Are all concert tickets sold by lottery?

So, Taylor Swift recently announced a tour and she’s always come to Japan during the international legs of her tours. As a fan of over 12 years, I would love to see her live. Is there any way to ensure getting tickets, if she does come here? And if it’s all by lottery, is there somewhere people sell tickets that they don’t want to use anymore?

Thanks in advance!

6 comments
  1. I think most Taylor Swift concerts are also available for certain credit card members, so you may try that (Amex Platinum, iirc).

    Otherwise generally it’s lottery in Japan. If there are unsold tickets, they may get sold as first-come first-serve, but probably not Taylor Swift. There are resell platforms, but I am not well versed in this.

  2. I saw 1989 in Tokyo Dome.

    There were three tiers of seating you could chose from and after that it was a lottery for a seat in that section.

  3. No, not all concerts are. Ones that are popular and will sell out are first lottery and any tickets left after the lottery are first come first served.

  4. Just for reference, Lady Gaga this summer had 1st presale to Japanese Amex Gold or platinum card holders first come first served, 2nd sale to pia members by lottery, then general public (but it didn’t happen because it was sold out at stage 2).

    Later some more tickets went on sale due to rearranging of the stage layout, but that’s rare.

    Pia has a great reselling site where people who bought tickets but couldn’t pay could return their tickets, and those who did pay but wanted to sell could do so. These resale tickets were all FACE VALUE. Great!

    Don’t buy from resellers like ViaGoGo. They jacked up prices 5-10x but they were readily available on pia resale site.

    A Japanese credit card is best, but you can also pay at a conbini. No foreign cards allowed.

    Make sure you have an account with Pia and eplus, the 2 big sellers in Japan, you don’t know which company will sell her tickets exclusively or maybe both will sell. At least you can be ready. I’m sure she will sell out.

    When you make an account with them, you can input your favorite artists to get alerts. Also you should join her fan club or mailing list to get info fast. I do that with Gaga and was all set. Saw both shows in September up close. (Got Covid 3 days later but it was worth it lol!)

  5. I think a lot of the popular, mainstream stuff is sold by lottery, first to certain groups like fan clubs, certain cardholders etc.
    Meanwhile I got my Gojira tickets easy as pie without any wait, lottery, or hassle!

    Good luck OP!

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