# After ‘AI bots’ swamp Raye’s London show sign-up, Sam Fender delays UK homecoming presale over ‘sophisticated bot attack’

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/after-ai-bots-swamp-rayes-london-show-sign-up-sam-fender-delays-uk-homecoming-presale-over-sophisticated-bot-attack/
- Published: 2026-10-28T20:12:57+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-29T04:40:13+00:00
- Original publisher: Music Business Worldwide
- Original article: https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/after-ai-bots-swamp-rayes-london-show-sign-up-sam-fender-delays-uk-homecoming-presale-over-sophisticated-bot-attack/
- Topics: UK, World

## Key points

- Sam Fender moved the Newcastle presale after a bot attack on Gigantic.
- Tickets bought before the site crashed will be honoured.
- Garth Brooks also cancelled a show after bot activity disrupted sales.

## Summary

Sam Fender delayed the presale for his two Newcastle homecoming shows after promoters reported a “sophisticated bot attack” on ticketing site Gigantic. The disruption is part of a wider run of bot-related problems at major concert sales, raising concerns about whether genuine fans can access tickets fairly.

The Newcastle presale, originally scheduled for 9.30am on Wednesday 28 October, was moved to the same time on Thursday, ahead of general sale the following day. A “very limited number” of fans bought tickets before the site crashed, and those tickets will be honoured; presales for the rest of Fender’s tour went ahead on other platforms. Separately, Garth Brooks cancelled a Kansas City matinee after his team said most of more than 90,000 people in its queue were bots, while earlier this month Raye reported bots swamping sign-ups for her Royal Albert Hall show.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.