StubHub Music App Doesn’t Play Nice With Ticketmaster

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The StubHub Music app, which just launched to a national audience, aims to connect music lovers with concert tickets. And if a show isn’t sold out, the reseller will sometimes even point you to tickets you can buy from the venue — but not if those tickets are being sold by Ticketmaster.

According to the Associated Press, the app, which is only available on the iPhone, works by scanning a user’s music library and recommending upcoming shows by favorite artists or those with similar musical stylings. Consumers can manipulate a radius dial to reveal shows up to 150 miles away.

The service aims to take advantage of music lovers who spontaneously decide to seek out live music. Officials with StubHub say the company does about 40% of its business within three days of an event.

For the most part, when a user settles on a concert, the app will redirect fans to tickets being resold through the service. But spokesperson for StubHub says that when less expensive primary tickets are still available for concerts, the app might redirect users to other ticket sellers like Eventbrite or Brown Paper Tickets as a gesture of good faith.

Things get a bit more grey when those primary tickets offered through Ticketmaster. StubHub and Ticketmaster’s parent company Live Nation have never gotten along, so it’s no surprise that when you look up a Live Nation event on the StubHub Music app, it will likely only show you tickets available on the secondary market, even if the show isn’t sold out. The best you might get is a mention that tickets are available through a venue’s website, but without any direct link to that site.

A reporter for the AP tested out what would happen when he used the app to look up tickets for an upcoming Lily Allen at the Hollywood Palladium. The app showed tickets available starting at $58, but the Live Nation app had seats starting at $48.35.

This, not-so-upfront, approach could leave consumers feeling taken advantage of if they fork over extra money for the resold tickets when less expensive options were available through the box office.

StubHub Music App Takes on Live Nation in Concerts [Associated Press]

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