F.O.M.O. is real and if you don’t think it is, you’ve never seen snaps or Instagram stories of people you know at a concert you didn’t even know was happening.
Or sometimes it’s not the F.O.M.O. that gets you but your bank account saying no-no to the event prices.
Well – no more. We’ve got your guide to finding cheap concert tickets without going crazy, below!
1. Sign Up for the Email List
We know, we know, you get hundreds of emails every day. Why add in more? Well, how many times do you find out a band you like is coming into town when it’s – just – too late to get tickets, or when they’re already sold out?
If you’re like most people, more than you’d like to admit for someone that calls themselves a fan. It’s okay – we all have a lot going on in life, and following Taylor Swift’s every move isn’t as easy as it used to be.
And that’s where the email notifications come in. You can sign up for brand-specific notifications from ticket selling platforms, that tell you which shows are coming to venues near you soon.
Venues also schedule out at least two, if not three, months in advance and generally send out an email when they schedule a new show. Sound like too many emails? Many places have a weekly newsletter that gives you a summary of what you need to know.
And if you really want to keep up with everything your favorite band is doing, head to their website. Bands send out newsletters, announcements, and even links to early music or merch drops through their email list – and some give out things even more valuable than that!
Portugal, The Band has a special email address for their superfans that allows them special opportunities, just for being part of their email list.
You can always unsubscribe if it becomes too much – so why not give this technique a try?
2. Buy Early or Buy Late
When it comes to concert hype and the general public, it looks like a bell curve. A small number of people get excited when tickets are first announced, then excitement grows as everyone learns about the event and starts getting tickets. That’s the peak of the bell curve.
As the event gets closer, people realize they can’t go, or already have tickets, and ticket sales (and the hype) starts to trend back down – and ticket sellers know that. That’s why the higher the hype for the concert is, the more expensive the tickets will be.
To get the best prices, you want to get in on one of the ends of the bell curve, either right when things are announced, or right before the concert. Yes – sometimes it can pay to wait until the last minute.
How do you know when tickets first come out so you can snap up those early bird prices? Please see point number one, above.
A Note on the Last Minute
We generally don’t recommend leaving things until the last minute, but as we said above, it could mean you get a really good deal on concert tickets. And when we say last minute – don’t rule same-day or even same-hour chances out.
People who originally bought tickets but then realized they can’t go get more and more desperate to sell their tickets the closer the event gets. Their loss is your gain – and they’re usually ready to make a deal.
3. Use Any Discounts You Can
Students get discounts at an astonishing number of places. Your college ID can get you everything from cheaper admission at the movie theater, to a discount at Subway, to a deal on tickets to see your favorite band.
Most of the time all you need to access student deals is a student email address, which you can get by applying to any community college. Yes, the application process takes a minute, but if you know your local venue has a student discount, it’s worth it!
Note: this doesn’t work at sporting events, where most of the time student ticket holders have to show their college ID to get in.
4. Splurge on Multi-Concert Events
Yes, tickets to music festivals are very expensive, but if you can afford the tickets, the cost per-show is unbeatable. Plus, there are combo acts at those shows, due to mere proximity, that have never and will never happen again.
If you’re really hurting for cash, most music festivals let you buy tickets for one specific day, so you don’t have to pay for the entire weekend. Get tickets for the day your favorite band is playing, and maybe you’ll find some new faves while you’re there!
5. Camp Out Near By
Now, this only works for outdoor concert venues, so keep that in mind. But if you really can’t afford tickets and you’re dying to see a show so badly that you’d settle for just hearing it – tailgate the show!
Get there early and set up like you were setting up to hang out before a football game. You may have to pay for parking, but it’ll be way cheaper than tickets would be.
Is it cheating the system a little? Yes – but so is making those tickets so expensive!
Copping Cheap Concert Tickets
You know that saying, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail? That’s true when it comes to concert tickets, too. If you don’t plan ahead by using one of the suggestions above, it’s going to be hard to get ticket prices you can afford.
And while cheap concert tickets are nice, remember you can’t put a price on a once-in-a-lifetime experience!
