Fans were incredibly excited when Stray Kids announced their upcoming world tour, Stray Kids’ 2nd World Tour ‘MANIAC.’ Fans were excited to see Stray Kids’ exciting stages following their recent comeback ODDINARY.
The tour started on April 29th, the first concert taking place in Seoul, giving fans everything they’d hoped for from the group.
But unfortunately, while the concert itself is already exceeding expectations, fans are more than slightly disappointed with Ticketmaster and the ticket purchasing process.
Tickets for the North American concerts sold out incredibly quickly, which caused organizers to release additional dates for both Newark and Los Angeles.
But although a sold-out tour is normally something for fans to get excited about, fans claimed that the initial ticket sales weren’t fair.
Many fans could not make it through Ticketmaster’s queue in order to attempt to even buy a ticket.
And those that did noticed that some of the tickets were more expensive than what Ticketmaster had officially listed. These more expensive tickets were listed under Ticketmaster’s Official Platinum label and designated “premium tickets.”
the fact ticketmaster is selling $ 120 tickets for $ 3250 based on “demand” to make it “fair for the most passionate fans” is so beyond fucked up.
trying to tell people who would die for these boys that they “aren’t passionate enough” because they don’t have $ 3000 to burn is FUCKED— stan mayfly ☻ (@sunnyhyunnie) April 22, 2022
And hours after the initial ticket sale, resale tickets became available, and fans were shocked by the quantity. Not only were there a substantial number of resale seats available, even though many fans weren’t ever given the option to purchase the initial tickets, but the resale tickets were being sold at highly marked-up prices.
it’s actually so frustrating to see ppl that don’t even stan skz getting tickets JUST to resell them while witnessing my mutuals go through hell just to get one or not even get one at all… if you’re not going get tf out of that queue
— ??♀️ (@hyniskz) April 22, 2022
Fans were urging JYP Entertainment and Republic Records to try and resolve the issue so that fans could have reasonable access to the tickets and Stray Kids wouldn’t be performing in front of empty rows.
we all need to email republic and jype non stop until this gets fixed. i cant let my boys have an empty soundcheck. https://t.co/htVqxsemHU
— leah ☻ (@skzzphoria) April 23, 2022
However, Ticketmaster has upset fans once again as some fans realized that Ticketmaster allegedly included an NFT with their ticket purchase.
NFTs have been a popular subject in K-Pop recently, with many companies attempting to create their own NFTs.
1/ We are?THRILLED?to introduce you to the first-ever K-pop NFT collection!https://t.co/PdayLaGPBO pic.twitter.com/lSFB1kzPK7
— Featured by Binance (@FeaturedBinance) November 9, 2021
NFT stands for “non-fungible token.” The word “non-fungible” essentially means “irreplaceable” or “unique,” meaning that NFTs are one-of-a-kind and, to many people, worth a lot of money.
If you purchase an NFT, you gain ownership over that unique item, and the transaction is recorded in a blockchain. A blockchain is essentially a digital ledger that records digital currency exchanges, allowing everyone to track the flow of currency.
The issue with NFTs is that due to the number of computers required to keep track of all the information, NFT transactions take a substantial amount of energy. Tons of power goes into verifying the transaction, exchanging the currency, and transferring ownership of the NFT.
The power needed usually comes from power plants fueled by fossil fuels which, since they emit carbon into the atmosphere, are contributing to climate change.
why is it hard to understand that nft’s are terrible for the environment?
— Ffion? (@formulaff1on) April 28, 2022
Given the amount of backlash from fans, to protect the environment, even Stray Kids’ company JYP Entertainment terminated its joint venture to create NFTs.
JYP Entertainment And Dunamu Terminate NFT Joint Venture Establishment Agreement
And understandably, Stray Kids fans were appalled when one fan realized that Ticketmaster told them that they had purchased an NFT that came with the concert ticket.
so apparently if you bought a ticket to the maniac tour you also….unknowingly purchased an n/f/t????
this definitely wasn’t there when tickets went on sale and now you’re telling me that ticketmaster sold me an n/f/t without my knowing??? wtf??? pic.twitter.com/AVdYzJTvEW
— reba (@rebarob22) April 28, 2022
Stray Kids fans wanted to warn fans of other K-Pop groups and other artists that may be having a concert in North America since allegedly Ticketmaster is selling the NFTs without informing fans that they’re buying one.
i came across a tiktok and apparently people have been unknowingly buying a nft bc it came with their concert ticket on ticketmaster.. people didn’t know until after they bought their ticket..?
wanted to post about this bc i know tour season might be coming soon :/ pic.twitter.com/gbfJ71hSRr
— haruharu? (slow) (@haruharu_w_bts) April 29, 2022
The NFTs appear to only be applicable for concerts in North America.
i just want to share that i bought tickets (for a different artist) using tickermaster australia and didnt get this alert, so i think it must only be for american purchasers? just wanted to add that in case anyone else was wondering if it would affect them!
— ot8 red lights enthusiast⁷ (@ourstayc) April 29, 2022
And notably, this isn’t an issue with just Stray Kids’ concerts as other K-Pop artists, including MONSTA X, and other artists’ tickets have also included NFTs.
its the same for the monsta x concert btw, not just skz :(( n/f/ts https://t.co/e624O7DdhD
— bel (@hyunigoo) April 29, 2022
i just checked and it’s like this for the mcr tickets too,,,wtf ticketmaster https://t.co/s0uy6O0btK
— talya ☼ (@mochidaehyeon) April 29, 2022
Fans are voicing their frustration that Ticketmaster didn’t seem to alert them to the fact that they were purchasing an NFT in addition to their ticket.
@Ticketmaster notice how the first screenshot from Saturday doesn’t have anything listed about an NFT in it. But the second screenshot which is from today does.
WHY DIDN’T WE KNOW WHEN WE BOUGHT THE FUCKING TICKETS pic.twitter.com/eu9dk4NJgu
— PrincessFairyKitten ⁷ ? (@SayWeCanSleep) April 28, 2022
And fans also believe that if Ticketmaster wants to sell NFTs, they should include them as an optional add-on rather than adding them to already-purchased tickets.
I am very much against nfts and don’t take this the wrong way, but if TM wanted to do this it should have been an add-on instead of just lumped in on an already purchased ticket. It’s incredibly unfair to just dump this on people unknowingly, especially on people who don’t want https://t.co/VcI9Le0RTS
— ? (@kangdiIe) April 29, 2022
Some fans are also asking Ticketmaster to explain how the NFTs are “minted on an eco-friendly blockchain,” as their information suggests. Since, arguably, while eco-friendly blockchains exist, they are simply “less harmful” rather than “not harmful” to the environment.
i need them to expand on eco friendly blockchain https://t.co/BnbgBxKXLY
— s?phi CHANELLE FANS WORLDWIDE (@95zers) April 29, 2022
And some fans are simply frustrated by the issue, not quite sure what they can do to resolve it.
this is so messed up … https://t.co/o6V91p7MFV
— may ◡̈ (@junhuisode) April 29, 2022
And, again, since it is a Ticketmaster and Live Nation issue rather than a Stray Kids’ issue…
qts are needing some reading comprehension and logical thinking skills bcs no way you ppl are making this kpop group or fandoms issue when it’s clearly ticketmaster manipulating its site. blaming anything and everything like i know you all not even here for the issue https://t.co/BZNKuTbKZS
— phoeb☆☺︎︎ (@dalkomhanie) April 29, 2022
Fans are hopeful that this issue will be resolved before other concert tickets go on sale.
idk what hybe is gonna do but i need this gone before txt tickets go out im so serious? https://t.co/1hQLk3GnOi
— A FUCKING MOA (@queerbiat) April 29, 2022
Although fans aren’t sure what they can do, hopefully, Ticketmaster and Live Nation will be able to resolve the issue, given fans’ immense displeasure.
You can read more about fans’ issues with Ticketmaster here.
Stray Kids’ “MANIAC” Tour Sells Out, But STAYs Claim Barely Any Fans Got Tickets
You can read more about how NFTs work here.
Crypto Exchange Platform Announces “The First-Ever K-Pop NFT Collection” — Here’s What You Need To Know
K-Pop x NFTs
Koreaboo
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