Culture

Michael Jackson's New Record: This Is It Tour Sold Out in Seconds

by Tina Kells | March 13, 2009 at 12:20 pm

4011 views | 24 Recommendations | 10 comments

Micheal Jackson has set a new record as the fastest selling concert of all time after tickets for his This Is It Tour 50 show run at the O2 arena in London sold out in a matter of minutes.

Selling at a rate of 11 tickets per second all shows sold out completely at a startling rate prompting Ticketmaster director Chris Edmonds to comment, "this week we have witnessed a live entertainment phenomenon."

360,000 tickets were sold by pre-sale before buying was opened to the public on Friday morning. More than 750,000 fans from around the world purchased blocks of seats for the London shows.

Organisers say the This Is It tour has become the fastest-selling in history, with people from as far away as Japan, Belgium and Dubai queuing up to purchase their tickets.

Jackson is said to be "thrilled" by the response.

Randy Phillips of promoters AEG Live told BBC Radio 1's Newsbeat a pre-registration scheme had been so successful he asked Jackson himself if he would do more dates.

"That wasn't anticipated," he said.

"We never thought '50 shows' and frankly based on the queues on Ticketmaster, plus the 300,000 registrants we still haven't issued codes to, we could spend two years here.

Now that the official tickets have sold out fans will have to turn to the secondary market to see the show. Ticket resale prices are not going to be cheap with seats for some shows selling at more than $4,000 US.

Promoter AEG Live has entered into a deal with ticket reseller Viagogo meaning that in this case "Sold Out" is a relative term. Michael Jackson fans who really want to see his This Is It show can shell out $700 per seat for a later date show.

Of course, the "sell-outs" hardly means that tickets aren't available. Promoter AEG Live cut a deal with ticket reseller Viagogo, reports Billboard.biz. The magazine quotes AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips as saying that "a small percentage of the house every night" had been given to Viagogo.

There's still plenty of tix available, at least for those willing to pay. On the second night of the tour, you can get a pair for $4,217. The ticket prices on the secondary market drop substantially as the run continues, however. If you have faith that Jackson will perform all 50 of his dates (and why would anyone be skeptical?), then you can commit about $700 to see him in February 2010.

However, it's buyer beware on the secondary market as tickets are not refundable even if Jackson cancels the show.

Tickets purchased through Ticketmaster are eligible for a full refund if the artist is a no-show but tickets purchased through Viagogo are totally non-refundable if the show doesn't go on no matter what the reason.

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JeffHuang

at 12:25 on March 13th, 2009

I really hope he has a world tour. I will definitely go.

floradora1

at 15:37 on March 13th, 2009

I spent three hours online this morning, trying to get tickets. Suddenly I had them .. just needed to confirm details when the Gas Man (I've had no hot water for two days) rang the landline and cut off the wireless connection!! Devastated!

Roy C

at 16:47 on March 13th, 2009

Good for him. He needs this.

Blue Crush

at 20:09 on March 13th, 2009

They showed the first buyer on CNN. She was in tears!

CanadaJude (not verified)

at 20:26 on March 21st, 2009

Michael Jackson did it again...another record in minutes!!! Quite unbelievable but what a show this will be!! Gotta love him.

Liz3333 (not verified)

at 16:00 on June 25th, 2009

hahaha sucks for all the mj fans who got viagogo tickets!!

shara (not verified)

at 01:32 on June 26th, 2009

i'm from philippines. i really love michael jackson! i want to see his concert unfortuntely he was dead.. may he rest in peace.. he now can have find peace that he can't find while he's still here on earth.. i was shocked to hear the news.. Im so depressed now.. Jordan Chadler and his father sucks! they ruin the life of MJ..