The service, Brown Paper Tickets – based in Seattle, is popular because of its low fees and 24-hour customer service.
Friday, September 18, 2020
Pittsburgh Arts Groups Say Ticketing Service Left Them Holding The Bag
The service, Brown Paper Tickets – based in Seattle, is popular because of its low fees and 24-hour customer service.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
This is pretty heartbreaking. This is a very difficult time for any small businesses and companies, especially ones like theaters that rely on in-person engagement. To hear that one of the only avenues these theater companies are able to make money is refusing to give them the money they earned is awful. I'm really hoping that once theaters are able to open up again, people will see more now, after the pandemic, how valuable theater experiences can be. A lot of the creatives behind shows are suffering do to this as well. Some actors have been able to get work by doing radio plays and zoom theater, but the more physical aspects of a show like scenic designers, costume designers, lighting designers, and even ushers have been left without their steady income. It's truly terrible that these people are being denied their pay from ticketing companies when this time is already hard enough for everyone, and no one is wiling to step in and help.
They always say buyer beware. I have never been a fan of Brown Paper Tickets. I never trusted them when I was researching for a venue. This article just proves that the owner of the company is shady and only highlights the unfair business practices that this company is accused of operating. I feel bad for these theatre companies who are awaiting payments, but it comes down to doing your homework. Because of the internet, any fool with some knowledge can set up a ticket buying site like Brown Paper. Theatres and individuals need to do their due diligence. The fact, as stated in the article, that the owners are not responding to patron, venue, or government requests shows a lot. Chances are the owner took the money and used it to pay his own bills and is hoping on revenue from other events to be able to pay people back. You know, like a classic Ponzi scheme? I wouldn’t be surprised if that is how they operate that company. Perhaps that is why the WA AG’s office won’t comment.
While trying to go with companies that offer low fees and customer service, the problem is is that they aren't always going to be the greatest. In times like these, it's better to go with a higher priced company that has widely used and has a lot of good feedback than one that may save you a few dollars, especially when you aren't getting any of the money. While this is unfortunate, if this is a problem that has been going on for months and people are still deciding to go with this company, then part of that fault lies on the people who use them. I personally have never heard of this company, but a quick search told me that there are articles dating back to March in which this company hasn't paid out. That took my thirty seconds to find and the fact that places are using this company and complaining about not getting paid shows they didn't do their research. This is sadly just another problem with trying to do business during these times, and, like the last comment says, people may have to resort to going old school to attempt to sell tickets.
Brown Paper Bag Tickets needs to stop ghosting their customers. It’s already terrible that they aren’t giving them the funds they earned, it’s even worse that they stopped answering and are continuing business as usual. I hope that anybody currently interested in using the site does a quick google search before signing up. While the pandemic contributed to this problem, it was also caused by the management of the ticket company itself. They can’t just blame it on their “automated systems.” I know so many artists rely on the money they made through the website, especially now when many people are out of a job. Additionally, many companies now have to put research and trust into finding a new ticket service because Brown Paper Bag Tickets failed them. I'm curious to see what comes from the lawsuits against them and I’m rooting for all of the people who have been scammed.
It was very disappointing to read this article, and to see how small theaters are suffering at the hand of ticket companies, especially at a time when theaters are already struggling because of COVID-19. It seems as though there is very little positive news regarding third party ticket services, even before COVID-19. Third party ticket services obviously offer some benefit to smaller theater groups, by offering exposure on their platform, potentially bringing in people who would not have otherwise known about the group or performance. However, many anecdotal experiences suggest that third party ticket services also can be challenging to work with and can burn both individual customers and theater alike. Hopefully with enough pressure from the various theaters that are waiting on money from Brown Paper Tickets, the company will be forced to act. Unfortunately though, it seems as if they are using a host of excuses to limit the money that they are paying out to the theaters that deserve their compensation.
This is really awful to hear about; Brown Paper Tickets is also the platform my school used for our productions so I am somewhat familiar with the company (though not enough to have ever interacted with them about ticket funds). Everyone is struggling economically due to this pandemic, and the funds that are not being received by these theaters and organizations account for huge portions of their operating budget- it is how they are going to scrape by until we can open things up again. I hadn’t heard about this issue before, even the lawsuits in King County, and I really hope they resolve it soon. But, it sounds like the issue isn’t just server malfunction. The fact that the company isn’t taking communications from their clients, even shutting off phone calls, seems to indicate larger problems to me. I hope the issues are resolved quickly so as not to cause further damage to the theaters/venues/organizations affected by this.
Ticketing services are the worst. I understand when the internet was shiny and new, that venues and entertainment companies did not have the infrastructure to sell tickets online. So, when companies Ticketmaster or Brown Paper Tickets come along, and have that infrastructure and offer to get your tickets sold online, it is a very enticing offer. However, the middleman should never be reaping so much of the profits and sticking the consumer would obscene amount of services fees because they’ve monopolized the market. They are the landlord of live events; they offer no meaningful service and yet get to line their pockets. In today’s day and age where companies like Square and Toast have given independent businesses and small restaurants the tools to sell effectively online, and companies like Squarespace make it easy to manage a website, and these companies are services you pay for, but they don’t get a slice of the pie in terms of ticket sales, it is time to be done with Ticketmaster, brown paper tickets, or anything like them.
Post a Comment