Same Same But Different Launches Ticketing Platform, Cuts 2027 Price

New Platform Drops Fees to 75 Cents

Same Same But Different opened its 2027 Community Tier just days after wrapping its 2026 edition at Lake Perris State Park. General admission tickets are priced at $295 all-in, a $60 drop from the previous year's opening price. The independent Southern California festival credits ShopTickets, a Shopify-based ticketing app developed by SSBD co-founder and CEO Brad Sweet.

The festival says a GA ticket last year carried roughly $56 in fees. The new $295 price includes a 75-cent fee, and SSBD is passing the difference on to attendees. ShopTickets has been listed in the Shopify App Store since December 2025 and charges a flat per-ticket fee rather than a percentage cut. SSBD sold its 2026 tickets through Tixr.

Fan Ownership Model Extends to Ticketing

Sweet, who worked in investment banking and tech before launching the festival, said the decision came from frustration with industry norms. "Ticketing fees have gotten disconnected from the actual cost of selling a ticket," he said. "We realized that instead of complaining about it, we could build something better. So we did."

SSBD holds an equity stake in ShopTickets, extending the ownership model it applied to the festival itself. Through a WeFunder campaign that launched last fall, the festival raised more than $690,000 by selling equity to fans. "If something we create becomes valuable, the community that helped us get there should participate in that value," Sweet said.

Built for Flexibility Across Event Scales

ShopTickets is built on Shopify infrastructure and can support festivals, promoters, venues, and touring events, from general admission to arena-scale reserved seating. The platform operates without long-term contracts, allowing promoters to use it without multi-year ticketing agreements.

Since May 2025, a Federal Trade Commission rule has required live-event ticket sellers to display total prices, including mandatory fees, up front. What ShopTickets changes is how much of that total goes to fees rather than the event itself.