Better question is how did we as consumers let stub hub and others insert themselves into the equation?
I just find it difficult to believe there's not a lower-cost alternative. I just paid a 32% fee per ticket to have tickets emailed to me. A mobile app can't do that for $1?
Where'd you buy the ticket from? I've never seen a fee like that and I buy tickets online all the time
Jason Isbell at the Fox Theater in Atlanta. The "Fee" is a restoration fee for the theater. The "Charge" is the ticketing fee.
I'm trying to control the rage I feel on account of just finding out that concert goers are footing the repair bill for a privately owned venue.
so you should be mad at the venue, not the service you used but isbell is definitely worth that price
Wasn't as mad about that because the tickets were advertised as $49.50 and the Fox is a historic landmark so I'm sort of meh on it. No reason I need to pay $16.00 per ticket to have Ticketmaster send me an email though.
I don't really understand your gripe lol. That's how TicketMaster generates revenue, by providing and charging for a service. Rather than every concert venue, sports arena, and fairgrounds in the world having a dedicated website to sell tickets, there's one central place that you can go to with all of your account information stored and ready to go. You're paying for that convenience. There are few competitors because TM apparently does a good enough job selling tickets that the NFL, MLB, and most concert venues are contracted with them to sell their tickets. They bring supply and demand together in a simple and effectively convenient way; for that, they are compensated.
Actually, ticket brokers count on the fact that most people don't know TicketMaster still exists. They swoop in, buy all the tickets when they're available, then jack the prices up on their own site or other resale sites. I have several friends in the business.
I love when you watch old movies and they use the line "It's 1987, insert some incredibly archaic statement that was progressive at the time."
I have no gripe with paying a fee for the service. I understand that its a valuable service and that its better than each venue having their own service, which would be even more expensive. I'm just astounded that no one has undercut the price point. I would guess it has to do with the relative leverage each individual customer has vs. the leverage the venues have, combined with the fact that concerts/games, etc. are unique so there's no competition. I just think if there's a mandatory fee, the venue should be forced to disclose it up front. That's the only way we'd see a service emerge where we see lower fees. This definitely is a "yes I'm mad" post but I'm genuinely curious as to how the business model persists when there's zero doubt that a cheaper option exists.
live nation operates hundreds of venues and books and promotes concerts and festivals all over the place
ticketmaster is essentially a monopoly since there's a lack of competition in that market, but they hold exclusive rights with several venues - and it helps that live nation just so happens to book the shows in those venues
live nation is a nightmare to work with also for the uninformed - live nation/ticketmaster is the same company
I am now informed. did not know that why are they so difficult? seems like promoters like that should make it as easy as possible to get their clients booked as much as possible
lmaolol not quite. when a company operates like they do their primary goal is to drive prices as high as possible and rape everyone in the process
StubHub is far worse than Ticketmaster when it comes to gouging folks with fees. TicketsNow (owned by Ticketmaster) charges way way way less in fees than StubHub does on the resale market.
Ticketmaster provides a service. Stubhub et all leverage capital and ticket-buying software to instantaneously buy out large amounts of tickets and resell them at a high premium. Stubhub has parasitically inserted themselves into the process of purchasing tickets for live events.
I've made it known several times but I absolutely loathe TM/LN. Tickets for a 4th of July show are $50, lolnope, $70 with all the fees. Ticketmaster is deep in bed with stub hub. So when you have a problem getting a ticket to a popular show, it's mostly because brokers are on there snatching up all the tickets, then turn around and sell them for an even bigger cut. Now that Live Nation is aquiring festivals it's one giant monopoly. Its why i buy paper tickets directly from the venue, in person, every chance i have. I wish nothing but the worst sorts of evil on ticketmaster/livenation
It persists because there is a significant barrier to entry in that TM/Live Nation have the supply side locked up on exclusive deals, or they at least did back when I used to buy and sell tickets in high school/college. You can't really undercut them when they have the supply locked down. A new competitor would have to find a better/cheaper way for Major League Baseball, for example, to decide to leave Ticket Master.
Ticketmaster takes a percentage to be the public whipping boy. Tickets actually cost what Ticketmaster charges, the fees are made up tickermaster to distract you from the fact that artist wanted the prices higher in the first place.
the business model sucks but it's a really smart play if you have the financial capital to swing it. this same model is the reason why I'm no longer booking - Knitting Factory took over booking the club I was at, and made sweeping changes pretty much immediately in terms of tiered seating and things like that. but when a promoter can work with an agent and book a block of dates across the country for an artist instead of just one date in one city, they're gonna have a lot more pull
I have no issues paying a reasonable service charge, but I just bought a ticket to a show for $46.50. When the price of that ticket alone is $35, there's a problem.
Controlling stake. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/29/b...-takes-control-of-bonnaroo-festival.html?_r=0
And then immediately realized they couldn't survive touring without them, and now play live nation/TM venues exclusively
no better, even if the seller is asking "face" they will include the fee they paid on the ticket anyway