How to Get Notified When Event Tickets Go on Sale
Set an event-specific reminder, follow official artist and venue channels, and prepare for presales so you have the sale link and details ready.
To get notified when event tickets go on sale, set a reminder on the official event or ticket seller page, then follow the artist, team, and venue through their official apps, email lists, and social accounts. For an important sale, use more than one channel and keep the official purchase link handy: reminders and presale options vary by event.
1. Find the official event and confirm the sale time
Look up the event through the artist, team, venue, or organizer, then follow the seller named on the official event page. Confirm the date, time, and time zone there. Listings can use the venue’s local time; Bandsintown, for example, documents its on-sale times in the venue’s time zone.
Save the seller’s event page somewhere easy to open. An announcement that a show exists is different from a reminder that tickets are about to go on sale.
2. Set an event-specific reminder
Ticketmaster
- Sign in to your Ticketmaster account.
- Open the event and choose the show you want.
- Select SET REMINDER beside the relevant sale.
- Confirm the control changes to REMINDER SET.
Ticketmaster says it sends a text one hour before the sale with a direct link to the ticket sale page. This is a documented reminder for that event and sale, rather than a general alert that an artist has announced a show. See Ticketmaster’s reminder instructions.
Make sure the account has a usable phone number and that you can receive its messages. If the event page has separate presale and general-sale reminders, set the reminder for each sale you intend to try.
Other event listings
Bandsintown supports email and in-app reminders for listed events when the organizer enables the on-sale notification switch. Its help page notes that the Tickets button may take two to four hours to replace Set Reminder after a sale begins, so retain the official seller link for time-sensitive sales. Availability depends on the listing and its organizer configuration. See Bandsintown’s on-sale reminder guidance.
3. Follow the sources that announce events and presales
Follow the artist, team, and venue in the ticketing app and subscribe to their official email lists. Ticketmaster users can manage account alert preferences and follow performers, teams, and venues in the app’s Watchlist → Favorites. These channels can surface newly announced events; they complement the event-specific sale reminder.
Presales may be run through an artist, venue, team, fan club, Live Nation, radio station, sponsor, or customer offer. Check the event page and the relevant organizer’s instructions to learn whether registration, membership, or a code is required. Not every event has a presale. Ticketmaster describes presales as an opportunity to buy before general sale, not a guarantee of availability. See Ticketmaster’s presale overview.
4. Prepare for presales separately
Read the specific presale instructions as soon as they are posted. They should identify the signup deadline, eligibility, sale time, and whether a code is needed. Keep the message or account that contains the code accessible before the sale begins.
- Artist or fan-club presale: The artist may require advance registration or fan-club membership. Follow the artist’s official instructions.
- Venue, team, or partner presale: Check the named organization’s own site and messages for signup and eligibility details.
- Live Nation presale on Ticketmaster: Live Nation says All Access members can access its Ticketmaster presales without a code when signed in with the same email address used for membership. For other ticketing sites, Live Nation says the code appears on the Live Nation event page at presale time. Check the event’s instructions because routes differ. See Live Nation’s presale-code guidance.
- Bandsintown artist presale: Its documented signup flow can send an alert shortly before the presale. SMS alerts are currently documented for U.S. and Canadian phone numbers, and the event must be listed and configured by the artist or organizer. See Bandsintown’s presale instructions.
A code or presale eligibility gives access to an opportunity to buy; it does not guarantee tickets. Use the official event details to distinguish a presale from the general public sale.
5. Use a backup channel for high-priority events
For a sale you do not want to miss, combine the event reminder with at least one independent official channel, such as the artist or venue mailing list. Add the sale time to your calendar, including the time zone, and open the saved seller page before the sale starts. Notifications can vary by event and provider, and no single listing service covers every event.
Common problems and fixes
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| No reminder button appears | The event or sale may not support reminders, or the organizer has not enabled them. | Check the official seller event page and follow the artist or venue for updates. Do not assume a general follow alert is a sale reminder. |
| The page still says “SET REMINDER” | The reminder may not have been saved, or you may be signed out. | Sign in, set it again, and verify that it reads “REMINDER SET.” |
| No text or email arrives | Contact details, notification settings, or event configuration may be incomplete; delivery timing is not guaranteed. | Review account contact information and alert preferences, then rely on the saved official event page and another official channel as backup. |
| The event time looks wrong | The listing may display venue-local time or another stated time zone. | Compare the date and time with the official seller page and convert it to your local calendar time. |
| A presale asks for a code | That sale uses a code-based route, or the account does not meet its eligibility requirements. | Read the event’s presale instructions and check the relevant artist, venue, fan-club, or partner source. Do not use a code from an unrelated event. |
| The listing still says “Set Reminder” after the sale began | Some listing updates can lag; Bandsintown documents a two-to-four-hour delay in changing the control. | Open the official ticket seller page directly rather than waiting for the listing to update. |
| You have a code but cannot buy | A code does not guarantee inventory, and presale access may have eligibility or timing conditions. | Verify the correct sale, account, and time, then use the official seller page for the applicable sale. |
Reliability and practical cost
The setup uses account reminders, email, SMS, app alerts, and calendar entries; the official help information does not establish comparative delivery success rates, so do not treat any one notification as guaranteed. A second channel and a saved purchase page reduce dependence on a single alert. These instructions do not require a physical product or paid alert service. Check the event and provider terms for any event-specific presale or membership conditions.
Or skip the browser setup
ScreenshotNeo is a website screenshot API and MCP server from ScreenshotNeo. It is for capturing pages, not sending ticket-sale notifications. If you are building a workflow that needs a clean screenshot of an event page, one GET request can return an image or PDF. The API documentation covers the request options.
curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com -o shot.webpimport requests
r = requests.get("https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot", params={"access_key": "YOUR_API_KEY", "url": "https://stripe.com"}, timeout=90)
open("shot.webp", "wb").write(r.content)const q = new URLSearchParams({ access_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY', url: 'https://stripe.com' });
const res = await fetch(`https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot?${q}`);Cookie banners, popups, and chat widgets are removed before the shot. Bot checks, blank pages, and failed loads are never billed. An MCP server lets AI agents use screenshot tools. The free plan includes 1,000 screenshots a month with no card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000. Sign up for 1,000 free screenshots a month, with no card required.
FAQ
Can Ticketmaster text me before tickets go on sale?
Yes. For an event with the reminder option, Ticketmaster says it sends a text one hour before the sale with a direct link. Set and verify the reminder on that event’s page.
How do I get presale alerts?
Check the event’s presale instructions, then register or follow the specific artist, venue, team, fan club, or partner named there. The alert route and eligibility vary by event.
Where do I find a presale code?
Use the source named in the event instructions. It may be an artist or fan-club message, a venue or partner channel, or the event page itself. Some Live Nation presales on Ticketmaster have a no-code route for eligible All Access members using the same email; other routes differ.
Does a presale code guarantee tickets?
No. It may provide access to a presale, but availability and event-specific eligibility still apply.
