Wildly popular K-Pop group BTS got back to the stage in front of live audiences this weekend, performing its Permission to Dance: On Stage shows at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Excitement was certainly high – according to media reports, some fans were at the venue more than a day in advance to take part in presales for merchandise related to the group’s first in-person performances since the pandemic caused its existing tour dates to be wiped out in 2020.

But some fans were not so pleased by another pre-show development – when promoters released a large block of tickets to the long sold-out show, dripping the held-back tickets into the marketplace just before the four-show run began.

“Due to production releases, additional tickets are available for BTS PERMISSION TO DANCE LA,” read the announcement from Ticketmaster, which ran the entire ticket sales process for the Permission to Dance series. “Due to the limited number of tickets available, a select number of previously waitlisted Verified Fans have been selected at random to receive codes to purchase from this late ticket release.”

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According to screenshots posted on social media, entire rows were made available in some stadium locations, prompting some outrage from those who had missed out in the high-demand first sales and since made other plans.

The late holdback release is just the latest in what has been a confounding ticket purchase process for the limited run of shows in California. Fans blasted Ticketmaster and its “Verified Fan” system during the initial sale period, which saw even the first priority group of fans struggle to secure tickets amid glitchy processing and seats disappearing from carts while people tried to pay. Eventually, the entire run of shows was announced as having been sold out during the limited “verified fan” sale – meaning that something along the lines of 300,000 tickets went out the door, with zero available to the general public (who hadn’t opted in for the verified system).

Following the sellout, ticket prices on the resale market were sky-high as fans debated whether or not to pull the trigger on the pricey ducats or go for another options – either live streams available through the band’s management, or at a simulcast of the shows at YouTube Theater in nearby Inglewood, allowing fans to watch the concert in a venue with other like-minded fans, even if they couldn’t be at SoFi in person.

For those who purchased tickets to one of the other options, the late release of holdbacks was something of salt in the wound, because for some that had already paid high markup resale tickets through Ticketmaster (which was able to collect multiple rounds of high percentage fees as the tickets were sold and resold) they realized late that they could have gotten tickets at face value in the first place, had the full availability been sold through in the first place rather than dripped onto the marketplace as the event drew near.

Some fans even indicated that the “verified” part was moot, as they were able to score a code for the late sale by messaging Ticketmaster even if they hadn’t been selected in the first place. Subsequently, some fans have indicated that ticket checking and vaccine card checking at the venue was very lax as the residency got underway, which seems particularly egregious given the recent concerns raised by the new COVID variant emergence (and massive criticism over security at the Astroworld tragedy in Houston).

BTS Permission to Dance ON STAGE continues with two more performances scheduled for SoFi Stadium – Wednesday, December 1 and Thursday, December 2. Barring additional late releases of tickets from the promoters, the concerts are fully sold out, but many seats are listed on resale marketplaces.

Wednesday, December 1
StubHub (lowest price after fees: $280)
Vivid Seats (lowest price after fees: $215)
TickPick (lowest price: $235)
TicketClub (lowest price for members: $242)
Ticketmaster lowest price after fees: $345)

Thursday, December 2
StubHub (lowest price after fees: $355)
Vivid Seats (lowest price after fees:$324)
TickPick (lowest price: $325)
TicketClub (lowest price for members: $378)
Ticketmaster (lowest price after fees:$420)

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