When hundreds of thousands Metallica fans registered for tickets to shows at Budapest’s Puskás Aréna, it set the stage for one of the most high-demand onsales the region has ever seen.
In recent months, high-demand concert tickets have suffered from significant on sale noise, with eager fans encountering difficulties during ticket releases.
We take a rare glimpse into what it takes to keep a ticketing system steady under that kind of pressure.
Since opening in April 2023 the highly acclaimed tour has seen the band play for over 4 million fans worldwide, with fans fighting to get their hands on tickets.
When the beloved band were making their way to Hungary next year, it was down to funcode.hu, Central and Eastern Europe’s largest independent ticket provider, to meet the staggering demand from fans.
“This was the biggest seated event we’ve tackled so far, ” said Barna Jardany, Head Pilot, Funcode.hu. “One of the biggest in Hungary simply because there isn’t much room for bigger seated events in this country.”
Funcode.hu turned to long-time technology partner Nuweb Group to power the ticketing infrastructure behind the scenes.
“Years of working with funcode.hu on shows like Imagine Dragons and Katy Perry built trust in our platform,” said Jose San Miguel, Managing Director at Nuweb Group. “This was another chance to prove our technology can handle any event, no matter the demand.”
In the lead-up to on sale, the teams ran extensive tests and reinforced the system to handle surges without fail and avoid disappointing fans.
Knowing scalpers would strike the moment tickets went live, they also deployed aggressive bot detection protocols – designed to keep the experience fair for real fans.
Tickets launched on May 27th, 9AM and disappeared rapidly once general sales began.
“There’s always a moment – right as the tickets go on sale – when you brace for the worst,” said Jose San Miguel of Nuweb Group. “But it never came. Just fans moving through, picking their seats, and checking out. Most were done in under five minutes.”
“The fastest buyers completed their purchases in under two minutes,” said Barna. “These aren’t just numbers on a spreadsheet. Each one is a fan who got a fair shot at seeing their favorite band. That’s what we’re really measuring – human experiences.”
Perhaps the most invisible but crucial battle was happening in the digital shadows. Automated scalping programs attempted to flood the system, seeking to bypass human buyers and hoard tickets for resale.
Over 80% of the traffic that flooded the site was identified as being bots and scalpers, according to Nuweb Group.
“We managed to hold off high traffic volumes, and kept the bots out while processing legitimate purchases from thousands of people. That’s something we’re genuinely proud of.” explained Jose.
“We could limit seat selection to reduce system strain, but customer experience matters more,” Barna added. “70% of fans opted to pick their own seats, and we kept checkout times to minutes. Those little details matter to us.”
For Barna and his team, the Metallica sale represents a watershed moment. By successfully handling one of Hungary’s largest seated concerts, they’ve proven their platform can handle whatever the local market throws at them.
“We’ve always believed our platform could handle massive scale,” Barna reflects. “Now we don’t have to believe it – we’ve lived it. When the next big sale comes along, anywhere in Europe, we have this in our back pocket as proof.”
For Nuweb Group, the success validates their white-label approach and proprietary technology investments.
The UK-based company, recently nominated for the Disruptor award, has built its reputation on giving smaller ticketing providers access to the kind of infrastructure usually reserved for industry behemoths.
The long-standing partnership with Funcode offers proof that independent players can go head-to-head with the industry’s biggest names – and win.
“We love seeing our partners succeed,” said Jose at Nuweb Group. “That’s what drives us. Ticket buyers won’t see the Nuweb name – and that’s intentional. What matters is that companies like Funcode can grow, compete, and thrive in an industry long dominated by giants.”
While the headlines went to Metallica, the quiet story behind the scenes was one of preparation, engineering, and execution.
In a landscape where tech failures often overshadow the excitement, this sale stood out for what didn’t happen: no crashes, no chaos, no headlines about angry fans.
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Author: Adam Parry
Adam is the co-founder and editor of www.eventindustrynews.com Adam, a technology evangelist also organises Event Tech Live, Europe’s only show dedicated to event technology and the Event Technology Awards. Both events take place in November, London.
