LEGACY & INSIGHTS: MUSIC & BUSINESS
90,000 in Line. Who Counted Them?
Garth Brooks ticket bots reportedly made up most of a Kansas City queue of more than 90,000, his team says. Salt Lake City’s venue said its queues were more than 90% human.
Garth Brooks ticket bots reportedly made up most of a queue of more than 90,000 for one Kansas City matinee, his team says. I could not find an independent count. Salt Lake City’s arena said in September that its queues were more than 90% human. Garth Brooks ticket bots raise a harder question than blame, so who counts the line?
Garth Brooks Ticket Bots Shut Down a Kansas City Sale
First, the third Kansas City show, a November 7 matinee at T-Mobile Center, went on sale October 23 through AXS. Tickets cost $155 before taxes, Brooks’ website says. Then his team posted that sales were shut down “due to excessive bot activity.” Next, his statement said bots held tickets across the floor and lower bowl. However, the matinee was cancelled, and KSHB reports automatic refunds. Meanwhile, the two evening shows remain scheduled.
Garth Brooks Ticket Bots: Who Counts the Line?
The Garth Brooks ticket bots figure for Kansas City is a claim. The statement does not say whether 90,000 counts browsers, accounts or people, and I found no AXS count. Still, its purchase agreement lets AXS cancel orders over “automated software applications (e.g. bots),” yet it does not define detection. Then there is Salt Lake City, where the Delta Center said queues “surpassed 50,000 fans each, with more than 90% verified as human.” It does not say who verified that. The release adds that SeatGeek investigated because “the numbers did not add up.” Seattle, on Ticketmaster, sold out three shows in minutes, Brooks’ site reports. Because those sales differ in venue, demand and date, they do not show which platform did better.
Where Garth Brooks Ticket Bots Meet the Law
The BOTS Act bars using software to circumvent ticketing controls. In September 2025, the Federal Trade Commission sued Live Nation and Ticketmaster. The agency alleges an internal email said they would “turn a blind eye as a matter of policy” to brokers breaking limits. However, Live Nation denies wrongdoing and says it blocked nearly 260 million bot attempts a day in 2025. Still, a federal judge denied dismissal on September 28, without deciding whether the accusations are true. Yet that case does not involve AXS, SeatGeek or Brooks. Meanwhile, Brooks has asked the “powers that be” to make bot activity during on-sales illegal.
Does a Flat Price Invite Resellers?
Brooks sells every seat at one price. “Where you sit in the arena shouldn’t depend on how much you can afford,” Brooks’ website says. So that policy may create an incentive. Early on, Whiskey Riff reported resale asks from $30 in the upper level to $600 near the stage, against $155.25 face. Still, those are asking prices from one outlet, not completed sales. Meanwhile, economists have studied the gap. Bhave and Budish found in 2017 that underpricing “encourages socially wasteful rent-seeking by ticket brokers.” Also, Leslie and Sorensen found in 2009 that 26% of resold tickets sold below face. However, both studied other concerts, not Brooks. Still, nothing I found shows flat pricing caused the Kansas City problem, and Seattle sold out at a similar price.
What Fans Were Told About Garth Brooks Ticket Bots
First, Brooks said he felt the original on-sale left people “unable to get tickets,” KSHB reports. Then the cancellation came three days after the sale, 12 days before the date. Still, I found no outlet that documents a fan losing travel money. Whether other options existed remains unanswered.
What Garth Brooks Ticket Bots Leave Unanswered
So three companies sold tickets on one tour, and each line came with a different story. First, in everything I found, AXS has not said how it identified bots in Kansas City. Next, the Delta Center has not said what “verified as human” measured. Then no one has shown whether bots bought tickets or only blocked the way. Until those answers are public, a queue is a claim, not a crowd.
Signal Breakdown
Not every claim about Garth Brooks ticket bots carries the same weight.
Reported and Documented
- Sale. First, the Kansas City matinee went on sale October 23 through AXS at $155 before taxes, per Brooks’ website.
- Venue. Then the Delta Center’s own release carries the Salt Lake City “more than 90% verified as human” line.
- Ticketers. Also, Salt Lake City used SeatGeek, Kansas City used AXS and Seattle used Ticketmaster.
- Filing. Next, the FTC sued Live Nation and Ticketmaster on September 18, 2025.
Claims and Counterclaims
- Brooks’ team. More than 90,000 in the queue and most were bots, with bots holding floor and lower-bowl seats, though no audit exists.
- Delta Center. More than 90% of Salt Lake City queues were human, yet the measure is undefined.
- Live Nation. However, it denies wrongdoing in the FTC case and cites nearly 260 million bot attempts blocked daily.
- FTC. Still, its “turn a blind eye” email claim is an allegation.
Not Established
- what the 90,000 counted: browsers, accounts or people
- how AXS identified bots, or the exact shutdown time
- whether bots bought tickets or only blocked access
- completed resale prices for any Brooks date
- that flat pricing caused the Kansas City problem
Sourcing: the Salt Lake City quotes come from the Delta Center’s September 18 release. The AXS language comes from its purchase agreement. Kansas City, Seattle and price details come from Brooks’ website and outlets such as KSHB, as read through a summarizing fetch. Economics findings come from NBER working papers by Bhave and Budish (2017) and Leslie and Sorensen (2009), which are not about Brooks. FTC material is allegation and Live Nation’s denial. The FTC ruling comes from the court’s September 28, 2026 order, which I read on the FTC’s site. Also, we did not read the AXS Terms of Use. We have interviewed no company or expert, and none has responded.
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