Olivia Rodrigo’s ticketing system outwits scalpers

Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS World Tour ticketing rules outwitted scalpers with a “scalper-resistant” hack, which was revealed on the day tickets went on sale, Saturday.

The Silver Star Show, part of the singer’s fundraising initiative “Fund 4 Good,” sold tickets for all seats at P1,500 each.

Unlike most event tickets in the Philippines, the singer’s concert tickets are personalized, making it difficult for scalpers to profit.

“Tickets purchased at smtickets.com will have the name of the SM Tickets account owner printed on them and are non-transferable. The purchaser, whose name appears on the tickets, must be present and enter the venue with their companions,” stated American Express, the event’s handler, in its concert reminders.

But despite the unbelievably low price, some people still tried to exploit it by selling tickets at inflated prices — some reaching as high as P10,000, as they were unaware of the ticketing hack.

“Hello binebenta ko po ‘yong tickets ko sa concert ni Olivia Rodrigo, actually 10k each ko po siya ibebenta dahil ang tagal din ng oras na inantay ko almost six hours para makabili ng tickets. Sa mga nagtatanong bakit need ko ibenta ‘yong 10 tickets is personal matter na po, ‘yon lang pm na lang kayo sakin sa mga may gusto (I’m selling my Olivia Rodrigo concert tickets for P10,000 each. I waited almost six hours to buy these tickets, so that’s the price. As for why I need to sell all 10 tickets, it’s a personal matter. Just send me a message if you’re interested),” one comment on a Facebook post read.

“Ang gawin mo [na lang] ate, pumunta ka ng [concert] ni Olivia Rodrigo tapos upuan mo isa-isa ‘yong 10 tickets seats mo. Pa’no ba naman kasi ‘yong price ni Olivia sa tickets pangmasa tapos sayo sobrang mahal (What you should do, sis, is go to Olivia Rodrigo’s concert and sit in all 10 of your seats one by one. Olivia’s ticket prices were affordable, but you’re selling them for way too much),” a netizen responded.

According to the agency, each individual could only purchase a maximum of four tickets.

Fans pointed out the “important reminders” of the show, saying that people who bought tickets from scalpers might have wasted their money.

Another netizen tried to sell nine tickets at the same or even higher price — reaching up to P15,000 — claiming it was “due to public demand.”

“Ikaw na lang sana kumanta, kuya. Fund raising ‘yong event tapos ganyan (You should be the one singing, brother. It’s a fundraising event, and you’re doing this),” read the caption of a repost.

Although tickets were not sold out in one day, Philippine Concerts announced in a post on Sunday that a new record of over 727,000 fans were still in the queue to purchase GUTS tour tickets.”

With more than an hour of estimated waiting time, fans turned their frustration into memes as they waited for their turns.

“1 step forward, 644,089 back. #oliviarodrigo,” one fan posted, relating their waiting experience to the half-Filipina singer’s song 1 step forward, 3 steps back.

Some also posted using the singer’s song good 4 u with the caption, “me sa mga nakabili.”

Another fan quoted her hit song happier, dedicating it to those who already have tickets: “I hope you’re happy, but don’t be happier.”

“Philippine Arena capacity: 55k seats, kalaban mo: kalahating milyong tao (your competition: half a million people),” another fan posted on social media.

Meanwhile, Rodrigo expressed her excitement on her Facebook page, as this will be her first visit to the country for a special show, with all proceeds going to her Fund 4 Good, a global initiative dedicated to creating an equitable and just future for women and girls.

The GUTS World Tour will be held on 5 October at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan.”