Buying & on-sales · Ticket resale glossary
Ticket Holds
Also known as: Holds, Production holds, Kills
Ticket holds are seats an organiser deliberately keeps off sale — reserved for the artist, the promoter, sponsors, the label, the press or the production team — and either used, released for sale later, or 'killed' if the seats can't be used.
Production holds cover seats that might end up behind the stage, the sound desk or camera platforms. Once the layout is final, the usable ones are released, often in the last days or hours before the event.
Released holds are one of the most common causes of a restock or ticket drop on a show that sold out months before. They can include very good seats, sold at face value.
Who tickets are held for
Every major event keeps part of the venue off sale at the start. Each group of holds has its own owner and its own reason, and each is released on a different timetable.
- Artist and management: guest lists for family, crew and friends of the band.
- Promoter and venue: tickets for partners, staff and operational needs.
- Sponsors and hospitality: seats tied to sponsorship deals and corporate packages.
- Label, press and media: seats for reviewers, broadcasters and industry guests.
- Production: seats that may be blocked by the stage, screens, sound desk or camera positions.
- Accessible seating: wheelchair and companion spaces kept for the people who need them, sometimes released for general sale later.
When holds are released
Guest list and partner holds are usually confirmed in the weeks before the show, and what isn't needed goes back on sale. Production holds can only be released once the stage design is final, which often means the last week, the day before or even the day of the show.
Seats that can't be used at all, for example because they sit directly behind a speaker stack, are 'killed' and never sold. The final number of tickets sold can therefore end up below the venue's nominal capacity.
Worked example
An 18,000-capacity arena holds 1,200 seats when the tour goes on sale. As an example, guests and partners use 350, 150 are killed behind the stage, and the remaining 700 are released in two batches: 400 the week before the show and 300 on the morning of the event. To a buyer, that shows up as two separate restocks on an event that has been 'sold out' for months.
How holds distort the sell-out picture
Because holds are off sale, a show can look sold out while hundreds or thousands of seats remain unsold. Metrics based on capacity, such as estimated tickets sold or percentage sold, can therefore show an event below 100% even after a sell-out.
When reading primary data, compare it with venue capacity and with how the venue was configured for that show. A gap of a few percent on a sold-out event is often held inventory waiting to be released, not unsold demand.
How resellers use hold releases
Released holds are one of the main sources of face value tickets for sold-out events, and some are very good seats close to the stage. Resellers who track an event closely watch the seat map for sections that have shown no availability since the on-sale, as those are often production or partner holds.
Releases are unannounced and short-lived, so a ticket monitor that checks the sale page continuously is the practical way to catch them.
Catch it with Eventory
When holds are released, Eventory monitors spot the new tickets and alert you right away — including the last-minute releases close to the show.
Frequently asked questions
What are production holds?
Production holds are seats kept off sale until the stage, screens, sound desk and camera positions are final. Seats with a usable view are then released for sale, often in the last few days before the event.
What are killed seats?
Killed seats are held seats that can't be sold at all, usually because the stage or production equipment blocks them. They are removed from the inventory, so the final tickets sold can be lower than the venue's capacity.
When are ticket holds released?
Partner and guest list holds are often released in the weeks before the event. Production holds are usually released in the final week, sometimes on the day of the show.
Are released hold tickets good seats?
Often, yes. Holds include seats kept for the artist, guests and sponsors, which tend to be in good positions, and production releases are frequently close to the stage. They are sold at the organiser's price.