Ticketmaster Bites...

by closer2fine 4 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  closer2fine

  http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/09/01/tech/main570971.shtml

  New World In Concert Tickets
  
  Sept. 1, 2003
  

  CBS) Waiting in line won't help you.
  
  Keeping an ear to the ground, checking out Web sites and other news about your favorite musicians might still be of some use.
  
  But in the end, for many concerts, it may soon be true that only cold cash - and plenty of it - will get you the hot tickets you are seeking.
  
  According to the New York Times, Ticketmaster plans later this year to begin auctioning off the best concert seats to the highest online bidders.
  
  The paper says there would be no limit on how high prices could go - it would be simply a matter of how much people were willing to pay.
  
  There is no indication at this point on whether Ticketmaster plans to have any rules to keep ticket brokers or scalpers out of the auction, or would allow all comers - individuals and businesses - to compete on the same basis.
  
  "The band's biggest fans ought to have the best seats, not the band's richest fans," Tim Todd, 47, a Phish fan in Kansas City, told the Times.
  
  An industry analyst is quoted as saying that prime seats at the hottest concerts are "undervalued in the marketplace" and auctions are likely to push prices up as a whole.
  
  Tickets have long been resold in auction settings - particularly on eBay, which does a heavy volume in tickets of all kinds.
  
  But in many states, the resale of concert tickets is subject to strict rules meant to protect consumers and give the small scale fan a chance to buy tickets for their favorite event.
  
  Ticketmaster's plan, by contrast, involves the first time sale of tickets and does not appear to be subject to anti-scalper rules.
  
  "The tickets are worth what they're worth," said Ticketmaster CEO and president John Pleasants, in an interview with the Times. "If somebody wants to charge $50 for a ticket, but it's actually worth $1,000 on eBay, the ticket's worth $1,000. I think more and more, our clients - the promoters, the clients in the buildings and the bands themselves - are saying to themselves 'Maybe that money should be coming to me instead of Bob the Broker.' "
  
  
  © MMIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
• 

  Adam

  Money grubbing bastards.
• 

  Princess

  Like the "convenience charges" weren't enough.

  I hope some of the artists will protest this. They love the money but seem to also want ALL their fans to be able to attend, not just those with deep pockets.

  I just bought a pair of tickets for $55 over face value (each) thanks to dear ebay. I was outbid on a pair that went up to $80 over face value and the seller emailed me an offer for another pair. It was too late to put them up for auction. He went from an auctioner to a scalper just like that.

  My five year old now gets to attend her first concert Monday. She loves Rascal Flatts.
• 

  eyegirl

  that totally bites!!

  **rolling eyes with princess at the "convenience charges"**

  i do have to say though, the only time i bought concert tickets on an auction, i got a kick ass deal. i treated my sister to the Creed concert last year in St Paul. when i checked ticketmaster, the tickets were obstructed view, crappy seats and with convenience charges, around $120 for the pair. so i checked yahoo auctions and it was there, of all places, i got really great seats (2 rows from the floor and 35' from the stage) for about $130 with shipping.

  makes me wonder if they're going to start auctioning off the tickets to the highest bidder...........what will happen to all the contests radio stations usually hold to give away the really good tickets?
• 

  Shutterbug

  I hope some of the artists will protest this. They love the money but seem to also want ALL their fans to be able to attend, not just those with deep pockets.

  Garth Brooks had a little dust up with ticket sellers some years ago. Seems Garth has some sort of degree in Marketing from Oklahoma State University and knew his fan base was made up, for the most part, of lower income people. He also knew from his marketing knowledge that in order to stay on top at least some of these fans would need to see his concerts. That's when the dust up started. He wanted to hold the tickets to $15.00 each and the ticket sellers wanted much more, which they could get.

  Hopefully greed won't kill the goose that is laying the golden egg, but I suspect it could happen. Bug