cannot be transferred.” If ticket holders wish to resell them, they must go through Ticketmaster’s Face Value Exchange platform, the press release specifies. On this, the seats are resold “at the original price paid”. Another dissuasive element for resellers: “Tickets will only be given to buyers 15 days before the show,” indicates, in an interview, Dominique Goulet, director of programming at the Videotron Center.

Possible flaws

Despite these measures, tickets are still advertised on resale sites. For what ? Normand Turgeon, former professor of marketing at HEC Montréal, puts forward some hypotheses. “Tickets issued by Ticketmaster are not all tickets available for a show. […] There are a variety of tickets that go elsewhere,” he says. Some are offered to the artist, others to credit card companies, for example. Tickets that did not pass through Ticketmaster may therefore have ended up on resale sites. Normand Turgeon also points out that Ticketmaster’s Face Value Exchange platform is certainly not infallible and that resellers may have found a way to circumvent it. According to him, one of the best solutions to avoid resale would be the obligation to present your ticket and your credit card at the entrance to a concert “to prove the association between the owner of the ticket and the person who bought it “.

Call for caution

It is also possible that the tickets displayed on resale sites are fake, underlines Dominique Goulet, director of programming at the Videotron Center. “You really have to be very careful with this type of announcement, because, in my opinion, it’s suspicious,” she says when we talk to her about the seats seen Tuesday morning, when the only pre-sale to have took place was the one reserved for the few members First place of the Videotron Center. Contacted by The Press, Ticketmaster agrees: “All tickets you see on secondary sites violate the resale conditions put in place by the artist and cannot guarantee access to the show,” warns the company. On Instagram, Billie Eilish also warned her fans against scammers. It is not uncommon for the Videotron Center to have to refuse entry to spectators during concerts because they have fake tickets, saddens Dominique Goulet.

Will there be any tickets left on Friday?

At the Videotron Center, Billie Eilish will perform in front of 17,500 people thanks to the location of the stage in the center of the floor and its 360-degree configuration. Tickets for the general public will go on sale Friday at noon. For those who fear that they were all gone during the pre-sale, know that a portion of the tickets are reserved for this day. “I think people have a good chance of getting tickets,” says Dominique Goulet. She concedes, however, that demand will likely be greater than supply.

Great visibility for Quebec

THE Rolling Stone, Billboard and many international media reported that the start of the singer’s tour bad guy will take place in Quebec. Dominique Goulet is delighted with such visibility. She also estimates that more than 30% of spectators will come from outside the city. “We are really fortunate that she chose to come to Quebec to kick-off her world tour. » Why, according to her, did the singer opt for the Old Capital? “We are working very hard to position the Videotron Center as an interesting platform for artists […] when they want to do rehearsals before going on tour,” she responds, emphasizing that the arena is not restricted by a sports team’s schedule. Two days are reserved on the calendar before the September 29 concert to allow Billie Eilish’s team to finalize the final details of the tour. As other elements that may have weighed in the choice of the city, Dominique Goulet names the favorable exchange rate, the “technical and logistical capacities” of the arena and the fact that the Videotron Center is able to respond to numerous sustainable development requests made by Billie Eilish’s team, including the ban on single-use plastic straws and bottles – fans will have to bring their own refillable water bottles – and the presence of recycling bins clearly visible and a vegan food offering on the site.

Why not Montreal?

In addition to Quebec, Hit Me Hard and Soft will stop in two other Canadian cities: Toronto and Vancouver. Why not Montreal? By email, evenko responded to The Press that the Bell Center is not available on the dates requested by the touring team. Billie Eilish’s last visit to the metropolis dates back to the summer of 2023. She was then one of the headliners at the Osheaga festival.

Billie Eilish will be in concert at the Videotron Center on September 29. Ticket sales for the general public begin Friday at noon.

Visit Billie Eilish’s website