In an event that everybody saw coming and wasn’t surprising in the slightest, the additional limited number of tickets available for Soundwave in all capital cities sold out almost immediately. In a matter of minutes, the extra tickets, released in the spirit of Christmas at 10 A.M on 21st December, were marked as exhausted. For many fans, this ticketing bloodbath has left them sorely disappointed – missing their last-ditch effort to acquire tickets to one of the heaviest, most impressive all-round lineups the alternative festival has ever offered, boasting headlining acts Metallica, Linkin Park, Blink 182 and Slayer.
That is, unless they resort to sales from scalpers – the small collection of idiots who scoop up much sought-after tickets and market them off for a ridiculous profit. This (somewhat darker) side of the music industry has reared its ugly head unmercifully this year with Soundwave. Tickets that long-time fans have missed out on can be seen on the likes of eBay for outrageous prices in excess of $400 – a stock that no doubt will once again be bolstered alongside the growing number of disappointed festivalgoers after the selling out of the final ticket release.
For many fans, this now means that all hope lies in Soundwave’s Official Buy/Swap/Sell – Soundwave’s initiative to combat the effects of scalping. The program gives fans that have found themselves with extra tickets the opportunity to get their money back without the fuss of shady dealings and, more importantly, offers a last glimmer of hope for those unlucky enough to miss out on the greatest Soundwave lineup.
