Splendour Ticketing Chaos As Punters Charged Thousands

By Nastassia Baroni

As tickets for Byron Bay’s Splendour in the Grass went on sale to the public this morning, punters eagerly purchasing tickets were confronted with bizarre 50 per cent discounted prices and excess credit card fees in the thousands of dollars.

Social media exploded this morning with angry buyers complaining of being charged ticket fees in excess of $1000. About 30 minutes after tickets went on sale, Splendour In The Grass issued a warning on their social media pages for punters not to purchase tickets that were being offered at a 50% discount, as they “will not be valid”. They have said that the thousand dollar charges are only being applied on the “invalid” 50% discounted tickets.

Speculation on Twitter suggests that just before the excess charges started rolling in, the Splendour event details on the Moshtix site were linking to notorious drug site Silk Road. Music Feeds spoke to one ticket buyer who saw the “silk road” link at around 9am this morning, after they claim the site had crashed.

Neither the festival nor Moshtix has confirmed whether the site has been hacked, but Splendour has alerted punters via Facebook that they can lodge a request if they have received an incorrect credit card fee.

Music Feeds has contacted both the festival and Moshtix. More on this as it arises. Moshtix is expected to release a statement shortly.

UPDATE 02/05/14, 11:03am: Moshtix have released a statement addressing the suspected hacking of their website this morning.

UPDATE 02/05/14, 11:42am: Moshtix has confirmed the credit card information of affected ticket buyers has not been compromised.

UPDATE 02/05/14, 12:26pm: Despite the chaos, Splendour tickets have now sold out.

Gallery: 20 Bands We’re Looking Forward To Seeing At Splendour

20 Bands We’re Looking Forward To Seeing At Splendour

  • Outkast 16 9 4086x2298

    Outkast 16 9 4086x2298
    Outkast: As Music Feeds has previously reported, this will more than likely be your only chance to catch the Atlanta hip-hop legends live and in the flesh until they make their Coachella return as holograms some 50 years from now.

  • Childish Gambino 16 9 1920x720

    Childish Gambino 16 9 1920x720
    Childish Gambino: Bino earns our respect because no matter what he's doing, whether acting, standup comedy, or rapping, he does it his own way. His own way is usually unique, slightly askew, and highly entertaining, so we can't wait to see what he has in store for Splendour.

  • KLP 16 9 1280x720

    KLP 16 9 1280x720
    KLP: We did a Q&A with KLP back in December. She'd just won the Triple J Unearthed Field Day competition and we discussed her growing up in a vocal booth and collaborating with What So Not. Fast-forward just a few months and she's taking over for Nina Las Vegas' coveted Triple J House Party hosting spot. Those are some chops we gotta see.

  • Mikhael Paskalev 16 9 1280x720

    Mikhael Paskalev 16 9 1280x720
    Mikhael Paskalev: After experiencing his Oxford Art Factory gig back in March, where he dedicated songs to “Rihanna and Chris Brown’s loving relationship" and indulged in some smokeless tobacco on stage, we're looking forward to the return of this kooky Scandinavian. Plus, he'll almost certainly play THAT song.

  • TouchSensitive1

    TouchSensitive1
    Touch Sensitive: Even in a dance music landscape as veritably overflowing with talent as Australia's in 2014, Touch Sensitive stands out as one of its sharpest minds, constantly unveiling tunes that are infectious, funky, and glitchy, with a whole lot of retro influences.

  • YACHTCLUB02

    YACHTCLUB02
    Yacht Club DJs: These boys were monsters in a booth before they'd even released a collection of original material. With their new 'No. 1' EP now making the rounds, we can't wait to see how the guys go about unleashing it on a festival crowd the size of Splendour In The Grass.

  • Angus Julia Stone

    Angus Julia Stone
    Angus and Julia Stone: It's been a while since we heard from this brother-sister duo who were on everybody's lips back in 2010 (along with their single 'Big Jet Plane'). After spending some time focusing on solo endeavours, we're eager to hear some new album material, if they could be so kind.

  • Courtney

    Courtney
    Courtney Barnett: This girl recently made her US debut and she's poised to generate as much buzz abroad as she has back home. She's spent the last 12 month relentlessly gigging, including giving Big Scary a run for their money while opening for them on their own tour.

  • Dmas 16 9 1840x1035

    Dmas 16 9 1840x1035
    DMA's: If you rewind the tape a six months, you'll see that no one had even heard of DMA's. In that short period, they not only managed to sign to I OH YOU, unveil their debut tour and EP, but generate enough buzz to be branded the country's next big thing, and we can't say we disagree. Just submerge yourself in the glorious noise of 'Feels Like 37′ and tell us you won't be checking them out at Splendour.

  • Dz Deathrays 16 9 768x432

    Dz Deathrays 16 9 768x432
    DZ Deathrays: Having annihilated crowds at Secret Garden Festival, Big Day Out, SXSW, and with more crowds set to be eviscerated on their upcoming headline tour, we're keen to see this fuzzed-out Brisbane duo command a Splendour stage and show Byron Bay why rock is still king in Australia.

  • Futureislands

    Futureislands
    Future Islands: The best thing to come out of Baltimore since 'The Wire', these three recently unveiled their fourth studio album, 'Singles', and have been a hot commodity since their 2008 debut. We like them for their silky, addictive tunes as much as we like them for frontman Samuel Herring's energetic and emotional stage presence.

  • Grouplove1

    Grouplove1
    Grouplove: We just saw these guys a couple months back at Big Day Out and they provided us with one of the highlights of the day. This California group have the cardio of MMA fighters and use it to create a stage show that is bouncy, colourful, and filled with wall-to-wall sing-alongs. Plus, Splendour was the first festival the band ever played, so we're hoping they'll do something special to mark their return.

  • Jungleband970

    Jungleband970
    Jungle: Nobody really knew anything about Jungle when they first hit the scene. Their adorable 'Platoon' video amassed hundreds of thousands of views and their soulful tunes were stuck in the heads of thousands more. Since then, details have started to slip out, but the best thing about this secretive UK duo are their inescapable tunes.

  • Kelis 16 9 1280x720

    Kelis 16 9 1280x720
    Kelis: While you may know her for "that 'Milkshake' song," Kelis has long commanded a reputation as not only having some of the sharpest singing chops in the soul and R&B game, but as an artist that puts on a heart-pounding live show and unveils consistently critically-acclaimed albums, serving as the muse for The Neptunes, Andre 3000, and more.

  • Kingswood 3snapseed

    Kingswood 3snapseed
    Kingswood: Groovin The Moo, Big Day Out, Festival of the Sun, the Triple J Hottest 100, Music Feeds Studio, and venues nationwide, there's few arenas left where Kingswood haven't come in and absolutely dominated. And after their upcoming headline dates, Splendour In The Grass is their next target, and we can't wait to be there to see them neutralise it.

  • Little May

    Little May
    Little May: Since announcing their debut East Coast tour back in November, this Sydney three-piece have spread the unique sound they like to call "ghost folk" far and wide, and have been garnering some pretty stellar reviews in the process. This is one we'll be checking out when we feel like cooling down a bit and enjoying some moody atmospherics, spiderweb guitar playing, and airy harmonies.

  • Phantogram1

    Phantogram1
    Phantogram: Hailing from Greenwich, New York, this duo first caught our attention with the haunting 'When I'm Small' from their stylish 2009 debut, 'Eyelid Movies'. With another album under their belt, along with many an acclaimed live show, we're ready to see this pair make their soaring, cinematic, electronica-tinged rock come alive on a Splendour stage.

  • Tkaymaidza

    Tkaymaidza
    Tkay Maidza: Feel like stomping your feet like a brontosaurus? We know we do. Much as we can't wait until that mega tune is unleashed upon a Splendour crowd (mosh pit alert!), we really want to experience the live chops that saw her garner rave BIGSOUND reviews, make the Hills come alive, make the local cut for Groovin The Moo, and join Citizen Kay on his latest tour.

  • Tune Yards 16 9 1920x1080

    Tune Yards 16 9 1920x1080
    Tune-Yards: The drum-looping, Pazz & Jop poll-topping, ukelele-playing, Afro-Pop channeling Tune-Yards, aka Merrill Garbus, has a live show as unique, colourful, and energetic as her music, all the while bringing her own askew twist to the one-woman-band looping practice so prevalent nowadays.
Nastassia Baroni
Nastassia Baroni

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