Chappell Roan found a way to protect her fans from bots and overpriced resale. With Fair AXS, she brought fairness, transparency, and community to the music scene.
Η Chappell roan proved once again why she is considered the most innovative new voice in the pop scene, not only with her music but also with the way she protects her fans. After the huge success of last year — which culminated in winning the Grammy for “Best New Artist” — the singer decided to give her fans something more than just a tour: a fair and truly accessible experience.
Read also: Chappell Roan: The pop star who turns her fame into a force for good – $400.000 for trans youth
When she began planning her return to the stage, Chappell knew exactly what she wanted. She wanted concerts that were more like festivals — full of freedom, dance, and energy — without the cramped seating and stress of classic arena shows. Along with her team at Foundations Management and her agent Kiely Mosiman of Wasserman Music, she created a series of fall pop-up shows in New York, Los Angeles, and Kansas City, the closest major city to her hometown.
The plan was perfect for attracting the most dedicated fans — but there was one major obstacle: bots and scalpers. In an era where concert tickets disappear in seconds and reappear online at multiples of their original price, Chappell Roan didn't want her loyal followers to fall victim to this tactic.
So, she turned to technology. The solution came through Fair AXS, a system on the AXS Tickets platform designed specifically to combat bots and overpriced resales. Instead of following the usual pre-sale and general release process — which often burns out in seconds — Roan’s team implemented a more careful and fair model.
Fans had three days to register for Fair AXS. The platform then used a proprietary authentication system to verify that each person was a real person — and not an automated bot. Those who had already purchased tickets to previous Chappell Roan shows were given priority, and the system distributed tickets in three phases to avoid crowd buying.
The result was impressive. Within two weeks — from initial registration to final release — all tickets were sold out, without even needing a “regular” public sale.
Read also: Chappell Roan and The Killers join forces for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2025
Dean DeWulf, AXS's North American head of venues, said: "When an artist truly wants to protect their audience and works with a team that takes the time to plan the right strategy, the results are impressive. Chappell Roan could have charged much higher prices — but they chose fairness."
The decision paid off spectacularly. The first six shows of the tour, with four shows at Forest Hills Stadium in New York and two at Liberty Memorial Park in Kansas City, grossed over $15,4 million, selling more than 123.000 tickets. The final two shows in Los Angeles were also sold out before the final dates were even announced.
More than the numbers, however, the atmosphere was impressive. Audiences arrived at the concerts dressed in cowboy hats, glitter, and handmade clothes inspired by the singer's music videos, creating an audience that felt more like an artistic community than a typical concert audience. "You felt like everyone was there for the same reason," Mosiman said. "There was this sense of unity that you rarely see in live performances anymore."
Fair AXS is nothing new, but it has never been implemented on such a scale before. Previously, it has been used for special one-off events, such as Paul McCartney's appearance at the Santa Barbara Bowl, concerts at Red Rocks in Colorado, and select tours by artists such as ODESZA, Vampire Weekend, and Billy Strings. In 2023, Zach Bryan successfully implemented it throughout his entire 32-date tour, proving that the system can work even on large formats.
Chappell Roan’s success has shown that this model can become a new standard for the era of sold-out shows. The Hinterland Festival in Iowa has already announced that it will use Fair AXS for 2026, taking the first step in a new era of fairer ticket distribution.
Read also: Chappell Roan: "Cyndi Lauper inspired me – She's the reason I make music"
Of course, artists who choose this route may be leaving money on the table — Roan’s concert tickets cost just $99, when they could have been priced much higher. But as DeWulf explains, “the value isn’t just revenue. It’s the relationship with the audience. Fair AXS allows artists to really know who their fans are, which has been lost in the age of bots and resale.”
Chappell Roan, after the end of this tour, stated that she plans to temporarily retire to write her next album. Rumor has it that she will now return with a larger production, at the arena or even stadium level. But whatever her next step, her relationship with her audience has now changed radically.
The music industry sees her as a role model: a young artist who used technology to protect her audience and keep the live experience authentic. As DeWulf put it, “Ticketing has become so impersonal over the last 20 years. Fair AXS is a reminder that music and concerts are, above all, human experiences.”
Chappell Roan has managed to prove it in practice — that technology, when used with purpose, can bring back the magic to live music and reunite artist and audience in a real and human way.
