Want to buy Radiohead tickets? Better follow these instructions

September 9, 2026 — 11:26amRadiohead fans rejoiced earlier this week after the legendary English band announced an Australian tour next year. But for those hoping to buy tickets, the process is a bit more complicated than they might expect.Instead of simply purchasing tickets via ticketing platform Ticketek – or waiting in an online queue during pre-sales, as punters did for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in 2024 – Radiohead fans need to first register their interest in buying tickets.Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke during the band’s last Australian tour in 2012.Fairfax MediaThe band announced on Monday that it would play 16 dates across Australia next year, at Perth’s RAC Arena, Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena and Sydney’s Afterpay Arena, in May and June 2027, their first Australian gigs in 15 years.It’s an unusual system, one that comes with a strict deadline, and appears to have been designed by the band to keep it fair for fans and avoid people profiteering off the huge demand for tickets. But be warned – registering doesn’t necessarily guarantee you a ticket.After a deep dive through the 2000-plus-word FAQ page on the band’s website, here’s what you need to know.How do I buy tickets?You must register to be eligible to purchase tickets to the band’s Australian shows. The registration form is accessible via Radiohead’s website, Frontier Touring or the Ticketek website. All registrations must be submitted by 5pm AEST on Thursday, September 10. Anyone who misses the deadline will not be eligible. That said, there’s no benefit to registering early, as the band’s website emphasises each submission received ahead of the deadline will be “treated equally”.The registration process itself is simple. You’ll need to share your full name, email address, phone number, country of residence and the cities you’d like to see Radiohead in. You may select multiple cities; however, if your registration is successful, you’ll only receive purchase access for one city.Double-check your details are correct before submitting the registration, as you won’t be able to amend them later.A screenshot of the Radiohead registration page.Frontier Touring/RadioheadNotably, you can only register once – doubling up your registrations will not increase your chances of securing tickets. You will only be able to buy up to four tickets, and they can only be for one city only.Registration for accessibility tickets can be submitted via a different form. It will require the same details as above, as well as information about accessibility requirements, ticket quantity and any additional access needs or considerations.Once you’ve registered, you must validate your email address by clicking the link in the email sent from Frontier Touring (this could take 5 to 10 minutes to land in your inbox; remember to check your spam and junk folders).From 3pm on September 11, everyone who has registered will be emailed with next steps. Not everyone who registers is guaranteed the opportunity to buy a ticket. Those selected will be determined randomly.Radiohead’s Clive Deamer, Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood performing at Coachella in 2021.Trixie Textor/Getty Images for CoachellaThose whose registration is unsuccessful will be automatically added to a waitlist for any future potential ticket releases for the Australian dates. Ticket release notifications can occur at any time before the show date.From 7am on September 15, successful registrants will receive an email with a purchase link and unique unlock code. This code doesn’t guarantee you a ticket; it merely offers you a chance to purchase upon availability. Don’t share this code with others.Before the purchase window opens, create or check your account with the relevant authorised ticketing agency. For Melbourne, the newly-appointed authorised ticketing agency is AXS; and for Perth and Sydney, it’s Ticketek.The “chance to purchase” window will open at 9am (local time to the venue). After waiting on a holding page or queue, a page will appear in which you’ll be able to enter your unique code. The purchasing window will remain open until 9am on September 17, or until tickets sell out. Accessibility tickets, meanwhile, will remain available until 5pm on September 28.The way in which you purchase tickets may look slightly different depending on the city you’re in. In Melbourne, where AXS is used for the Rod Laver shows, each show date will have a separate queue, opening approximately 30 minutes before the purchase window. If your preferred date is sold out when you reach the front, refer to your confirmation email or text message for instructions on joining the queue for another date. In Perth and Sydney, where Ticketek is used, the Ticketek lounge will open one hour before the purchase window commencing for each city. Ticketek recommends joining 30 minutes before the purchase window opens.Disable all VPNs or IP-masking tools, as you may otherwise be blocked. It’s also advised that you use one browser on one device, avoid multiple tabs and don’t refresh or close the browser.If you successfully purchase a ticket, it will be delivered digitally through the app of the relevant authorised ticketing agency.Why is it being done this way?Attempts to contact Frontier Touring, Radiohead’s tour promoter, were unsuccessful. However, according to the band’s website, the registration process was implemented to ensure fair access for fans, and to help stamp out bot competition and profiteering.“Access to the Radiohead Australian ticket sale will be managed through a registration process to help give fans fair access to tickets and minimise automated and unauthorised purchases,” the band’s website reads.Radiohead in 1997.Getty ImagesThe need to validate your email address after registering, for example, “is a security measure to help ensure as many fans as possible have access to tickets and reduces competition from bots and ticket touts”, the website states.The strict cap on tickets was implemented to ensure as many fans can attend as possible, and to prevent some individuals from hoovering up mass amounts of tickets and then re-selling them for exorbitant prices.What’s the pricing like?Tickets range in price from $199 for standing general admission and seats from $139, up to $349 for the A-reserve section. These prices are consistent across all cities.There will be a $2 charity donation included in the ticket price. This will go to Greenpeace Australia Pacific and the Australian Marine Conservation Society, and will be subject to unavoidable taxes. Radiohead will match the total amount with their own donation.Additional fees relating to the transaction, handling and delivery of tickets may be applied by the authorised ticketing agency.In typical Radiohead fashion, the band poked fun at exorbitantly priced “premium” tickets by offering so-called “Fast Track Status” for a whopping $649. This, however, “doesn’t include any kind of status at all”.Radiohead’s Thom Yorke performs at Melbourne’s Festival Hall in 1998.Jerry Galea“What were you expecting when you signed up for ‘Fast Track Status’ with Radiohead? Of course it doesn’t include fast track status. There is no Business Lounge either,” the band’s website reads.“However, because you have signed up for ‘Fast Track Status’ (which does not include fast track status), you will be eligible for one of the most ergonomic and luxuriously appointed seats that the venue has to offer, as well as a complimentary receptacle of Very Exclusive Items designed by Stanley Donwood & Doktor Tchock, with their customary attention to irrelevance.”The band ended the message with “we hope that you choke”, crossed out to instead read “we hope that you enjoy the show”.Radiohead in New York in 1993.Bob Berg/Getty ImagesRadiohead’s tickets appear reasonably priced, especially the $200 standing tickets. Other major artists, such as Ed Sheeran, offer “front general admission” for a higher price (usually around $250), but Radiohead has standardised all standing tickets. Given its tongue-in-cheek joke about “Fast Track Status”, the band appears to be pushing against the general ticket practices of major agencies around the world.Has this been done before?Several music festivals have carried out similar processes, including Meredith Music Festival, Golden Plains and Strawberry Fields. Many of these require pre-registration and ticket ballot systems before ticket purchasing windows open.Some local live music venues, such as Sydney’s Phoenix Central Park, also require registration, largely due to the limited space available for punters.Elsewhere, Oasis fans had to complete pre-registration ballots with anti-bot screening questions ahead of the group’s Aussie tour late last year. However, that was just for access to the pre-sale.Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday.Nell Geraets is a Culture reporter at The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.From our partners