I could certainly see this as an oversight on the performer's part, especially since we (I am a performer) wear so many hats. Something inevitably gets overlooked and this sounds like that might have been the situation.

I think the venue was very generous in letting the person into the show. But I also think the performer was in error both in not informing the venue and having a procedure in place to deal with a comped ticket as a premium in a crowdfunding campaign. The performer placed the venue in a bad position and I wouldn't be surprised if the artist wasn't asked back because of this.

My brother is a popular performer in Australia and NZ. He occasionally will comp friends of mine to his shows and he has a very specific procedure in place for folks to obtain these tickets.

In the end it's all about communication and it sounds to me like that broke down somewhere along the line.

Debra Cowan