Sabrina Carpenter fans are left fuming at the “criminal” ticket prices for the European leg of her Short n' Sweet 2025 tour next March.
ADVERTISEMENTUnless you’ve been hiding under a rock with some particularly sturdy earplugs, you’re aware of Sabrina Carpenter and her 2024 chart domination.
The 25-year-old former Disney Channel star is everywhere right now, with her bubblegum pop hit songs ‘Please Please Please’ and ‘Espresso’ topping charts throughout the world. Her cultural takeover is only just beginning – with the release of her upcoming sixth album ‘Short n’ Sweet’ coming out next month (23 August).
Tickets for her upcoming European Short n' Sweet tour, set to kick off in March next year and spanning the UK, Ireland, France, Germany and the Netherlands, have been released and acquiring one has reportedly been far from sweet.
Neither has the “criminal” price-tag attached to the tickets.
While tickets don't go on general sale until tomorrow (Friday 26 July), fans who had access to the presale complained after they were booted out of the Ticketmaster queue when the website crashed, and were left flabbergasted at the cost of the tickets – some of which totalled up to €389.
The prices for the American singer’s tour have led to disgruntled Carpenter devotees all around Europe to take to social media to share their frustrations over the inflated prices – especially in the face of cost-of-living crises.
Some claimed she’s not yet “that big of a draw” to justify the extortionate prices, while others stated that for a singer with only “two hit singles”, the tickets were ludicrously overpriced.
Many have drawn a parallel to Taylor Swift and her Eras Tour, saying that it has been even harder to secure tickets for Carpenter – with the latter not having been on the scene as long as Swift.
One fan wrote: “£240 for Sabrina Carpenter nosebleeds is insane lol. She’s great but she’s had two hit singles. I paid about half that for Taylor Swift nosebleeds and felt it was still a bit too much but at least that’s a three hour show with 18 years of smash hits to cover.”
“Sorry but why are sabrina carpenter tickets costing £230 for nosebleeds, it’s a crime; Those Sabrina Carpenter tickets are ridiculously price for someone who’s got about 5 songs. Nose bleeds more expensive than Beyoncé’s golden circle tickets. Make it make sense.”
Another wrote: “The price of Sabrina Carpenter tickets really shook me…. There was a time when going to concerts was accessible for everyone, now you literally have to sacrifice a 1/4 of your wage to attend… they really are a luxury… and that’s to sit very nearly on the roof!!”
See some of the other reactions:
“The Platinum program is a scourge.”
Carpenter isn’t the only artist to face backlash for rising ticket prices.
From Taylor Swift to Billie Eilish, music fans – specifically fans of pop music - have routinely been complaining that they’re being “forced out” of going to gigs – with UK shows for Eilish having standing tickets for more than £100 (€120).
ADVERTISEMENTOne fan wrote on X: “I love Billie Eilish to pieces but the ticket prices for the tour are just ridiculous. I don't expect any artist to charge minimum, but at least make the tickets accessible to people. It's creating a barrier to the music industry for so many fans.”
As for Taylor Swift... Well, see for yourself:
Then there are the inflated costs of festival tickets, with music fans slamming Glastonbury organisers for pricing out “ordinary people” from making it to Worthy Farm. Indeed, when Glastonbury returned after the pandemic, ticket prices for 2023 rose by nearly 20 per cent to £340 (€403) versus 2019, when they cost £280 (€332) plus a £5 booking fee.
There are some artists that have spoken out against ticket prices, like The Cure‘s Robert Smith, who said last year that he was “sickened” by high Ticketmaster fees for the band’s North American tour.
ADVERTISEMENTThe Cure’s efforts to combat resale ticketing also came after several in-demand tours faced astronomical price increases due to dynamic ticketing and scalpers. Musicians such as Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift have used the dynamic pricing system, which has seen individual tickets go for thousands of dollars.
Swift called the situation “excruciating” and said: “I’m not going to make excuses for anyone because we asked them, multiple times, if they could handle this kind of demand and we were assured they could."
There has yet to be any comment made by Sabrina Carpenter on the ticketing outrage, but let’s hope any statements – should they be made – don't quote her hit song ‘Espresso’: “I can't relate to desperation / My 'give a fucks' are on vacation.”
