Garth Brooks Cancels Kansas City Matinee After Bots Swamp Ticket Sale
Garth Brooks has canceled a Saturday matinee at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, saying automated ticket-buying software swamped the sale. Music Business Worldwide reported on 30 October that bots made up most of a queue of more than 90,000 people for the 7 November show.
The matinee was added to the arena schedule on 21 October as a third date in Kansas City. Tickets went on sale through AXS, the ticketing company, on 23 October. The show was set for a lower bowl, the tiers of seats closest to the stage.
Bots are programs that buy tickets far faster than a person can click. Music Business Worldwide reported that bots held tickets across the floor and the lower bowl, leaving fans with little chance to reach those seats. The Kansas City Star also reported that bots had bought Brooks tickets to resell at higher prices.
Team Garth announced on Friday, 23 October, that sales for the third Kansas City show had been shut down because of excessive bot activity. The cancellation followed, and AXS and the venue closed the matinee sale for good.
Fans who bought tickets for the canceled matinee will be refunded automatically to the card or account they paid with, according to the Garth Brooks website. No action is needed from buyers to get the money back.
Brooks' two evening shows at T-Mobile Center, on 6 and 7 November, are still scheduled to go ahead. Anyone holding tickets for those dates is not affected by the matinee cancellation.
Bot activity has been a recurring complaint in live music, because a seat taken by software is a seat a fan cannot buy at the face value price. Promoters and artists often respond by cancelling sales, adding verification steps or limiting how many tickets one buyer can purchase.
