Ticketmaster

Ticketmaster is the largest primary ticketing platform in the United States, part of Live Nation Entertainment, selling primary tickets to concerts, sports, theatre, comedy, festivals, exhibitions and family entertainment across the country. Its venue footprint runs across major NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL and MLS arenas and stadiums, along with a deep Broadway and touring theatre list, which is why most major artist tours and league fixtures list on Ticketmaster first.

The main categories are concerts and music tours, sports (NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, MLS and NCAA fixtures), theatre and Broadway musicals, comedy tours, family shows (Disney On Ice, Sesame Street Live, Harlem Globetrotters), festivals and exhibitions. Most tickets are mobile e-tickets, delivered to the Ticketmaster account or app, with mobile-entry standard across major venues.

Ticketmaster US accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover, plus PayPal, Apple Pay and Google Pay at checkout. Payment method availability can vary by event and by device, and some high-demand on-sales run a queue system that locks in the price for a limited window while payment is completed.

Most major concert on-sales run a presale window ahead of the general public on-sale, keyed to a code from a partner (radio station, credit card, artist fan club, promoter). Ticketmaster also runs its Verified Fan presale for high-demand tours, where fans register in advance and receive an individual access code if selected. Presales typically open 24 to 72 hours before the general on-sale and can carry the best seat allocations for that show.

Ticketmaster presales in 2026 typically run through partner codes tied to the specific tour: Verified Fan access codes for high-demand tours (registered through the tour page in advance), credit card partner presales (Citi Entertainment, American Express, Chase), artist fan club and album presales, radio station partner codes, plus Live Nation and promoter partner presales. Presale codes are single-tour and are surfaced through the partner channel rather than published on the Ticketmaster site. Route through ShopBack US on the Ticketmaster page above before clicking through to earn cashback on eligible bookings on top of the ticket price.

Ticketmaster is the primary ticketing partner for the majority of NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL and MLS teams, including regular-season home games at arenas and stadiums across the league footprint. Season ticket members and team-partner cardholders typically get first access through the team portal, followed by a general on-sale on Ticketmaster. Playoff and championship-round tickets, including NBA Playoffs, MLB Postseason, Stanley Cup Playoffs and NFL Playoffs, also list through Ticketmaster with member windows first.

Ticketmaster lists a broad share of Broadway musicals, touring productions and comedy tours across the US. For Broadway, the earliest previews and opening-week windows typically sell out first at the strongest price tier, followed by mid-run pricing that softens after peak dates. Locking in dates further ahead of the show through the account tends to be the stronger saving lever. For comedy, headline arena tours often open with a Live Nation or partner presale ahead of the general on-sale.

Major tour on-sales cluster around tour announcements throughout the year, without a fixed calendar, and typically run a Verified Fan or partner presale (Wednesday to Thursday) followed by a general on-sale on Friday morning local time. NBA and NHL regular-season on-sales follow the league schedule release in August, with playoff on-sales in the round-by-round window from April onwards. NFL single-game tickets follow the schedule release in May. MLB single-game tickets typically open in February to March around Spring Training. Broadway and touring theatre launches often follow the show's season announcement.

Generally yes. A pre-verified Ticketmaster account with saved payment details and confirmed mobile number shortens the checkout path when tickets are held for the queue timeout, which typically runs a few minutes per session. Signed-in accounts also see fan account presales, manage mobile tickets from the app rather than searching email inboxes on event day, and can register in advance for Verified Fan tours.

Most venues on the Ticketmaster network scan a barcode from the Ticketmaster app or from a mobile wallet pass rather than a paper printout. Downloading the app and logging in on the same device before travelling to the venue tends to be smoother than relying on venue wifi. SafeTix, the rotating barcode format, is now the default for most major concerts and sports events, and works offline once the ticket has been loaded on the phone.

Ticketmaster Marketplace is the official fan-to-fan resale platform for eligible sold-out or unwanted tickets, where sellers list and buyers receive a venue-recognised ticket transferred through Ticketmaster rather than a screenshot from an off-platform reseller. Face Value Exchange is a specific resale format on selected tours where sellers can only list at the original ticket price, keeping resale in a fixed range set by the artist or promoter. Not every event is enabled for resale, and the resale window closes ahead of the event start time.

Ticketmaster issues refunds when an event is cancelled, rescheduled or materially changed by the promoter, and change-of-mind refunds are not offered as standard. If you cannot attend and the event is enabled for resale, Ticketmaster Marketplace or Face Value Exchange is generally the intended path to recover the ticket value.

Rescheduled events typically hold the same seat and ticket for the new date, and Ticketmaster emails the ticket holder with the new date and any refund option offered by the promoter. Cancelled events receive a full refund to the original payment method, with timing dependent on the promoter's confirmation window and the card issuer.

Ticketmaster is a primary-market platform selling tickets from the artist, team or promoter to the fan first, with the largest US concert and league fixture inventory and integration with Live Nation tours. StubHub is a secondary-market marketplace where existing ticket holders list tickets for resale, with FanProtect guarantee coverage on eligible listings. The right platform depends on where the ticket is in its lifecycle: primary on-sales and presales run on Ticketmaster, and sold-out or off-platform seats often list on StubHub.

Ticketmaster is the primary platform for the majority of major concert tours, NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL and MLS fixtures and Broadway productions, with the deepest US venue and artist-tour footprint. AXS is the primary partner for a subset of arenas and clubs (including several AEG-operated venues) and overlaps with Ticketmaster on selected touring artists, so the same tour can list on either depending on the venue. SeatGeek runs a hybrid primary and secondary marketplace with Deal Score seat comparisons and is the primary partner for several NFL, NBA and MLS teams. Vivid Seats is a secondary marketplace with Rewards program credits and Buyer Guarantee coverage. For a given event, checking the artist or team's own site first is usually the fastest route to the correct platform.

For major concert on-sales on Ticketmaster, the strongest booking pattern is a signed-in Ticketmaster account with saved payment details, opened in a single browser tab five to ten minutes before the on-sale time, staying in the queue on one device rather than reloading. Register in advance for Verified Fan tours where available, sign up to the artist mailing list and check for Citi Entertainment or Amex Experiences presales that may open ahead of the general on-sale.

Ticketmaster is the largest primary ticketing platform in the US, part of Live Nation Entertainment, with primary ticketing contracts across the country's major arenas, stadiums, sporting bodies and touring theatre productions. It issues mobile e-tickets and typically routes refunds directly through the customer account, with SafeTix rotating barcodes as the default entry format for most major events.

To earn cashback on Ticketmaster US, sign in to ShopBack US, open the Ticketmaster merchant page above and click through to Ticketmaster. Complete the booking in the same browser session without switching to third-party coupon or referral links, and avoid pasting unsupported voucher codes at checkout since they can break tracking.

After clicking through to Ticketmaster from ShopBack US and completing a booking, the order is submitted to ShopBack by Ticketmaster and typically appears as pending cashback within a couple of days. Cashback confirms after the event refund window closes and the booking is finalised. Bookings paid with a third-party voucher code or completed outside the same browser session may be excluded from cashback.