Ticketmaster, the depth of the greed
Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 3:54 am
San Francisco – This morning, in my own home, I actually experienced, the roots of our financial woes, greed.
I hardly ever go to big shows or sporting events anymore, but once in awhile, it’s something special to do. In my case, I was recently enamored, moved, swooned even, by Leonard Cohen, Podcast live by NPR from the Beacon Theater in New York City, February 26th, 2009. I have been a fan since I was aware of his music, but this. . . this is pure mastery at its finest.
I followed links through NPRs generous website and discovered that man himself would be playing on my birthday and that tickets would go on pre-sale, to fans with a special password, at 10am (EST), March 7th, 2009, which is today.
6:30am - I awake to [virtually] wait in line for Leonard Cohen tickets at Radio City Music Hall, NYC, on May 16th, on sale 10am (EST). (My birthday’s actually the 17th , but there’s no presale for that show and I wanted to make sure I got a pair for one of the two shows that weekend)
6:55am - Pre-sale password is issued to fans within a members-only forum.
7:00am - Ticketmaster opens its on-line doors to pre-sale password equipped fans.
7:00am – Ticketmaster says no tickets are available due to apparent overwhelming demand.
7:05am – Out of curiosity I look on Craiglist for tickets and find a link to hundreds of tickets on sale for the same show priced from double to ten times their face value, along with hundreds of other events.
When you follow these links, which are posted by third party affiliates, you land at a company named, Tickets Now, which states right on its homepage that it is "a Ticketmaster company".
Does this means that Tickets Now is buying tickets, in advance of official public sale dates, from their parent company, and turning them around for billions and billions of dollars while creating an illusion of scarcity, cheating fans, and slighting the performers and everyone who works for them?
I knew Ticketmaster was greedy, but I didn’t understand the depth until today.
I will be posting this story around appropriate forums and bulletin boards. I think it is important to bring attention to what appears to be a fine example of the kind of greed that got this country into the financial mess it is in right now.
Please respond with insight if you have any to share.
~pc
I hardly ever go to big shows or sporting events anymore, but once in awhile, it’s something special to do. In my case, I was recently enamored, moved, swooned even, by Leonard Cohen, Podcast live by NPR from the Beacon Theater in New York City, February 26th, 2009. I have been a fan since I was aware of his music, but this. . . this is pure mastery at its finest.
I followed links through NPRs generous website and discovered that man himself would be playing on my birthday and that tickets would go on pre-sale, to fans with a special password, at 10am (EST), March 7th, 2009, which is today.
6:30am - I awake to [virtually] wait in line for Leonard Cohen tickets at Radio City Music Hall, NYC, on May 16th, on sale 10am (EST). (My birthday’s actually the 17th , but there’s no presale for that show and I wanted to make sure I got a pair for one of the two shows that weekend)
6:55am - Pre-sale password is issued to fans within a members-only forum.
7:00am - Ticketmaster opens its on-line doors to pre-sale password equipped fans.
7:00am – Ticketmaster says no tickets are available due to apparent overwhelming demand.
7:05am – Out of curiosity I look on Craiglist for tickets and find a link to hundreds of tickets on sale for the same show priced from double to ten times their face value, along with hundreds of other events.
When you follow these links, which are posted by third party affiliates, you land at a company named, Tickets Now, which states right on its homepage that it is "a Ticketmaster company".
Does this means that Tickets Now is buying tickets, in advance of official public sale dates, from their parent company, and turning them around for billions and billions of dollars while creating an illusion of scarcity, cheating fans, and slighting the performers and everyone who works for them?
I knew Ticketmaster was greedy, but I didn’t understand the depth until today.
I will be posting this story around appropriate forums and bulletin boards. I think it is important to bring attention to what appears to be a fine example of the kind of greed that got this country into the financial mess it is in right now.
Please respond with insight if you have any to share.
~pc