# ticketmaster sucks



## gmcunni (Apr 28, 2012)

i knew before i even logged in that i would fail and the "system" was rigged but  . .. 

13YO daughter comes running home off the bus yesterday all excited because One Direction, her new favorite boy band, had added a show to their sold out show and that show was in CT.  Tickets go on sale Saturday (today) @ 10 AM for the May 22 concert.

Wife and i both login @ 9:58 AM and keep hitting refresh to see tickets as soon as they appear.  @ 10:00 i hit QTY 4 @ any price in any seat ... NONE AVAILABLE

at same time wife hits QTY 2 @ any prince in any seat  . . NONE AVAILABLE

i immediately try QTY 1 @ any price in any seat - yup - NONE AVAILABLE

i'm sure i can find them in a few hours on stub hub for 10X the original price.


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## hammer (Apr 28, 2012)

I don't see the purpose of ticket resellers other than to take more of your money...should be illegal IMO.

Yes, and I agree about Ticketmaster.


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## Nick (Apr 28, 2012)

hammer said:


> I don't see the purpose of ticket resellers other than to take more of your money...should be illegal IMO.
> 
> Yes, and I agree about Ticketmaster.



frikken scalpers ..... I bought 200 tix to the show , I'll sell them to you for 300 a ticket? 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2


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## mattm59 (Apr 28, 2012)

*ya' gotta' be an "insider"*

these days you need to belong to the "fan club" of any band to get decent seats it seems. Tix for Iron Maiden went on sale 10 a.m. about a month back, 6/26 show in Mansfield Mass.. At 10:02 I got in, got 2 tix...last row under the roof, about 45th row it looks like....

I belong to a few fan clubs (Umphreys McGee, Primus, Janes Addiction) as well as a Citibank preferred yadayada package, which has helped get good seats as long as I respond immediately. Just got a pre-sale offer for Rush, 12th row, but at $145 a ticket....well, I found that a bit ridiculous.

As an aside, a cool thing I got from Ticketmaster was the $15 coupon for e-music. I looked it over, signed up for a $12.99/month package, downloaded my $15 of music for free...and cancelled. They sent an e-mail, offering me the $12.99 package for 99 cents. I said yes, got 2 albums for 99 cents and cancelled. A few days later...same offer...okay, got 2 more albums...and cancelled.


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## mattm59 (Apr 28, 2012)

mattm59 said:


> these days you need to belong to the "fan club" of any band to get decent seats it seems. Tix for Iron Maiden went on sale 10 a.m. about a month back, 6/26 show in Mansfield Mass.. At 10:02 I got in, got 2 tix...last row under the roof, about 45th row it looks like....
> 
> I belong to a few fan clubs (Umphreys McGee, Primus, Janes Addiction) as well as a Citibank preferred yadayada package, which has helped get good seats as long as I respond immediately. Just got a pre-sale offer for Rush, 12th row, but at $145 a ticket....well, I found that a bit ridiculous.
> 
> As an aside, a cool thing I got from Ticketmaster was the $15 coupon for e-music. I looked it over, signed up for a $12.99/month package, downloaded my $15 of music for free...and cancelled. They sent an e-mail, offering me the $12.99 package for 99 cents. I said yes, got 2 albums for 99 cents and cancelled. A few days later...same offer...okay, got 2 more albums...and cancelled.



Gawd...just clicked on that "One direction" link ....they all going to the dentist or something?


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## Nick (Apr 28, 2012)

how often do you guys go to concerts? I probably only go on average once per year or maybe even less than that. I think I've probably only been to about a dozen in my lifetime. Now if I include live shows, it's been much more .. probably 2 - 3x per year for some sort of live entertainment.


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## Nick (Apr 28, 2012)

mattm59 said:


> Gawd...just clicked on that "One direction" link ....they all going to the dentist or something?



oh this is that band that does that you dont know your beatuiful song ... I didn't recognize the name but when I saw the picture my niece was watching the music video on Easter and was all infatuated by these guys (She is 10 years old). All I could notice is that kid on the right the blonde dude's teeth. they are all jacked up.


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## riverc0il (Apr 28, 2012)

Unless a ticket is super hot, you can almost always get tickets outside the venue on show day for less than face value. I just show up to about half of the shows I go to. It is unfortunate that the only party winning in that situation is ticketmaster because they get the sale no matter what. 

I don't think reselling tickets should be illegal but selling above face value +10% service charge should be the max allowable value on ticket reselling.


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## mattm59 (Apr 28, 2012)

*theater show primarily*

In the past 10 months I saw Kung Fu/ Umphreys McGee in Wallingford at the Oakdale Dome.  A week later was Gathering of the Vibes in Bridgeport. My son played so we got 4 day passes ($10/ minute for his drumming 8)) and saw Levon Helm, Janes Addiction, Elvis Costello, Furthur, Moe, Tedeschi/Trucks and a heck of a lot of other bands. September/October Primus usually hits the Orpheum in Boston so I try to make a family weekend out of that, leaving momma at a 4 star hotel while the boy and I go rage 8). We do the whale watch tour and tourist thing as well. February Aaron and I went to NYC to check out Umphreys McGee (my favorite group of musicians).We caught Janes Addiction in March, then a week later caught Brit Floyd. Got tix for Iron Maiden 6/26, then will hit the Vibes again in July, probably just saturday as Primus is headlining, and Zappa does Zappa is also playing.
Sons 18, good damn drummer, I used to make sound systems...so it's one of those glues that keeps us having an awesome father/son relationship...though this pic may not show it :roll:.
http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2600169540094366337fllgRN

got a few albums of bands in there...the PandaMoe...and Vibes friday, I got some good pix, as we got right up front when it counted most. Helps having a kid who benches reps at 350 and squats 500 :wink:

Not into the coliseum shows or bands anymore. I prefer the theater shows (Palace, Orpheum,Infinity Hall,Northampton Mass.theaters) and festivals, where you get the atmosphere and excitement and not just the hype.


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## bvibert (Apr 29, 2012)

Nick said:


> how often do you guys go to concerts? I probably only go on average once per year or maybe even less than that. I think I've probably only been to about a dozen in my lifetime. Now if I include live shows, it's been much more .. probably 2 - 3x per year for some sort of live entertainment.



Zero times, ever. I'm not a big music fan, so I've never bothered. The closest I've come is going to see friends cover bands in bars.


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## hammer (Apr 29, 2012)

riverc0il said:


> I don't think reselling tickets should be illegal but selling above face value +10% service charge should be the max allowable value on ticket reselling.


If that were the max allowed value then I think many/most resellers would close up shop...which would be a good thing IMO.


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## Mpdsnowman (Apr 29, 2012)

> These days you need to belong to the "fan club" of any band to get decent seats it seems.



Or be a professional stagehand and get the real deal seats lol



















I hear alot of horror stories about ticketmaster. For most shows even the expensive ones like aerosmith or godsmack if you can hold out until the show starts and not be in a hurry to get in usually the scalpers got to let them go...sometimes for less than the value. When they overbuy and cannot sell them (and that happens more than people think) the person selling the tix have to dump them cheap because then they would have to pay the house for the ticket value(the house is the main location who purchased the large volume)


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## Edd (Apr 29, 2012)

Sounds good. Well have whatever you're having. Thanks!


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## deadheadskier (Apr 29, 2012)

gmcunni said:


> i'm sure i can find them in a few hours on stub hub for 10X the original price.



or right away at Ticketsnow

in fact you can often buy tickets from Ticketsnow before they go on sale at Tickebastard.  Ticketsnow is owned by Ticketbastard.  It is their own in house scalping agency.  Ticketbastard will gauge the demand for a show and immediately funnel a certain percentage of their tickets to ticketsnow right away to make more money.

It's not just Ticketbastard that is making extra profit.  Often times the performer is in on the price fix to make extra money too.  They just don't want to be perceived as assholes trying to rip off their fans.

Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails explains it well.  



> As we approach on-sale dates for the upcoming tour, I've noticed lots of you are curious / concerned / outraged at the plethora of tickets that somehow appear on all these reseller sites at inflated prices - even before the pre-sale dates. I'll do my best to explain the situation as I see it, as well as clarify my organization's stance in the matter.
> 
> NIN decides to tour this summer. We arrive at the conclusion outdoor amphitheaters are the right venue for this outing, for a variety of reasons we've throughly considered*. In the past, NIN would sell the shows in each market to local promoters, who then "buy" the show from us to sell to you. Live Nation happens to own all the amphitheaters and bought most of the local promoters - so if you want to play those venues, you're being promoted by Live Nation. Live Nation has had an exclusive deal with TicketMaster that has just expired, so Live Nation launched their own ticketing service. Most of the dates on this tour are through Live Nation, some are through TicketMaster - this is determined by the promoter (Live Nation), not us.
> Now we get into the issue of secondary markets for tickets, which is the hot issue here. The ticketing marketplace for rock concerts shows a real lack of sophistication, meaning this: the true market value of some tickets for some concerts is much higher than what the act wants to be perceived as charging. For example, there are some people who would be willing to pay $1,000 and up to be in the best seats for various shows, but MOST acts in the rock / pop world don't want to come off as greedy pricks asking that much, even though the market says its value is that high. The acts know this, the venue knows this, the promoters know this, the ticketing company knows this and the scalpers really know this. So...
> ...


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## deadheadskier (Apr 29, 2012)

Nick said:


> how often do you guys go to concerts? I probably only go on average once per year or maybe even less than that. I think I've probably only been to about a dozen in my lifetime. Now if I include live shows, it's been much more .. probably 2 - 3x per year for some sort of live entertainment.



I see a show probably once a month on average, but there's been times in my life when I've had the time that it's been once a week or more.  Saw the Grateful Dead about 30 times back in the day.  I've seen Phish at least 70 times and would often take a week off and catch 4-5 shows in a row at multiple cities.

I rarely go to "concerts" anymore though.  It's too frigging expensive even at face value.  Back in college I could Phish tickets for like $30 including fees.  It's double that now and you have to deal with the hassle of Ticketbastard.   Then when you go, your stuck at a cramped seat at an Arena and paying $9 for a Bud Light.

These days, I'll spend $20 or less most of the time and catch a show from a smaller up and coming band at club instead.  Part of the reason why we moved to the town we live in is it has one of the best small music clubs in New England.

More than anything, I prefer Music Festivals with camping these days.  I go to 1-3 a summer.  Two to three days of music with dozens of bands.  I go to Strangecreek every Memorial Day week and have a crew of 40 or so friends that we camp with and have a blast.  Tickets for festivals are $100-$200, but it's a great value as it includes camping, you can see tons of bands, can bring your own booze and food.  So much fun.


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## riverc0il (Apr 29, 2012)

I've read that blurb from TR before. Always refreshing to hear someone from inside the industry and an established group take up the torch. Pearl Jam fought the system back in the day and even they couldn't do without Ticketmaster in the long run. Trent has made a lot of his production available for free online too. It is cool that he is in a position to do so and speak out the way he does but most bands are not.

The industry has moved away from the tour supporting the album to the album supporting the tour. With lower sales/profitability on the album side, they need every dollar they can make on tour. So I can see why a lot of bands would support the status quo.

I remember my introduction to the Ticketmaster and scalping system. Back in college (back when the internet wasn't reliable for buying tickets due to slow connections and systems unable to support high demand loads), I'd walk downtown to my local music store that was a Ticketmaster outlet. We would do the lottery system: everyone would get a number and then you'd line up for tickets based on the draw. Somewhat fair but not fair to the true fan willing to camp out over night for first grab (which of course was the whole point of the system, not to ruin the store's business due to early arrivals).

Any ways, right when the out struck for the ticket release, the line didn't move because the store keepers "friends" (scalpers) were right up front and grabbed his max of tickets. You'd see the same guy come out of the store first every time. From the perspective of a young 20 something wanting to see his favorite band, it was so infuriating, because you know it is happening at every location.

Trent's proposed model with asking for ID is a good idea. BUT it isn't always in the fan's best interest either. If a ticket holder gets sick or has something come up and can't go, he can't sell the ticket to his friend who might also be a huge fan.

Another way to fight off top value tickets for front row seat is GA. The highest limit someone is going to pay for GA is going to be a lot lower than guaranteed front row. Getting front row in GA is truly a fan passion requiring getting there first thing, being there for the opener, and not giving an inch while everyone else fills in and fights for your spot. I know a lot of people want a more mellow experience for their front row and are willing to pay for it. But it certainly reduces what someone is willing to pay on the secondary market for a ticket. Because there is no guarantee you'll get close, especially if you are not willing to put in the effort.


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## Edd (Apr 29, 2012)

Edd said:


> Sounds good. Well have whatever you're having. Thanks!



Uh sorry. The above was intended to be a text to a friend but somehow I had Tapatalk called up instead. Woops.


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## deadheadskier (Apr 29, 2012)

riverc0il said:


> Trent's proposed model with asking for ID is a good idea. BUT it isn't always in the fan's best interest either. If a ticket holder gets sick or has something come up and can't go, he can't sell the ticket to his friend who might also be a huge fan.



Phish employed this method with their show at the Flynn Theater in Burlington in 1997.  This was the release show of Phish Food ice cream and whatever charity it was associated with.  The show was announced on the radio at 6AM with tickets going on sale at 9 only at the Flynn Theater box office.  It was -5 out and if you were near the back of the line, the wait was 6 hours.  :lol:  I waited three.  Closer you were to the front of the line, closer you were to the stage.

You were limited to two tickets per person and the person who bought the tickets had to be present for the show.  It took FOREVER to get into the show.  I couldn't imagine what it would be like to do this on a large scale.  Maybe with modern bar coded IDs they could match up the ID bar code with the ticket bar code.

I'm glad they did it though.  Phish was selling out 20K arenas with regularity back then.  It was a real novelty to see them play in a 1400 capacity grand theater.  Those tickets could have been scalped for $500+ easily, probably over a grand for good seats.

Scalping definitely sucks.  As Trent says, the best a fan can do to prevent it is to not support it.  I've never in my life paid over face value for a concert ticket.  If I can't get tickets for face value or below, I don't go.


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## ctenidae (May 1, 2012)

I don't go to many concerts- expense, hassle, never have any blueberries for added enjoyment.

As to One Direction- is it bad that I immediately wnat to slap each of those kids? What's up with the comb-over hairstyle? Are they all practicing to be a middle school PE coach?


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## ScottySkis (May 1, 2012)

Ticket master should not exist any more, we should be able to just go online to place of must website and buy the ticket from them, then their charge and sir charges are BS.


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## SkiDork (May 1, 2012)

ctenidae said:


> As to One Direction- is it bad that I immediately wnat to slap each of those kids? What's up with the comb-over hairstyle? Are they all practicing to be a middle school PE coach?



You're not an 11 year old girl...


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## Nick (May 1, 2012)

riverc0il said:


> I've read that blurb from TR before. Always refreshing to hear someone from inside the industry and an established group take up the torch. Pearl Jam fought the system back in the day and even they couldn't do without Ticketmaster in the long run. Trent has made a lot of his production available for free online too. It is cool that he is in a position to do so and speak out the way he does but most bands are not.
> 
> The industry has moved away from the tour supporting the album to the album supporting the tour. With lower sales/profitability on the album side, they need every dollar they can make on tour. So I can see why a lot of bands would support the status quo.
> 
> ...



what about only one ticket per person and you can assign it a single time 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2


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## deadheadskier (May 1, 2012)

Nick said:


> what about only one ticket per person and you can assign it a single time
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2



well, considering most people go to concerts with groups of friends, this would be a challenge.  If it's one ticket per person, how do you assure you get a seat next to your friends?


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## Nick (May 1, 2012)

deadheadskier said:


> well, considering most people go to concerts with groups of friends, this would be a challenge.  If it's one ticket per person, how do you assure you get a seat next to your friends?



Sorry was on the phone earlier typing it out. 

I was thinking, you can get named tickets, and transfer them 1 time. Every "name" can only get a single ticket. 

That means that Bob Jones can't just go buy 50 tickets under his name. He needs 50 names.  Those people can turn the ticket over a single time. 

I smell a business opportunity :idea:

Basically this would prevent scalpers from hoarding tickets, and prevent reselling en masse, but still allow you to give a ticket to someone if you wanted to, or if you had a season pass as a corporate person you could still gift tickets by naming the recepient. 

And yeah, I recognize there is a huge logistical issue at the gate for matching up people with tickets. Just a thought.


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## gmcunni (May 1, 2012)

on the news tonight -

http://www.myfoxny.com/video?clipId=7111355&topVideoCatNo=230823&autoStart=true


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## ScottySkis (May 1, 2012)

gmcunni said:


> on the news tonight -
> 
> http://www.myfoxny.com/video?clipId=7111355&topVideoCatNo=230823&autoStart=true



That link only brings up unrelated news stories.


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## gmcunni (May 1, 2012)

Scotty said:


> That link only brings up unrelated news stories.



worked for me, perhaps this is better?

http://www.myfoxny.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=7111355


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## deadheadskier (May 2, 2012)

Nick said:


> Sorry was on the phone earlier typing it out.
> 
> I was thinking, you can get named tickets, and transfer them 1 time. Every "name" can only get a single ticket.
> 
> ...



There are basically three types of scalpers.  

There is the initial contracted ticket agent, which is pretty much always Ticketmaster / Live Nation.  They used to be separate, but merged and control the ticketing at pretty much every major arena or concert hall in the country.  The VAST majority of scalping is done by them.  They have their own in house scalping agencies where if they think the demand for a ticket is high, they will syphon off tickets to to sell at a higher rate.  They benefit from increased profit and often the bands they are selling for do as well.  If they guess wrong on ticket demand, then they re-release tickets at face value.  It's essentially auctioning.   They'd have zero interest in a one ticket / one name system.  

2nd in line would be sophisticated scalping organizations that run bots at online points of sale.  Most shows limit ticket sales to 4-6 tickets per transaction.  These organizations have computer program bots with multiple credit cards  that crash the online ticketing systems at the on sale time and buy as many tickets as possible and then resell the tickets on sites such as Ebay or Stubhub.

3rd are individuals.  These are typically people who are planning on going to the show anyways, but buy as many tickets as they can realizing they can sell their extras for profit.  

Interestingly enough, what Ticketmaster does is legal.  What the "bot" or "individual scalpers" do is illegal in many states, even though they represent a far smaller portion of the problem.

I don't really see a fix to the "problem" (free market supporters don't think it's a problem) when ultimately one business runs the show and trying to establish "fair and honest" pricing would only hurt their bottom line.  The fans are slaves to their system as are the musicians. 

I don't see it as a system that can be fixed honestly.  Ticketmaster is the problem and though there are frequent class action suits against them for scalping, I highly doubt anything will be done legislatively to prevent it from continuing to occur.


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## ScottySkis (May 2, 2012)

gmcunni said:


> worked for me, perhaps this is better?
> 
> http://www.myfoxny.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=7111355



Maybe it's just my cheap mobile phone.


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## mattm59 (May 16, 2012)

*example and agreement with op*

joined the Janes Addiction fan club last night. Got pre-same tix through them, 14th row in Boston, for $60 each incl shipping. I get promo offer...presale through citibank/ticketmaster...best seats about 40th row...$85 before fees....

If ya' wanna' see the band, ya' gotta' be a fan.....:flag:


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