When Taylor Swift’s superfans took to Ticketmaster last November to purchase Eras Tour presale tickets, they caused the site to glitch and crash, prompting outrage and even antitrust investigations.
Now, boomer and Gen X superfans of a different musical artist experienced their own version of presale ticket hell — prompting a very different website to crash briefly.
Fans of the Rolling Stones took to AARP’s website in hopes of scoring tickets to the band’s upcoming Hackney Diamonds Tour on Wednesday. AARP, or the American Association of Retired Persons, is an official sponsor of the 61-year-old band’s tour.
“We are currently experiencing technical difficulties and are unable to complete your request,” AARP’s website said at the time. “Our team is actively working to fix the issue, and we hope to resolve it soon. Thank you for your patience.”
The website was back up and running by the afternoon.
Still, the glitch proved frustrating for some of the band’s older fans, who said online that they missed the days of camping out and lining up for tickets instead of duking it out behind keyboards. Others reported having better luck.
A wave of issues with concert ticket queues has prompted musicians and even lawmakers to examine the process. Indie artist Maggie Rogers, for instance, invited fans to line up to physically purchase tickets to her tour. And when tickets to see the Cure went on sale last spring, the band’s leader, Robert Smith, fought Ticketmaster’s dynamic pricing model, forcing the company to reimburse customers for hidden fees.
In all, AARP served as a launching pad to enter ticket queues with other providers, including Ticketmaster and AXS depending on the tour stop.
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