We know the many cynical arguments some make in favor of the Ticketmaster system: There are rumors that some artists or managers participate in Ticketmaster charges–we do not. There are rumors that some artists or managers are receiving a percentage of the amount above face value at secondary outlets like TicketsNow–we do not. Some artists or managers may not perceive there to be a conflict between having the distributor of their tickets in effect “scalping” those same tickets through a secondary company like TicketsNow–we do.
While many of you have sent notes to us and your local promoters, you may also send accurate informational letters to Albert Lopez of Ticketmaster and he will try to address your questions.
A final point for now: the one thing that would make the current ticket situation even worse for the fan than it is now would be Ticketmaster and Live Nation coming up with a single system, thereby returning us to a near monopoly situation in music ticketing. Several newspapers are reporting on this story right now. If you, like us, oppose that idea, you should make it known to your representatives.
The abuse of our fans and our trust by Ticketmaster has made us as furious as it has made many of you. We will continue to do our utmost now and in the future to make sure that these practices are permanently curtailed on our tours.
Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau and the entire Springsteen Tour Team
We’re not sure what kind of profits Tickets Now makes for Ticketmaster, but it hardly seems worth the trouble with artists. Of course, if Ticketmaster once again becomes the only game in town what can anybody do?
9 Responses
I hate Ticketmaster as much as the next guy, but I think there’s a lot of misinformation about what TicketsNow is and does floating around out there, and these incorrect assertions weaken the legitimate argument to be made against Ticketmaster. I think these bands and senators need to do more research before writing their letters.
I wouldn’t surprise me if Springsteen wrote this piece himself. He is a class act. This kind of transparency in his organization should exist in other bands of like ilk.
I really don’t see how this deal passes the antitrust regulations. This combined entity would pretty close to a pure monopoly with an awful lot of pricing power and would drive out tons of smaller promoters and ticketing agencies. This will have a really wide reaching impact.
That said, if it does go through, it’s not a bad idea to buy some stock.
Yes, kudos for Bruce & Co., but I’d feel better if that letter was signed “Trey, Mike, Page, Jon, and the entire Phish team.”
Each and every Ticketmaster decision-maker and all of the company’s top brass, as well as any and all stockholders deserve to be flayed. I’m available to assist with this just punishment.
This from Ticketmaster, via Lefsetz…
An Open Letter of Apology to Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau and the entire Springsteen Tour Team:
While we were genuinely trying to do the right thing for fans in providing more choices when the tickets they requested from the primary on-sale were not available, we clearly missed the mark. Fans are confused and angry, which is the opposite of what we hoped to accomplish. We sincerely apologize to Bruce, his organization and, above all, his fans.
We recognize that we need to change our course. We have committed to Bruce and state publicly here that we have taken down all links for Bruce’s shows directing fans from Ticketmaster to TicketsNow. This redirection only occurred as a choice when we could not satisfy fans’ specific search request for primary ticket inventory, but to make sure there is no misunderstanding in the future, we also publicly state that we will never again link to TicketsNow in a manner that can possibly create any confusion during a high-demand on-sale. Specifically, we will not present an option to go to TicketsNow from Ticketmaster without the consent of the artist and the venue, both of whom work together to bring the joy of live entertainment to millions of fans.
If any fans inadvertently purchased tickets in the resale marketplace believing in error they were purchasing from the initial on-sale, we will refund the difference between the actual purchase price and the face price of the ticket. (Please don’t abuse this good faith gesture – we did not give brokers any preferential access to tickets.)
We are committed to helping deliver the most transparent and best live entertainment experience to fans. We will do better going forward.
Sincerely,
Irving Azoff, CEO, Ticketmaster Entertainment
I still hate TicketMaster. After getting through for Asheville Phish tickets in under 10 seconds (I’d estimate 6-7 seconds) I got nothing, but was redirected to TicketsNow. I sent them multiple messages, no response to me yet.