Eighty minutes of madness: How Adele's NZ army smashed records

NZ Herald

24 Nov, 2016 07:13 PM5 mins to read

After missing out on Tuesday's pre-sale tickets to the Adele concert, Katie, Aimee and Megan made sure they had all bases covered when general tickets went on sale at midday today.

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Katie, Aimee and Megan missed out on Adele's Tuesday Pre-Sales now they get a second chance. ...

Adele captivated Kiwi fans by selling out three shows in one day and breaking a tonne of records while doing it.

After presale tickets sold out within 15 minutes on Tuesday, the pop superstar announced a second show and when general sales began at midday Thursday. Both sold out in a record-breaking 23 minutes.

In response to demand, a third announcement and fresh allocation of tickets followed, but they too sold out within an hour of being announced.

That makes Adele's tour the fastest selling tour ever in New Zealand and she sold the highest number of tickets - more than 100,000 - in one day. She's also performing the most number of shows by any artist at Mt Smart Stadium.

Industry stalwart and one of the original Hauraki pirates, Ian Magan, was behind the tour that held the Mt Smart record prior to Adele breaking it. That tour saw Dire Straits play to 102,000 fans over two nights in 1986.

Given Mt Smart's capacity has since increased and with a third show added on, Magan estimates Adele's audience would also break an Auckland record for any paid event.

"I've never seen more than two [shows] go so quickly, and that only happens every so often. It's a surprise to me, but then ... [two concerts] is all we're used to. This is just setting a new precedent.

"The amazing thing about our business is that nothing ever stays the same for long," says Magan.

The fact that declining record sales has pushed artists to tour more is also a factor, as well as the internet making it possible for shows to sell out in record times.

Still, the only artist Magan can think that would have come close to Adele's record-breaking day is Michael Jackson - especially if they'd been selling tickets online in 1996.

But internet sales aren't without their own problems. Demand for tickets was so high fans were left struggling with the website and many missed out.

Adele fan Rachelle Power was in exactly that position. She "couldn't believe it" when after waiting for almost 20 minutes, she was told there were no tickets available.

"I'm not surprised, as Adele is amazing and I've always dreamt of her coming to New Zealand. I wish I had the money for the VIP tickets but unfortunately this close to Christmas makes it impossible," she said.

"Instead I will be blasting her CD for the next few months to make up for my loss!"

Anita Richardson says she "just cried when I didn't get any tickets" as she was looking forward to taking her daughter to the show. Hopefully "someone who really needs to be going, will be and that's good to know. I'm happy knowing that many people have got through and will enjoy her live."

For anyone else at a loose end and wondering what to do now, the answer is not TradeMe or other reselling websites - you could be walking into a scam.

Local buy-and-sell website TradeMe has been taking down listings for Adele's Auckland concerts since they began appearing earlier in the week.

In a statement, communications adviser Logan Mudge said it was because no one actually has their tickets yet.

"To sell on TradeMe you must have possession of the item you're selling. The Adele promoter has indicated tickets won't be supplied until February so we're pulling down any listings for Adele's shows that we see and informing the sellers," he said.

Ticket holders have been advised their tickets won't even be released until February 24, as a way to stop scalpers from upselling. Tickets were also limited to four per person for the same reason.

"Good on the promoter for taking some measures to help genuine fans get the tickets", Mudge said.

Some of the listings the Herald has seen before they were taken down have already tried upselling them, with one person attempting to sell a ticket they paid $320 for "by accident" for $450.

Tickets to Adele's Australian shows were spotted on resale sites such as Viagogo for up to AU$5000. Some for her Auckland shows have already begun to appear on the site.

Mudge clarified they would not take down tickets come February as there are genuine reasons for people to sell.

For those still desperate to see the pop star live, VIP packages are still available but they're not for the faint of heart, ranging from $475 to $799.90 a ticket.

However, the most expensive ticket will buy you excellent seats, food service, a tour gift and more.

But if all else fails, at least Adele's music provides the perfect soundtrack for you to cry to (sorry).