From Billboard.com:

U2 Fans Riled Up Over Fan Club Pre-Sale

The huge demand and system glitches that marked Tuesday's (Jan. 25) pre-sale for U2's Vertigo tour left hundreds of fans with less than desirable seats or no seats at all, but tour organizers say their goal is to satisfy all fan club members, or at least as many as possible.

Disgruntled fans who paid $40 for a chance to purchase choice tickets prior to the general public have made their feelings known in postings at U2's official Web site and elsewhere, including a slew of e-mails to Billboard.com.

Referring to the on-sale issues as "Tuesday, Bloody Tuesday," one fan wrote, "What's the point of spending $40 for the membership of the site and getting a lousy seat for more than $165?"

In Europe, where problems seem to have been much worse, a U.K. fan writes, "I, like many thousands of fans, have gone through this presale in the expectation that we will get tickets for the venue of our choice. What we have got is complete ineptitude, incompetence and disregard of U2 fans by U2's management, the Web site, Ticketmaster and dare I say U2 themselves."

But U2 worldwide promoter Arthur Fogel, president of tour promoter TNA International, says the snafus and disappointed customers are systematic of an incredibly hot tour.

"These fan club pre-sales go on all the time, but they're usually under the radar," Fogel tells Billboard.com. "This one is beyond belief. There's no question there have been some technical glitches and some dissatisfied people, but the reality is people are working as best as possible to sort it all out. And I'm sure they will, eventually."

Clearly, ticket brokers or "scalpers," considered a bane to the touring industry by most, are contributing to the problem. "The reality is, there's nothing to stop a broker from joining a fan club and being part of a pre-sale," says Fogel. "But the whole notion of a fan club is rewarding hardcore, loyal fans."

Dealing with brokers on hot tours is a "chess match," Fogel points out, and a tour like Vertigo is the Super Bowl to a scalper. "As a broker, you spend every day of your life trying to figure out how to beat the system," he says.

And often, Fogel adds, even a public on-sale faces technical issues. "Sometimes you go up on sale and the system fries because of demand."

Fogel says band, management and promoter are working to sell tickets. "Ultimately, it's our job to fulfill the mandate of the fan club, and to make sure the general public also has access to tickets," he offers.

As U2 tickets begin going on sale to the general public tomorrow in Europe and on Saturday in the U.S., all involved hope the system can handle the load. "There is no question the demand, both here and in Europe, is as high as I've ever seen, and with that comes difficulties in managing that kind of volume," Fogel says.

"I know this: one thing about U2 and the U2 organization, whom I've worked with since 1980 -- they will do whatever they can to make sure people are taken care of," he concludes.

-- Ray Waddell, Nashville

http://www.billboard.com/...1000779155

I'm sure Prince fans know how they feel.

sextonseven said:

This is what I'm hoping for.

i'm hoping to. i was really angry.i tried to join the club with a visa gift card. it was denied. i called customer service they said they don't accept them. okay fair enough so i checked the balance on my card and the balance was zero. yes they took the 40 bucks off anyway. but still my username and pin number did not work so i still couldn't get through. why did i use a gift card? i had to wait for my check to be deposited on my debit card. i don't have any credit cards. i was livid. they gave my my money back tho. but still i can't get a ticket. i was aiming for the 50 dollar tickets.

heybaby said:

Tickets go on public sale on Saturday morning.

Axchi696 said:

i know and i'm gonna try again. this is the first concert that i can walk to and i want to make it. i've been a fan since the 80s and this would be my first time seeing them live if get decent tickets.

thank goodness I've cooled a bit on my U2 obsession

They aren't comin to MPLS and their Chicago date is right as my BFs school year is ending, so we can't go...

oh well...maybe they'll come back and do more dates.

endorphin74 said:

Screw all of you! U2 ROCKS!!!!!

OMG V8 or whatever their name is sucks so much ass!!!!!

ABeautifulOne said:

Thanks for your intelligent reply; now go back to the Destiny's Child/Usher/Michael Jackson/Sesame Street music your library consists of.

No Sesame Street here

Axchi696 said:

A B C easy as 1..2..3..yea writing great pop songs is so easy



and U2 is such a sophisticated band? their best shit was the zoo tv era...and tell me you didn't like the pop album. So does U2 have pop influences? People are acting like U2 is fucking Led Zeppelin or even worse The Clash. I Dig them, but as individual muscians there's nothing exceptional about their skills, but as people they treat their fans great..their the best touring band in the world right now and Bono is right...don't forget about Africa...God bless em..

lilgish said:

Yeah that was a catty remark, and I regret it. I shouldn't have put my musical taste above somebody else's. Yes I do love Pop, Zoo TV, etc...

ABeautifulOne has popped into every single U2 conversation to post stupid shit about "V8"; it was just easiest to go after the artist in his avatar.

BTW... I think U2 is better than Zep

Axchi696 said:

U have a death wish... There's an orger, I won't metnion their name *cough*minneapolisgenius*cough* who's gonna have yer head for that! good luck!














p.s. I agree

lilgish said:

That's just wrong!




[Edited 1/27/05 21:22pm]

Chico1 said:

Yeah I knew I was asking for it. Perhaps I shouldn't have said "better", but rather "I like them better".

Once the system actually worked for me (I tried for 1.5 hours ) all that was available were shitty seats in the very back of the venue for $160 I'll try again for decent seats in the public sale but I feel fucked on the membership cost

Pre-sales for any big concert can be a disaster.I still remember all the problems that occured in 2001 with Madonna's 'Drowned World Tour.It was total chaos and many fans were pissed.Sometimes I wonder if pre-sales are such a good idea.Remember in the old days when concert tickets went on-sale at the same time,same day for everybody? It was first-come,first serve.

Axchi696 said:

Axchi696 said:

Cloudbuster said:

co-

ALTHOUGH....at the Zeppelin site I frequent, someone just started a U2 vs. Zeppelin thread. Funny how the two get compared, although I see very few similarities between the two bands. I did however used to listen to U2 and Zeppelin with the same amount of enthusiasm as a kid. I just happened to stick with Zeppelin, and not so much U2. Perhaps that's because U2 are still around and I lost interest, and Zeppelin didn't get a chance to suck in the 80s, which very well could have happened if John Bonham hadn't died.

^
but I doubt it
[Edited 1/28/05 7:43am]

I have one thing to say:

U 2 SUUUUUCKS!!!!!

I love U2 and I'd love to see them in concert, but this tour has attracted far too much attention and there's a point where it's just not worth the hassle to see them.

So what if you get a ticket, the place is going to be so packed it's not even going to be enjoyable to watch the show.

Tom said:

this would be my first time seeing them live ever. but if i cant get the basic 50 dollar ticket then i won't be going 'cause my conscience just won't let me go over $100 bucks. but with all of this chaos goin' on with getting tickets i'll be okay if i don't get them.

I don't understand: Didn't this happen because some of the fans couldn't keep their mouths closed and gave the password away?

TheOrgerFormerlyKnownAs said:

No, because your password can only be used once. Ticketmaster's website went down in the process of people logging in; once they refreshed the page, the site had eaten their passwords and they could no longer get back in to the pre-sale.

U2's website is now reporting that the band's management is going after everyone who was selling tickets on Ebay before the pre-sale started. Apparently, Ticketmaster or Fanfire (who backs the website)'s employees got ahold of the tickets and started flogging them on Ebay for $200+ a ticket (for $50 General Admission tickets!).

I really hope that the band makes every possible effort to fix this situation, cause this could really drive a wedge between the fans and the band. U2's always been known for their dedication to their large fanbase, and it would be unfortunate for them to lose it over something that they had no control over.

Axchi696 said:

So, are you saying that everyone had a different password? Why not just do what Prince did and buy up the good seats for your fanbase?

Axchi696 said:

now that's fucked up. that pisses me off. i think u2 should add more days to the tours. if physically possible.

TheOrgerFormerlyKnownAs said:

Yeah everyone has a unique password. I thought this was pretty commonplace for presales... Didn't know that wasn't how Prince operates.

gemini13 said:

Preach On!!!!!