How to Get Free Concert Tickets: 15 Best Ways

Concerts are a favorite event for many of us, but let’s be honest… they can be very expensive. If you like going to concerts, you can quickly spend a lot of money.

Wouldn’t it be great if you were able to get absolutely free concert tickets? I’m guessing your answer to that question is “yes,” otherwise you probably wouldn’t be on this page reading this article.

You may be wondering how to get free concert tickets when the person next to you paid $100. Well, there are several possibilities, so let’s take a look.

How to Get Free Concert Tickets

1. Sign Up to Be a Seat Filler

Event promoters want their concerts to be packed. It doesn’t look good when a venue is empty, and as a result, at times they’ll take measures to ensure that an event doesn’t have too many empty seats. That might involve finding people to fill seats (or to pack in a standing-room-only event that doesn’t have seats).

However, don’t think that you’ll be able to show up at the door and get in for a free concert just because an event is undersold. In order to benefit from a situation like this, you’ll need to do some legwork ahead of time. Fortunately, that legwork is easy and this is a great way to get free tickets to events!

Signing up to become a seat filler in your city can be your pass to landing a free concert ticket, and you may get event tickets to some shows that you really enjoy. If you’re a music lover, it’s a great fit.

You can sign up at SeatStir to be a seat filler. You’ll pay a monthly membership fee starting at $9.99 per month, and get tickets to an unlimited number of local events in your area. Members get to choose the events that they attend, and the tickets are free!

SeatStir has tickets to concerts, live theater, comedy shows, and more.

2. Be a Friend

What are concerts without friends?

Have you ever wanted to go to a concert but had no one to go with? This happens to plenty of people, especially those who are new to a city. Some of these people will be willing to buy a ticket for a “friend” who will go with them.  You can be a friend, in order to get free admission to a concert and to help someone else who doesn’t want to go alone.

You may be hired for a fee or simply get a free concert ticket in return for your company. It may sound odd, but it’s totally legit. Many people are making money by offering their services as a friend. You can either do it to make money, or you can simply try to score free concert tickets.

To be a friend, you should set up your profile at RentAFriend.com. You may want to add to your profile that you love attending concerts, so it’s more likely that people find you and hire you for the right events.

3. Start a Music Blog

Starting a music blog can also be your gateway to getting that free concert ticket you desire. By starting a blog, you could write extensively on new songs by popular and up-and-coming artists. Write reviews of albums and live performances. Bands and their representatives may be interested in having you review their shows to get some exposure to your audience.

With the blogger status, you can reach out to artists and public relations companies to request free media access. Every artist wants to be covered, and concert organizers believe that your presence will help boost public acceptance through your reviews. It’s a win-win, and you might even be able to make some money from your blog on top of the free concert tickets.

Starting a blog is actually really easy. See my article How to Start a Blog which will walk you through the process.

4. Start a Local Entertainment Blog

Another blogging-related option is to start a local entertainment blog. Regardless of where you live, people in your area are looking for things to do, and that presents a perfect opportunity for a blog.

These types of blogs can be very popular because they are so useful for readers/visitors. They attract a range of visitors from young to old since they tend to keep one informed of what’s going on in the local area.

Concerts, music festivals, and live shows fall in this category, but it wouldn’t be limited to music. Other types of entertainment like museums, parks, parades, fairs, festivals, and much more could be covered on your blog.

Since your blog focuses on local happenings, it will be easy to convince concert organizers to give you a ticket so you can gain free admission and write about their events. You could also offer some sort of coverage or promotion leading up to the event.

And just like starting a music blog, there are plenty of opportunities to make money with a local entertainment blog. You could sell sponsorships, use affiliate programs, or put ads on your site.

5. Become a Freelance Writer

If you don’t have a blog or have an interest in building your own blog from scratch but you like the idea of writing about concerts, you might want to consider working as a freelance writer to get free tickets to concerts and events.

Becoming a freelancer could land you some complimentary tickets for the same reason, exposure for the performers and promoters. As a freelancer, you write unbiased reviews about artists, concerts, venues, bands, music, and virtually anything, but instead of publishing it on your own blog, your writing will be published on another website or in a periodical. Local newspapers, magazines, and local entertainment blogs/websites sometimes hire freelancers to cover events.

Often, the owners of the blogs pay you to write for them to garner massive traffic. But it doesn’t end there. You can request access to concerts by reaching out to organizers and stating where your articles have been published on the internet and offline and how granting you a media pass would help publicize their concerts and give them more credibility and awareness.

To learn more about how to do this, please see my article How to Become a Freelance Writer.

6. Earn From Swagbucks, My Points, and InboxDollars to Pay for Concert Tickets

So what do you do with your spare time? Do you take a walk, watch TV, or hang out with friends?

Well, I’ll let you know that there are platforms willing to pay you for spending a percentage of your spare time taking up short tasks on your smartphone or computer. You can even do these tasks while you’re watching TV or doing something else.

Swagbucks has paid out over $150 million by having people take surveys, search the web, watch videos, and earn cash back from shopping online. MyPoints and InboxDollars are also very similar, and in fact, they’re all owned by the same parent company. You get paid to pass the time on your phone when you have nothing going on. You can then use the money earned to pay for your tickets.

• Signup for Swagbucks and get a $10 bonus
• Signup for MyPoints and get a $10 bonus
• Signup for InboxDollars and get a $5 bonus

7. Use Cashback Earned from Credit Cards

One of the easiest ways to come up with some extra money is to take advantage of cashback credit cards. You can easily earn 1% – 5% cashback on every single purchase you make. That may sound like a small percentage, but when you add up all the money that you spend throughout the year, it becomes a very significant amount that you get for doing next to nothing.

If you’re not currently using a cashback credit card, you’re missing out on a great opportunity. If you do have a cashback or rewards card, you should be sure that you are maximizing the rewards that you are earning from each purchase.

You can do anything you want with the cash that you earn from your credit cards. You could use that money to purchase tickets and essentially go to concerts for free.

Now, to be clear, I’m suggesting that you pay for your essential purchases with a credit card (groceries, gas, and as many regular/recurring bills as possible). You certainly don’t want to make additional purchases just to get cashback. And if you think having a credit card in your wallet would lead you to make bad purchasing decisions, simply skip this tip and pay with cash or a debit card.

8. Use Cashback Apps

Like credit cards, certain apps offer coupons and cashback options when you make a purchase. This could be online purchases or in-store purchases, depending on the app. With just a small amount of effort, you can earn cashback (and sometimes a very significant amount) on the purchases that you need to make.

Best of all, you can stack the cashback that you earn from these apps with cashback and rewards that you earn from credit cards. Some of the best cashback apps are:

• Rakuten (formerly known as Ebates) – The most well-known cashback website has thousands are partner websites and retailers that offer generous amounts of cashback.
• TopCashback – Very similar to Rakuten. Although it is not as well known, TopCashback often offers a higher amount of cash back than Rakuten or others.
• Slide – Slide makes it easy to earn 4% – 5% cashback on every purchase at hundreds of retail partners. Best of all, you can easily stack this cashback on top of credit card rewards.
• Ibotta – Definitely one of the best cashback apps, Ibotta will save you money on groceries, clothes, and purchases at many retail stores.
• Drop – An easy cashback app that links to your credit card to automatically provide cash back at many of your favorite stores and restaurants.

9. Work as a Concert Photographer

Are you skilled at taking photos or at capturing the right moments? Of course, there will always be a lot of photo-worthy moments at a concert, and being able to do an excellent photography job can land you a free ticket to your dream concert. If you’re wondering how to earn free concert tickets, this could be your answer.

You can do this by reaching the organizers and asking to be one of the photographers for the event or gig. If you already have a commendable portfolio, you can send it along with your request. An impressive portfolio can mean that you’ll get paid to join the photography team with the ticket being an extra.

Photographers usually have access to the front of the stage. This means you’ll have one of the best views in the house so you can take perfect shots of the performers. Of course, you’ll be working, but you’ll still be able to have some fun and enjoy the music.

10. Attend Free Concerts In Your Community

Many towns and communities have one or two local concerts or festivals at specific times of the year. You can attend those free concerts in your neighborhood or city to get a first-hand experience and some entertainment without the cost.

The best way to find out about the events is through your local government’s or organization’s websites, Facebook groups or pages. Check your township’s website or the sites of non-profit groups that host events in your area. You can also pay attention to bulletin boards and newsletters that may be circulated to local residents. If you read the newspaper, you may see ads for some events.

11. Volunteer at the Events

As you may have guessed, there are many things you can gain from being a volunteer. But volunteering to help upcoming events has its benefits, one of which is getting free entry.

Check the websites of concert venues or organizations that plan and host events. If you don’t see anything listed, reach out to them about volunteer opportunities. Outline your skills and the things you’re good at to see how they may be needed in the show. Most organizers also want free services too.

12. Work as an Event Security Guard

Security is essential to the success of every concert, and organizers are always looking for security guards. As event staff, you’ll not only get into the show for free but you’ll also be paid.

Of course, you’ll be working so it’s not all fun and games. But you can still enjoy the music from your favorite artists even while you’re working. Check the website of venues to see if there are any openings.

13. Check Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace

You might also be able to get free or discounted tickets on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace. It’s not unusual for someone to buy a concert ticket only to have something come up that prevents them from attending. I know it’s happened to me. Craigslist comes to the rescue. The person who bought the tickets may be looking to get rid of them, and you may be able to get them at a very low price, or possibly even free.

Checking on Craigslist a day or two before the event can be the way to land yourself near-free or discounted tickets. The seller knows that they are very close to getting nothing for the ticket, and they’ll be more likely to take a low price. Another way to get free or cheap tickets is to use the Facebook Marketplace.

14. Win Tickets From a Radio Station

This is one I’ve used myself a few different times. Local radio stations are great, not just for the music they play. Radio stations often work with concert organizers to publicize their shows, and that way, you can earn free tickets.

You can win concert tickets in a few different ways. Maybe you need to call the station when they hold ticket giveaways. Sometimes it could be a game or some competition. Other times you might be able to enter online.

Of course, this will depend partly on luck or random chance and there is only so much you can control, but it’s definitely worth trying.

15. Social Media Contests

Organizers do everything they can to get the word out about their concert, and ultimately to sell tickets. One of the ways that they do this is through social media. Sometimes they may give away some free tickets to get people to spread the word and to generate buzz.

If you hope to get free tickets, you should be following local venues and your favorite bands and artists on social media. Like their Facebook pages, follow them on Instagram and Twitter, and find whatever profiles they use the most actively. You may come across some contests and giveaways that allow you to win some free tickets.

Final Thoughts on Free Concert Tickets

Getting your free concert tickets doesn’t have to be a Herculean task. If you’re wondering how to get absolutely free tickets or discounted tickets, just pick any of our tips, and you could be on your way to your dream event without paying! It might take a little bit of effort and in some cases, a little luck but the free tickets will be very rewarding.

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