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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsRolling Stone: Ticketmaster Has Secretly Been Cheating You With Its Own Scalpers
Rolling Stone Sept. 19, 2018
Link: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/ticketmaster-cheating-scalpers-726353/
Music fans ire toward Ticketmaster for expensive concert tickets may be somewhat justified, according to a fiery investigation by CBC News and the Toronto Star on Wednesday detailing a secret scalping scheme run by the ticket sales company itself. The two outlets sent journalists undercover as scalpers to a live entertainment convention this summer, where Ticketmaster reportedly pitched them on its underground professional resale program, through which it takes a cut of profits.
Ticketmaster, which is owned by live entertainment juggernaut Live Nation, enlists resellers to grab batches of tickets from its site and then flip them for higher prices on a Ticketmaster-owned, invite-only platform called TradeDesk (touted by the company as The most powerful ticket sales tool. Ever), according to the report. Ticketmaster gets extra fees from the pricier resale tickets on top of its fees from selling the original ticket. CBC and Toronto Star journalists were told that despite the existence of a Ticketmaster buyer abuse division that looks for suspicious online activity in ticket sales, the company turns a blind eye to its TradeDesk users. A sales representative told one of the undercover journalists that there are brokers with literally a couple of hundred accounts on TradeDesk, and that its not something that we look at or report.
Ticketmaster has sued groups in the past for using bots to grab up live events tickets from its site, which prompted counterclaims that Ticketmaster was itself supplying scalpers with bot software which, per this weeks investigation, TradeDesk appears to be doing. This is going to be a public relations nightmare, popular Canadian radio program host Alan Cross told CBC upon seeing the findings, noting of previous whispers of this in the ticket-selling community, but its never been outlined quite like this before.
Ticketmaster has not issued any public comment, but in a statement to CBC, said that as the worlds leading ticketing platform, representing thousands of teams, artists and venues, we believe it is our job to offer a marketplace that provides a safe and fair place for fans to shop, buy and sell tickets in both the primary and secondary markets.
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It looks like the Canadians are fed up with the abuse from Ticketmaster. I sure hope American concert-goers wise up and stop throwing their money at Ticketmaster. This has been going on for at least 20 years, probably longer.
HipChick
(25,485 posts)underpants
(182,778 posts)In order to get early access to a concert in July 2 hours from here I bought a "bundle" from the band which gave me a 10am opening not the normal 12 noon. Got good seats. Great show.
FakeNoose
(32,634 posts)A lot of the big venue tickets are either pre-sold in blocks to favorite buyers (mostly scalpers) or they're held out by the band to distribute to their friends and fans. Also blocks of the best tickets are held back to give as freebies to the sponsoring radio stations and other local media. Ticketmaster buyers are literally the last in line AND they pay the highest prices for their tickets.
That's what happens when we go online for the 10 o'clock "sale" and it's "sold out" by 10:05.
underpants
(182,778 posts)When we saw Pearl Jam a few years ago ($71 for every ticket) we didn't have the WORST seats in thouse but we could see the guy who did. I had no idea that part of the Hampton Coliseum existed.
cbdo2007
(9,213 posts)When you go to the Ticketmaster site they try to get you to buy them on the secondary market ON THEIR SITE. Why else would they do this if they weren't making money off of them.
Until the artists stand up to this it will continue to happen until the end of time.
kysrsoze
(6,019 posts)Ticketbastard also owns Stubhub, so theyre getting those resale fees too.
There are other ticket systems like TicketWeb and Frontgate, which cover the smaller venues and certain festivals. I enjoy the smaller shows and some fests more anyway.
hunter
(38,311 posts)Everyone else loses.
Why should Ticketmaster be any different?
FakeNoose
(32,634 posts)They were created for TicketMaster in the 1990's when everybody started buying tickets online. If you're old enough maybe you remember the days when people went down to the stadium (in whatever city) and waited in line overnight to get tickets the next morning. All that stopped when TicketMaster took over and sold all the tickets online. They wouldn't sell any tickets unless they got the full concession - no local sales allowed. It became a monopoly almost overnight.
Uncle Joe
(58,354 posts)Thanks for the thread FakeNoose.
Historic NY
(37,449 posts)there was always something about buying tickets that just wasn't right, here in the US
dalton99a
(81,455 posts)In July, the news outlets sent a pair of reporters undercover to Ticket Summit 2018, a ticketing and live entertainment convention at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
Posing as scalpers and equipped with hidden cameras, the journalists were pitched on Ticketmaster's professional reseller program.
Company representatives told them Ticketmaster's resale division turns a blind eye to scalpers who use ticket-buying bots and fake identities to snatch up tickets and then resell them on the site for inflated prices. Those pricey resale tickets include extra fees for Ticketmaster.
"I have brokers that have literally a couple of hundred accounts," one sales representative said. "It's not something that we look at or report."
FakeNoose
(32,634 posts)This should be their focus - concerts, rock bands and popular music. Instead Rolling Stone has become enablers for the group that's ripping off the industry AND Rolling Stone's readers. They might even be getting a cut for all we know. The whole thing stinks.
This investigation is being done by the Canadian media, while the US media is sitting on their hands.