Live Nation to relocate Backstreet Boys fans who say they got 'screwed' on seats with obstructed views
Dozens of fans flooded social media with complaints that Ticketmaster failed to label Backstreet Boys presale tickets appropriately, leaving some fans with seats with obstructed views. Live Nation now says fans whose seats are impacted "will be proactively relocated to comparable full-view locations."
Fans voiced concerns on social media after presale tickets sold without being labelled as obstructed
Alina Snisarenko · CBC News
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What these Toronto Backstreet Boys fans weren't told when they bought their concert tickets
October 14|
Duration
2:49
Multiple Toronto fans say they were blindsided by partially obstructed views at the Backstreet Boys concert after paying top dollar for their tickets. With Ticketmaster failing to disclose the limited views at purchase, buyers are now pushing for answers. Ticketmaster said in a statement to CBC News that fans whose seats were impacted "will be proactively relocated to comparable full-view locations."When Tannia Ribeiro got through the Rogers presale queue for a chance to score tickets to see the Backstreet Boys in Toronto, she was ecstatic.
Many of the tickets were bought up by that point, but then she saw them: two tickets still available in the 130 section at Rogers Centre — perfect for her and her friend to catch the show together like they planned.
A near-$700 transaction later, Ribeiro, who's been a Backstreet Boys fan since the band's first album was released in 1996, was going to the show.
It wasn't until later that an Instagram post popped up on her feed, flagging that some seat areas, including hers, had an obstructed view of the stage.
Days after the presale ended, dozens of fans flooded social media with complaints that Ticketmaster failed to indicate their seats had an obstructed view and that after the presale, those seats were selling for a discounted price. That prompted calls for the vendor to issue an apology and rectify the problem, either through refunds or exchanges for different seats.
"As soon as I got it in writing [from Ticketmaster] that these seats are partially obstructed, that's when my heart dropped," Ribeiro said.
Ribeiro showed CBC News a screenshot of an email exchange this week with Ticketmaster confirming her seats were impacted.
In an emailed statement Wednesday, Live Nation acknowledged that "some" fans had raised concerns about their tickets.
"Fans whose seats are impacted will be proactively relocated to comparable full-view locations in advance of their show. We expect to begin reaching out to affected fans in the coming days with additional information," the company said.
The Backstreet Boys are expected to play 12 shows across four consecutive weekends in Toronto, from February to March 2027. (backstreetboys.com)
Rogers announced earlier this month that it was the organizer bringing the Backstreet Boys to Toronto in 2027. Its announcement offered Rogers customers "exclusive" access to the Oct. 5 presale.
Live Nation is the entertainment company overseeing the concerts, and its subsidiary, Ticketmaster, operates the ticketing platform for them.
Stephanie Tan, also a fan of the pop band, planned to fly in from Vancouver to catch the band's opening weekend show in Toronto. Later, she found out the seats she purchased had the same problem as Ribeiro's.
Given what she spent on four tickets, just over $3,000 after taxes and fees, Tan thought she'd be getting a "pretty amazing view."
But she said she later found out about the potential obstructed view for her seats from "online chatter" and said she only got that confirmation from Ticketmaster after she emailed them about it.
"I was honestly low-key pissed," she said.
Stephanie Tan says she was frustrated to find out that Backstreet Boys concert tickets she bought from a presale have now been identified as tickets that have an obstructed view. (Submitted by Stephanie Tan)
Screenshots show price discrepancy
Lisa Parent, a Backstreet Boys fan from Thunder Bay, Ont., bought eight tickets to the Feb. 20 show and is also feeling the frustration.
She said she only found out her seats had an obstructed view after she started looking into buying tickets for another show in March, and noticed the row she purchased tickets in was now labelled differently.
Parent provided screenshots to CBC News that showed the discrepancy.
A screenshot from the Oct. 5 presale shows Parent paid just over $5,500 for eight concert tickets for the Feb. 20 show, including fees and taxes.
A screenshot of emails from the same day shows Parent asking Ticketmaster for confirmation that her tickets have an unobstructed view. On Oct. 7, a Ticketmaster agent confirmed that her seats are "not located under obstructed view."
But in a screenshot of the Ticketmaster website for a show on March 5, the same seats Parent bought for the Feb. 20 show had a "partially obstructed view" warning.
Those tickets were discounted, with eight totaling just over $2,900, about half of what Parent paid in the Feb. 20 show presale.
"I feel that I have been misled on what they have sold me on presale day," she said, adding she felt "tricked."
Ticketmaster, Rogers respond
In an emailed statement Wednesday, Ticketmaster said the Backstreet Boys tour is "working on a solution for the small number of fans affected by newly identified obstructed views."
"We thank fans for their patience," the statement said.
Charmaine Khan, spokesperson for Rogers, referred all questions to Live Nation and Ticketmaster.
Before Live Nation responded to CBC News, Tan said she would be disputing the cost of the tickets through her credit card company, while Parent said she would like a partial refund.
"What's fair is I picked those seats, and I would like to pay what they're worth today, which is half the price," Parent said.
Ribeiro said she wants Ticketmaster to issue the affected customers an apology.
"They really screwed us over," she said.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alina Snisarenko is a Toronto-based journalist. She currently works as a digital writer for CBC Toronto and has previously worked as an associate producer with CBC Radio's Metro Morning. You can reach her with story ideas or tips at alina.snisarenko@cbc.ca.
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