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... secondary sellers like Stubhub.com and TicketsNow are now facing the heat. The state of Missouri is suing the professional scalpers and the states of Arkansas and Pennsylvania are both looking into consumer complaints about music fans not being able to purchase tickets to shows on Ticketmaster, even at the minute and second they go on sale. Within minutes, the sought-after tickets can be found on other sites with jacked up prices, sometimes ten times the original.
Ticketmaster, the subsidiary of the IAC/Interactive Corporation that bills itself as the biggest seller of concert and sports tickets in the world, is also facing questions from angry fans and has sent representatives to meet with state and local officials. They argue, in part, that the number of tickets available to the public at a concert is often far less than the total number of seats in the arena.Ticketmaster has also filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court in Los Angeles against a software company based in Pittsburgh, RMG Technologies, and several ticket brokers contending that they have discovered a way to get around Ticketmaster’s defenses.
They “are bombarding Ticketmaster’s Web site with millions of automated ticket requests that can constitute up to 80 percent of all ticket requests made,” Ticketmaster states in its suit. These actions deny “the public access to tens of thousands of tickets so that RMG’s customers can purchase and resell those tickets to the same public at inflated prices,” it contends. [New York Times]
Thank god we live in Los Angeles. Just about every show comes through town and if you miss, well, they'll be back soon enough. And if that's not good enough, complain to the Attorney General.
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I think Ticketmaster will very shortly unseat Lawyers as the single most hated profession. We bought two tickets to a Disney show in 1000 Oaks...after their absurd fees tacked on, we could have bought an extra ticket. It's obscene and they can't even protect their systems against hackers/scalpers!? Come on ... try reinvesting some of that blood money in the technology instead of bribing the venues and politicians.
I have been a long time hater of Ticketmaster. LA is actually the worst place you can hope to see a concert not cause of the venues but the industry and sclapers that steal up the tickets in lew of the music fan. I'm glad this is happening. I only hope it filters across the country and gets here soon. Ticketmaster should also be investigated as well.
TM sues a software company that allows others to grab massive quantities of tickets in order to resell them yet they also have their hands in this same secondary market thereby profiting from this practice.
Wow, how fucking ironic.
It was impossible to get decent Springsteen tickets when they went on sale. Instead, hacker/brokers around the country seemed to get them.
Couple of things - first Ticketmaster does not have the rights to sell ALL the seats in a venue - sometimes it is only a portion.
Second - the secondary market that ticketmaster introduces does not really benefit ticketmaster as much as it benefits fans - by allowing the promoters and artist to put a CAP on how much the tickets can be resold for. Additionally, these tickets placed on sale on ticketmaster's website can actually be validated as REAL tickets and can be really guaranteed, not just a 'money back guarantee' that stubhub gives.
Third, ticketmaster WAS investigated AND cleared of any wrong doing.
Everyone should be targeting their ire at the brokers who buy up the good seats and leave us fans with no recourse but to pay the $300 for a $50 TICKETS, which really pisses me off. I just as soon pay $20 on a convenience charge than $250 on simply lining the pockets of sleazy scalpers who do nothing more than deplete inventory so that THEY can name the price of a concert ticket.
These are the same assholes who bought up all the PS3s, Wiis to sell them on eBay. What made my toes curl was when these asses stood in line all day long for iPhones to put them on eBay, only to find that Apple had enough inventory to satisfy the demand, leaving these losers holding the bag. I loved that very much.
I've been saying for years Ticketmaster is nothing but legalized scalping. Please tell me where you can get a ticket for the advertised price? Yes, at the box office, but some venues don't sell tickets till the day of show (some 1 hr before!) or not at all. Isn't there some kind of lawsuit here? False advertising or something????
How is ticketmaster legalized scalping, Terabull?
Who do you think sets the prices for these tickets? Who do you think collects 'facility fees'? Based on the name, it is more than likely going to be the facility - meaning the venue.
There are other sites out there that are in the primary market where you can get tickets when the show according to Ticketmaster is 'sold out'. But once the show is sold out then you have to go to the secondary market and there are so many options you always feel like your getting ripped off. There are a couple sites popping up that will tell you what all these tickets sites have, the best on I've used is Tickex.