An early access code opens ticket sales early for whoever has it. It is not a discount — it unlocks the buy flow before the public on-sale date. Use it for a member presale, a newsletter window, or an artist's own list.
How it works
A show whose Ticket Sales Start is in the future shows "Ticket sales have not yet started" with its on-sale date, and no way to buy. If that show has early access codes, a box appears under that message: Enter Early Access Code, with a Submit button. Enter a live code and the buy flow opens for that visitor at the normal price.
You can also hand the code out as a link — append ?code=YOURCODE to the show's public URL and the presale opens straight away, with nothing for the recipient to type.
Creating one
- Open the show and click Edit details.
- Open the Early Access Codes (Optional) card.
- Click Add Early Access Code.
- Type the Code — something your audience can retype, like
PRESALE2026. - Set the Start Date and End Date. The code only works between them.
- Click Save Changes at the bottom of the page.
Codes can also be added on the Create Event form, in the same card, before the show exists.
The bin icon next to a code deletes it.
The rules
- A code works only inside its own start-to-end window.
- The show's Online Sales Stop always wins. Once online sales have closed, no early access code reopens them — the show is shut for everyone.
- A wrong code, an unknown code, or a code outside its window all give the same message: The code you entered is invalid or has expired. Nothing reveals whether the code exists.
- Early access changes when someone can buy, never what they pay. For a discount as well, give them a promo code to use at checkout.
- The code box only appears at all if the show has at least one early access code. A show with none just shows its on-sale date.
An early access code is a shared secret, so treat it like one. Anyone who is forwarded it, or who finds the presale link, gets in. For a presale that must be one person per code, use a promo code with Only for this email instead, or accept that the window is the real limit.
Give the presale code an end date a little before the public on-sale time, not after. Once general sales open the code does nothing useful, and leaving it live just means it keeps circulating.
Set a test show's Ticket Sales Start a week out, add an early access code good from today, and open the show's public page: you should see the on-sale date and the code box. Enter the code and confirm the buy flow opens. Then open the page with ?code= and your code on the end and confirm it skips the box.