TicketNews: When concerts are sold out minutes after going on sale, primary ticket sellers like Ticketmaster and artists themselves have been quick to point the finger at the secondary ticket market for buying the best tickets and pricing them above face value. They have even supported legislation in attempts to limit secondary ticket websites’ influence in the market. But a recent story in the Huffington Post pulled the curtain back on a little known fact in the live entertainment business; many artists are scalping their own tickets.
.jpg)
5 comments:
I think this is absolutely ridiculous. The fact of the matter is that people are supporting artists, and in turn those artists are taking advantage of them. That is never the way a public figure should interact with their audience. Ever.
While although I don't think that this is fair that people are not having an opportunity to purchased tickets, it is part of the business now. You see this more in the situation of big pop artists that sell out arenas, more than small alternative bands playing the local venue. And more often that not, it is the big name performers that care less about their art and music than those smaller bands do. And to say that the artist is scalping the tickets, I think is a bold accusation. Rather, it is probably the record label or the managing label that does this so it I do not think it is accurate to say that "artists are scalping their own tickets" like the Huffington Post stated.
Something about this that truly drives me insane about the music industry is how inaccessible the popular musicians are. I love hearing stories about how my dad and his friends were able to pitch in all the cash in their pockets and they could come up with enough to see Led Zeppelin. I understand that these days it's more of a business and that being a musician is more about having success and fame, and also that everything generally just costs more today, but it makes musicians feel so much more like a 'them' and less like an 'us'. Only having 1,500 seats for the 13 year old fans that claim your music got them through the darkest part of your life is sad. It also ties into what U2 is currently doing with their newest album, giving it away on iTunes for free. While this is clever, it also means that they’re essentially taking their own album to platinum without anyone actually choosing it.
I would have thought that for once, there would be an honest industry when going to concerts or events in general. It never really occurred to me as to why ticket prices were as high as they are, or for that matter how there are always so few selections to go around. I’m sure much of it has to do with supply and demand, but the point still stands that the artists are withholding tickets for their own shows. It just makes me not want to go to a concert even more, of course there are always tickets available to go see a local band, but that’s not the point we’re trying to make. Out of thousands of seats available to have been sold, and only a small percent go up on the market, due to promoters, pre-sales, and credit card vendors, it’s almost getting to the point where you would have to be a part of that system if you want to participate in the events. It’s no wonder why concerts can sell out in 10 minutes, it’s because the majority of the tickets belong to someone else.
Post a Comment