Who's Scalping Those Concert Tickets? Artists And Agents, Frequently
The Wall Street Journal reported today that for many big name concert events, the people behind a good deal of the really expensive secondary market tickets are the artists themselves, along with their agents and promoters. Recent concerts where the artists and promoters resold tickets on the secondary market and split the profits with Ticketmaster include Neil Diamond, Bon Jovi, Celine Dion, Van Halen, Billy Joel, Elton John, and possibly Britney Spears.
Although that by itself isn't exactly the worst thing in the world—artists surely can charge whatever they feel like for tickets if they think customers will buy them—Tickemaster takes great pains to mislead the consumer and hide the true seller from the public on their secondary ticket sites like TicketExchange and TicketsNow:
Joseph Freeman, Ticketmaster's senior vice president for legal affairs, says that the company's "Marketplace" pages only rarely list tickets offered by fans.
...
Virtually every major concert tour today involves some official tickets that are priced and sold as if they were offered for resale by fans or brokers, but that are set aside by the artists and promoters, according to a number of people involved in the sales.
The WSJ story notes that for a recent Britney Spears concert, secondary market tickets priced at over $1000 were "offered in small batches, each at a price, such as $1,164.01, that mimics prices set via online auctions," and marketed with the phrase, "Browse premium seats plus tickets posted by fans." Ticketmaster removed the "fans" line after WSJ contacted them with questions.
We think when artists sell tickets, they should announce whether they're selling the inflated tickets themselves. It's not like that's gonna turn away superfans who'll pay out the nose—Prince is quite transparent in his astronomical ticket prices, and he doesn't exactly play to empty houses.
The recent Bruce Stringsteen ticket fiasco didn't involve such reselling—Springsteen said through his manager that "we do not ever release tickets to the secondary ticket market nor do we ever accept payment from them." But otherwise, if it's a major act and you think it's a random, faceless person on the other side of the page gouging you for tickets, it's quite possibly the artist doing it, with Ticketmaster helping to hide their identity.
"Concert Tickets Get Set Aside, Marked Up by Artists, Managers " [Wall Street Journal] (Thanks to Ibid!)
(Photos: Jon Bon Jovi, Anirudh Koul; Celine Dion, Anirudh Koul; Billy Joel, Samira Khan; Dr. Rockso, Anirudh Koul)
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Comments:
I'm convinced Ticketmaster SUCKS. At 10am presale and 10am general sale I bought the "best available" tix to a show and got row R.
Then, up on TicketsNow site there were so many better tickets it was insane - 10 front row center! Marked up from $50 to over $300 each. I got the last laugh because they didn't all sell at those greedy prices. I snatched up 2 front row tix day of show for $30 each, and my friends moved up from my row R seats and sat in the front row with us since the other tix didn't sell.
Ticketmaster can SUCK IT!
Looks like some finger pointing happening, Artists blame Ticketmaster, Ticketmaster blames artists. I blame fans for actually paying that much for a ticket.
The answer begins with "Tick" ends with "master" and has "et" in the middle.
The fans didn't actually pay that much. They charged it!
Ticketmaster has been a customer-gouging monopoly for as long as I can remember...
And can anyone explain why they charge a "handling fee" on tickets you print out yourself?
This doesn't really surprise me. Artists are given large blocks of tickets to every venue they play and rarely fill their guest list. Makes sense to sell them on a secondary site, since they're going to get more. Yes, it's very douchenozzle-esque, but I'm not surprised in the least.
I, for one, welcome our new LiveNation overlords. (No, really, my friend just got hired by LiveNation. Let's hope I can turn that into some free tix.)
In Seattle (and I think in other parts of the country) there's Brown Paper Tickets. Really reasonable and great for smaller venue shows.
Complete and total idiots.
When Phish was in my area this past weekend, people were paying around $800 a ticket from scalpers.
The concert industry is becoming a crock. The government needs to step in and regulate this crap. right off the bat, they need ot make first day sales non-internet only. In other worrds, walk sales the first day, then unleash internet sales the second.
It sucked for local Phish fans in my area, as most of them were outside looking in, while a bunch of out-of-towners enjoyed the show. This hardly seemed fair.
@qwijybo:
I'll second that statement. All of this is the fault of stupid people who think it's worth it to pay that much to see their favorite band. They're morons.
This just makes me feel wonderful about pirating the "intellectual property" of this BS, corrupt, slime ball industry. Anyone remember the class action settlement after record companies and retailers were found guilty of price collusion?
All the more reason to get your music for free.
I don't understand something: Why aren't the "official" first offerings of tickets priced at the very high prices. If people are willing to pay these prices, why not just initially offer them at these prices? Are they testing the waters to see how high they can sell them for?
Billy Joel told a lecture hall of people at University of Delaware that he wanted to keep the tickets reasonable b/c he hates the first row to be filled with rich assholes who have never heard of him. Guess he was lying.
Although his tix are usually like $60-$150 at the most. $30 for balcony.
I would sell them for a pittance so people who really wanted to come could see my show. It would make up in album sales because people would LOVE me for it.
Greedy doesn't go very far.
$800 for Phish? Really?
Tickets just ought to be auctioned off. Yeah, it means poor people like me may not get to go to sold out shows, but it would also mean some really cheap seats for shows that don't sell out. Do it all above board. You'd get rid of most professional scalpers who don't add any value to the product. I understand there is a social equality in the idea that standing in a long line can get you some cheap tickets but in practice it doesn't work. Maybe in exchange for higher concert tickets (a limited commodity) they could charge less (or give away) digital music (an unlimited commodity).
@jjeefff: Because they couldn't sell all of them at those prices, and there's a PR problem with reserving tickets to be sold at higher prices. They do this in secret because it makes people angry when they do it publicly.
@Raiders757: NO, NO, NO! No government regulation against stupid! If the ticket is offered at $800 and someone pays $800, it is ridiculous and should be legal.
When TicketBastard advertises a $15 ticket, then you go to buy them and there is a $6 convenience charge, a $5 facility charge and then you use your own ink and paper to print the ticket. That stinks! I just want the honest price advertised. That's what I want the government to legislate.
@tnpre: That was my initial reaction also. However, since Brittany Spears is involved, I'm going to have to pass.
I think that's fantastic! I've always wished the people who are responsible for the concert would get the crazy prices that crazy people are willing to pay. Only a fool would prefer to see that money go to a scalper who does not contribute to the production of the concert and adds no value.
@HogwartsAlum:
Funny, one of the prevalent pro-music piracy claims is that artists should give the recordings away for free and make their money on the concerts.
Deceitful.
these scalpers ruined my teeny bopping teenage years.
argh
@I_am_Awesome: Uptown girls, who've been living in their white bread worlds. They don't ever meet back street guys like Joel.
@HogwartsAlum: Sure. Just like the 500,000 people that downloaded the Radiohead album and donated absolutely nothing to Radiohead. You'd be playing your harmonica in the subway station pretty quick.
Some of my best memories are the nights I spent in line outside a mall lining up for Springsteen tickets. (No, that was not me in the Lionel Richie line. You've got me confused with someone else.)
What was best about those shows was that the people in the front were fans. There were always scalpers but if you wanted to wait in line you got good tickets. The people that bought scalper tickets were usually in the back.
Is that Jennifer Aniston in the photo? I didn't know she was a singer.
I think that is Celine Dion, just look at the big honker!
That's because that's essentially the model that lower-profile acts had been (are?) forced to follow by the record labels. (Give the recording away...to the record labels)
Say it ain't so Elton, say it ain't so...
Notice how many of the names on this list are currently touring artists?
Not that I'm in denial that this happens, however it seems like it would be a lot of work, and somewhat of a risk to the fanbase for the artist to get involved in this if exposed. Besides, all the people on that list are rich enough to buy and sell any of our asses with pocket change.
Why do they need an extra few bucks from shady ticket sales?
Seriously who would you rather have the money? The artist that works hard for your loyalty and fanbase while we pirate their CDs or some scummy scalper? I'll take the arist anyday. Anyone who is against this really hates capitalism and hates artists and workers.
...you do realize 1.2 million people downloaded that album on the first day? so 500,000 means nothing if the the other 700,000 paid something for just data. And thats only on the first day.
I WONDER IF THE IRS KNOWS THIS? Sounds like a great way to make a bundle and hide it from the IRS, the artist can say they sold 3,000-4,000 tickets for $50 each at ticketmaster, They can have ticketmaster print out those records for their taxes, when they are actually selling them on the secondary market for $300 or more. There is a reason they would hide it, heck they can charge whatever they want.. when they start hiding who is actually making money, it usually involves tax fraud. HEY IRS, you reading this?????
I would really enjoy looking at some of the TAX records for the artists that are selling them on the secondary market! (Sounds like advice from our banking CEOs!)
this asshattery is why i quit going to concerts years ago.
while i love a 1 or 2 bands enough to pay $100/per, that's my max & good luck getting anything other than nose bleed need a satellite feed to see the stage seats.
If you listen to Neil Diamond, Bon Jovi, Celine Dion, Van Halen, Billy Joel, Elton John, or Britney Spears, you DESERVE to be fleeced.
@LastAndLeast: The same people who pay $1,000+ for a newly-released game console on eBay.
I bought a PS2 the day it came out for $300 and for the first year I played a grand total of three PS2 games. My buyer's remorse on that one was pretty bad but, damn... I can't even imagine how these people feel.
"Yay, I'm watching (Insert artist here) and all it cost me was the average monthly salary of a lower-middle class worker! Damn I'm stupid."
Either these people have a license to print money, have really good paying jobs, or don't know the value of a dollar.
I'll admit having the hot new game system on day one is cool and watching an artist live is way better than watching them on TV, but there comes a point where you have to ask yourself "Is this worth the cost?"
For me, there is no artist or game console worth $1,000+. Even if the artist was Jimi Hendrix or the game console came with a hot girlfriend I couldn't justify spending that kind of money.
@hillsrovey: Here is the secret. The brokers pay the people at the remote locations to drop tickets. When the major sale happens the operator fires/ques off all the tickets they can at once or how many people in line. Then they just start printing tickets and drop the first 2 or 3 pulls off to the side (which you never see) and then just give you the 3rd or 4th print out, even if you are the first in line. The same is done at TM.. The brokers find out what you are making and just pay you ALOT more than you making.
It's real simple, for them.. They have been doing this for years and years.
@tnpre
Yeah, these guys charge too much, so I'm going to steal it. Listen, if you think concert tickets are overpriced, then, by all means, don't go. By the same token, if you think recorded music is overpriced, by all means, don't buy it.
You do NOT, however, have the (legal or ethical) option of saying "your prices are too high, so I'm going to unilaterally pay you zero."
And yes, I know recorded music is a nonexclusive good, yadda yadda yadda. Think of it this way, though: if you ran a movie theater, and people who thought your ticket prices were too high decided to sneak in the back door and sit in empty seats, would you be OK with that? Really? You wouldn't call the cops if you found out about it? Really?
I'd pay $1164.. to see Led Zeppelin in 1971.. Black Sabbath in 1970.. you get the idea.
@GuidedByLemons: My thought is that Greed is a part of the USA. Still, to maximize profit while not 'ripping off' the fans I think I'd hold dutch auctions. Seperate auctions for each class of seats, but add some logic to handle 'I'm willing to pay $100 for front row seats, but only $30 for the nosebleeds'.
Hmmm... Start with the 'best' seats, do the dutch auction. Price increases until there's only as many buyers as there are seats. Then do the next section.
Fluck the artist, Ticket Masters, and alike. I refuse to go to overpriced shows and just buy the CDs or download the music. Its all a bunch of over-hyped bull shit!
@ChuckECheese: @parrotuya: My Aniston commment was an attempt at dry humor. But thanks to plastic surgeries and foil highlights, the resemblance among their body parts is rather amusing. Could Brad Pitt tell the difference in the dark? He'd probably have to ask them to sing "My Heart Will Go On."
@Raiders757: Is it stupid to pay $1000+ for a concert ticket? In my opinion, yes. Should it be regulated? No.
If someone is willing to spend that much, then the seller should be able to charge that much. This isn't a necessity, it's a fun thing, an extravagance.
The government should regulate things like oil prices, health care, insurance premiums and utilities, things we need in order to live a healthy life and get to work.
@I_am_Awesome: This is absolutely correct. Artists make very little money off of album sales anyway. The place where they can cash in is concerts and merchandise sales. I have no problem with musicians charging high prices for concerts. It undoubtedly prices me out of being able to see anyone in concert, but there are plenty of people willing to pay big bucks for the shows.
Time was, long ago, that I didn't feel bad about downloading music because the artist - as a rule - didn't make money on the record sales, that tours were the REAL way to show your support for a band. And so if I really liked the act, I'd throw 'em some bucks when they came to town.
Now - tickets are costing WAY too much, as the greed infects the industry on every level. 50 bucks for Spinal Tap I can do. 300 bucks for the Police? F' em.
Who...the...hell...would...pay...$1164..to...see...Britney. ..freakin'...Spears? or anyone else for that matter.