We’ll cover, among other things:
Why concert tickets are more than “just” a product
The psychology behind buying event tickets, and how scarcity, FOMO and queues play into this
How, as an organiser, you can respond to this in the best way
Why concert tickets are more than “just” a product
A ticket for a concert or live performance is rarely a rational purchase. Think back to a moment when you bought tickets for your favourite band. You’re not buying a piece of PDF or a QR code — you’re buying an experience people look forward to for weeks, months, and sometimes even years. So when it comes to concert tickets, it’s not just about “buying”; there are several layers to such a process:
Uniqueness: that one evening with the artist, in that concert venue, with that audience. You’ll never get that exact combination again — especially when it comes to farewell tours, reunions, or exclusive shows. It literally feels like a “once in a lifetime” moment.
Escapism: fans want to escape their daily routine for a while and disappear into lights, music, and like-minded people. What’s noticeable is that especially after the COVID years, people consciously started looking for ways to “lose themselves” in something positive. Can you blame them?
Identity: for certain events, a ticket is a kind of status symbol. “I was there” — at the Taylor Swifts, Ed Sheerans and Beyoncés of today, where fans sometimes spend hundreds of euros.
Togetherness: live performances bring people together around a shared love for the artist, the music, the genre, … That feeling is a very important part of the answer to the question: “What do concerts make you feel?”
Add all of that up, and it quickly becomes clear just how much concert tickets matter in fans’ minds. They’re often willing to pay high prices and go through a stressful purchasing process, as long as the experience and the feeling on the other side are worth it. As an organiser, it’s therefore important not to sell a boring, neutral product, but to tap into that experience just as much.
The psychology behind buying concert tickets
Scarcity and FOMO
When it comes to concert tickets, scarcity isn’t a marketing trick — as many people think — but simply reality. There are only so many seats in a concert venue, and only so many dates on a tour. Of course, we understand why people often assume it’s a marketing tactic, especially with big names where demand far outweighs supply.
Psychologically, a lot comes into play, such as:
FOMO (fear of missing out): Fans are afraid they won’t be there. They see footage of previous shows on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, read reviews, and completely get swept up in what everyone is talking about. That naturally strengthens the “I need to be there” feeling, and increases the pressure to secure a ticket at all costs.
Once in a lifetime: Farewell tours, long-awaited reunions like Oasis, or a first performance in years in a specific country. That’s the perfect formula to get fans fully hyped, because the idea that something won’t come back anytime soon makes people decide faster and accept more risk.
Loss aversion: Psychologically, fans find it much harder to lose something than to gain nothing. A fan who almost had a ticket (in their cart or nearly through the queue) is therefore more likely to pay more or keep trying longer than someone who never tried in the first place.
The result is usually easy to spot in every major ticket drop: a wave of traffic on the ticket shop, constant refreshes, and fans driving themselves crazy so they don’t miss out.
Queues
Anyone who has ever tried to score concert tickets knows the feeling of landing in a queue. “1,350 people ahead of you”, paired with a timer that turns out not to be entirely accurate, and tension you can almost cut with a knife. For fans who’ve been waiting for weeks or even months, everything suddenly depends on a system that decides whether you got in a microsecond early enough or not. And then comes the question many organisers would rather avoid: how fair is a queue really, especially when you already know the concert will sell out anyway?
At that point, the question is no longer if you will sell out, but who gets in. “First come, first served” may sound fair, but in practice it’s not the biggest fan who gets a ticket, but rather:
whoever has the fastest Wi-Fi
whoever happens to be using the best laptop or smartphone
whoever gets through their banking app without issues
In other words: whether someone can buy concert tickets often depends more on their technology than on their love for live music. The queue doesn’t necessarily reward the biggest fan, but the one for whom everything happens to go right at that exact moment. For fans, that makes a huge difference in how they experience your event.
A queueing system that is transparent, explains what’s happening, and doesn’t pretend everyone has equal chances when that’s not the case, feels far more human than a black box where pure speed rules.
As an organiser, you can’t take away the tension — but you can make sure fans feel like they’re part of a fair system.
How can you, as an organiser, respond to this in the smartest way?
Be transparent about ticket structures and pricing
With large concerts or tours, you often see things like dynamic pricing, platinum tickets and different ticket types. Prices sometimes skyrocket while demand remains high. Fans are genuinely willing to pay a lot — as long as the feeling is right. What makes them drop off is mainly a lack of clarity or the feeling that they’re being trapped.
As an organiser — even in a smaller venue — there’s a lot you can do here. Explain clearly which ticket types exist and exactly what people get for them. This doesn’t have to happen only at the moment of purchase in your ticket shop; you can already communicate this in advance via social media. In addition, clearly explain beforehand how ticket sales will work, from presales and general sales to options for an additional show, and more. If you work with different price tiers, it’s important to be honest about that too. For example: “Tickets start at €X and increase as demand rises.” That’s far less painful than surprises at checkout.
This doesn’t mean no one will ever question the price, but it does take the sharp edges off mistrust.
Use scarcity — but not against your fans
Scarcity and urgency are part of concert tickets. A venue has limited capacity, just like the number of tour dates, and it’s perfectly fine to acknowledge that. The tipping point lies with “fake” or exaggerated scarcity, which is often used by organisers to create hype. Don’t constantly shout that your concert is almost sold out when there are still plenty of tickets available, don’t share vague information about how many tickets are available in presale, and never raise prices without warning.
That might give you a short-term spike in revenue, but it also burns trust.
Make the online ticket experience predictable and human
Fans are often frustrated when it comes to concert tickets — not because they miss out on a good price, but because they have no idea what’s happening. Queues freeze, ticket shops crash, prices change at checkout, or they can’t complete the payment at all. As an organiser, you can never prevent these things 100%, but you can reduce them by:
Choosing a ticket shop that is technically reliable and mobile-friendly.
Keeping the steps from selection to confirmation simple.
Showing prices early, and not only after the final click.
Providing explanations where needed, for example whether or not you work with a queue system.
Also, don’t forget that your ticket sales are the beginning of the event experience for your visitors — a detail many organisers tend to overlook. Your ticket sales should be part of the experience, not just another to-do on your list. Curious how? This is how you make your ticketing part of the overall event experience.
With a platform like EventSquare, you get these essentials right from the start. Together, we ensure stable online sales, trusted payment methods, clear flows, and scanning solutions at the door.
Did you know that we’re now partnering with TicketSwap?
This allows us to safely resell more than two million tickets.