Tickets

[pironi]

The secondary ticket market is a big problem in many countries, especially in USA, UK, and Ireland. Some symptoms of it getting worse also here in Italy.

It is widely known that there is only ONE final solution. The name of the buyer is printed on the ticket, and ID has to be presented at the gate. If the buyer wants more than one ticket, he has to give a name to every ticket.

All other means are ineffective.

I wonder if AEG could take some action to identify the sellers who offer a conspicuous number of tickets soon after the beginnig of the ticket sales. AEG owns Seeticket, the most important website of the secondary ticket market.

pietro.

[bridger15]

First, I would also like to thank Rob and Jarkko and all the hard working mods for all their efforts on our behalf. I am deeply grateful.

As a blogger, I felt uncomfortable posting the concert info with which bloggers were provided.
I felt uneasy when referring to the Leonard Cohen Forum, the Leonard Cohen Files and even mentioning Jarkko because that would direct more "strangers" to be able to see the existence of and info for the pre-sales.

When I posted the ticket sale listing, I was careful to post only the Public Sale dates.

So, from a general marketing aspect, we bloggers are damned if we do get the info out there and damned if we don't help spread the great news.

---Arlene

Just to clarify. The tour info provided to bloggers always dealt with only public data. As a blogger, I tired to be helpful eg., direct readers to the forum to keep current about new concerts because they are added drip by drip. To try and decrease non-member traffic to the forum, I have decided from now on to just stick to posting public concert info and not direct anyone to the LC Forum or LC Files.

[majmunka]

Even if it would be the only solution, requiered identification is really too restricting for all the fans as well. We tend to buy the best tickets (means the most expensive ones), many of us for multiple gigs. The tour is 5 months away, a lot of things can happen. I've already spent 600 € for tickets. Of course I want to be there but if a serious problem would come up, I would like the tickets (and my money) not to be wasted. (It would be bad enough that most cheaper flight tickets are not refundable.)
Eva
*shakingfistattickettouts*

[Wissmann6]

First of all I would like to thank Jarrko and all people involved for giving us the opportunity to buy tickets before the official sale beginns. I myself took advantage at the last tour and I am doing for the current tour. Without the forum I would not have had the chance to come as close to Leonard as I am doing now.
Although it would mean to loose some flexibility with ticket purchased well in advance of the concert dates, I would opt for tickets linked to a credit card the tickets were purchased with. This was the case for the "Beacon Theatre" concert and even for a whole big tour other artists are choosing this option. I was taking a look at the upcoming tour of Bruce Springsteen in the US and as far as I know one can only get access to the shows with a proper credit card identification (the one the ticket was purchased with).
I don´t know if it is possible to use this form of identification only for pre-sale tickets or for the expensive front row tickets that attract scalpers. I also think that I would be a difficult process to arrange anything like this in multiple coutries with multiple ticket vendors - and also different laws.
I recall one of the pre-sales of the last tour when we had to enter a password for the pre-sale that was not mentioned on the forum page, but needed some knowledge of Leonard´s work. This at least would raise the bar a little for people who are not interesseted in Leonard´s music, but want only to make the easy money.

Frank

[joyezekiel]

Contra-rant over

~ Lizzy xox

Lizzy - I agree with everything you say! But it doesn't change the way I FEEL. My comments were not directed at any person or people, just at the general way these things unfold. Mark and I go to a lot of concerts here in the US...... we look at the tour schedule, we decide what dates we want, and bingo it's all fixed. And as other people have mentioned, to gain entry to the event we can just present the credit card we used to book. Of course, the logistics of Leonard't tours are different due to the huge numbers of different countries and venues involved (lucky for most of us!)..... I guess I've just been spoilt. I just can't help that little worm of cynicism creeping into my thoughts at times, and I know I'm not the only one here on the Forum to feel that way. Anyway - thanks to everyone involved in helping us to get the tickets - it is truly appreciated despite the odd niggle.

Joy

[somewhat_nifty]

Want to add to the thanks being given to Jarkko and the rest of the team in giving us the opportunity to even have presales, but I think it's inevitable that a system like this will be taken advantage of by unscrupulous people. I was furious to see that some have already started selling the tickets on EBay at inflated prices, boasting how they would be good seats as they got them in the fan presale... Who even buys from these weasels? Surely the prices are too high for the casual fan, and you'd think a hardcore fan would know about the presales already... But I digress. How could it be stopped? Seems harsh to say, but freezing registrations at the announcement of a presale might help. An arbitrary cut-off based on join date or post count seems a bit too discriminatory - plenty of people are ardent fans but just don't post that much, though will happily attend meet ups etc...

I do wonder how some of these ticket scalpers sleep at night (like a baby probably, just like politicians)

[lizzytysh]

Yeah, Joy, I know how it is with the feelings... they are what they are and have nothing to do with logic.
You're right on the differences that come with different continents, much less countries, cities, and venues. I had presumed I'd need to show my debit card [which I wouldn't even have!] for a box-office pick-up over there, but that wasn't the case.
I'm just grateful that there even IS a pre-sale for us... now to rid the process of the abusive ones taking massively unfair advantage of it.

~ Lizzy xox

[lizzytysh]

Hi somewhat_nifty ~

The problem is that the touters already know about pre-sales , so would just continue checking here for one. Labor intensive as it may be, a more concealed way of getting it all done seems to be what's needed.

It's definitely a problem.

[stargazer61]

very sad to read thet the presale ticket system is being abused. I know I don't post much but thanks to jarrko and all the others involved, I have been to some of the best concerts of my life- I have wonderful memories that will remain with me forever. Thanks to this forum I am able to realise an ambition of going to the Olympia in Paris with the added bonus of seeing LC! (would have loved to have seen Brel at the Olympia).

Cannot think of any realistic solution apart from, as others have suggested, that the credit card used for the booking must be presented upon entry but that would cause undoubted chaos. Again, as others have suggested, the names of all those attending could be printed on each ticket - but this causes problems if someone is unable to attend. Just don't know. Just feel so angry that the greedy spoil things for the true fans.

[bridger15]

North America ticket sales (how sweet it is to type that )

Please, may I request that sales, whether presales and/or opening public sales be staggered within the same time zone.
For example, there are many venues on the west coast, US and Canada, that are all in the same time zone.

So what is an avid, loyal traveling fan to do with only one laptop if multiple west coast ticket sales open at the exact same local time?

---Arlene

[joyezekiel]

So what is an avid, loyal traveling fan to do with only one laptop if multiple west coast ticket sales open at the exact same local time?

---Arlene

Panic probably!

Joy

[Caren]

First of all a big thank you to Jarkko, Rob Hallett and AEG for all they do. This is much appreciated by all the real fans.

Touts are a problem and a bigger one with each tour. Those people are professionals who know how to search the internet for presale info. It does not take posts outside the forum to find the presale as it is posted on here for everyone to see.

This is indeed a problem that is hard to deal with. We tried to limit the number of tickets going to touts on another major artist's site that I happen to moderate. Names printed on tickets, box office collection only, everyone needed to show the credit card used for purchase, no seat allocations revealed until weeks after. You name it. All to no avail. The tickets were on all major tout sites within an hour after the presale had started. The touts just used locals who gave their name and multiple credit cards and who picked the tickets up in person only to hand them over to the buyers.

We haven't found a solution yet. The only one that I can think of is the idea posted above with loyal well known fans being informed by email or pm. This requires a lot of work on the administrator's side so not sure if it's practicable.

It's a shame for sure but as long as it's legal things won't change I am afraid.

All good things to all the true dedicated fans and to those trying to get the best tickets to those who deserve them!

[Mabeanie1]

So what is an avid, loyal traveling fan to do with only one laptop if multiple west coast ticket sales open at the exact same local time?

---Arlene

Panic probably!

Joy

Well, we just had this problem in Europe. It would be a great shame if you North Americans didn't get to share the experience with us!

Wendy

[rpan]

April 2nd Seatwave for Paris 28th Sept

PARIS tickets

1. I am really grateful to have had the chance in pre-sale to get decent seats for Paris on 29th - not sure whether to go for the Row 12 orchestra or the front row mezzanine as I have both of these currently in case my sister decides to attend. Any views gratefully received on that point from those who have been to the venue - mezzanine would give nice view and sound but it looks a bit distant in photos?

2. Did anyone get offered a seat in the first 6 rows at all? I feel that all this criticism of the leaking of pre-sale info by fans is getting attention but what about the fact that promoters hand over the best seats to operations like Seatwave and then, as the documentary made quite clear, the bulk of the inflated ticket price goes back to the promoter, that issue is not getting much attention, did that happen here I wonder? Here are the current Seatwave prices for Paris on 28th September, for seats that were top price 199.50 euro:

[bean]

Am I alone in thinking that at 199 euro's the tickets were far too expensive to start with

I think something of the order of a maximum of £70 would be much more reasonable.