Secondary Ticketing
TM's Springsteen Settlement
Publication Type:
Magazine ArticleSource:
Pollstar, Volume 10, p.3/08 (2010)Call Number:
MarchURL:
pollstar.comFull Text:
Ticketmaster will refund fans who purchased tickets from its subsidiary website for any of the fourteen specified Bruce Springsteen concerts. The FTC charged Live Nation Entertainment with using "deceptive bait-and-switch tactics" and not addressing the risk involved with resale sites. The FTC decided TM directed unknowing customers to TicketsNow, charging multiple times the face value of the tickets. In addition to deceiving ticket buyers many tickets sold through the subsidiary website were "phantom tickets". The company held on to customers money for months knowing that there were no tickets available. Customers who fell victim will be eligible to receive a refund of the difference from the initial retail value.
Pascrell Questions TM Motives
Publication Type:
Magazine ArticleSource:
Pollstar, Volume 12, p.09/14 (2009)Call Number:
SeptemberURL:
http://www.pollstar.comFull Text:
New Jersey Representative Bill Pascrell questions Ticketmaster’s motives based on the Wall Street Journal report that Ticketmaster executives attempted to align with secondary ticketing agencies to share in marked-up profits. Ticketmaster is apparently saying one thing and doing another, accuses Pascrell who said that in February the CEO of Ticketmaster Irving Azoff, stated before Congressional committees that he’d like to see the secondary market eliminated. Azoff also noted that had he been CEO at the time, Ticketmaster would never have purchased TicketsNow, or tried to profit from online scalping. Shortly thereafter he has been accused of aligning with many ticket brokers and even pushing some of the best seat tickets directly into the hands of scalpers in exchange for a percentage of profits.
Rules Of The Road
Publication Type:
Magazine ArticleSource:
Billboard, Volume 7, p.04/18 (2009)Call Number:
AprilFull Text:
Seeking more transparency in the secondary ticketing market, Senator Charles Schumer is introducing legislation that would require ticket resellers to wait 48 hours after tickets go on sale before they can purchase any to resell. He is not looking to outlaw ticket reselling, as he cited these buyers selling their own tickets, wanting to attend a show themselves, and being willing to pay more not to be a part of the initial onsale as reasons for it to exist. The bill is meant to give the public a fair shot at tickets and to create transparency. Resellers would also be required to register with the FTC to prevent fraudulence, and venues can buy back tickets from resellers without obtaining a registration number. Ticketmaster CEO Irving Azoff has shown his support of the bill.
Live Mixes
Publication Type:
Magazine ArticleSource:
Billboard, Volume 10, p.03/28 (2009)Call Number:
MarchFull Text:
The live music industry has been getting a lot of attention lately due to the proposed merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, as well as the Bruce Springsteen ticket incident. By this, the general public is getting a better look at how ticketing works and the affects of the secondary market. Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor blogged recently about the issues raised by this reselling of tickets, saying its not morally right, but it shows that the market value for tickets is much higher than artists want to charge so that they don't seem greedy. These scalped tickets can come from anywhere, such as tickets witheld by the artist, manager, agent, promoter, venue, season ticket holders, sponsors, teams, labels, press, etc. Brokers get their hands on these tickets and then resell them. Another issue is if when the primary ticketers resell their tickets, are the profits made from these markups on resold tickets are reported in the final gross of the shows? Some say they are reported, but others say that they are not. Computer bots used by brokers also tie up sites when tickets go on sale, so it is necessary that ticketers take the means necessary to prevent them from buying up tickets.
