Yesterday while I made myself look busy at work filling out TPS reports, my boss, Jimmy, jockied for position making bids on prime seating at the upcoming Rush concert “Snakes and Arrows”. I assumed he was on ebay, and I was wrong. The bidding extravaganza was taking place on Ticket Master.
Where was I when this all started? Nostalgic arena shows are not my steak, so maybe I’m new to this format of letting the fans determine ticket price. Most of the shows I frequent are general admission, so the fight to get quality seats is up to your own sweat and ambition, not the assigned seating ticket price. Seems as though Ticket Master is getting it’s share of the money that has been handed over through eBay, StubHub, and other scalpers over the years.
“The tickets are worth what they’re worth,” said John Pleasants, Ticketmaster’s president and chief executive. “If somebody wants to charge $50 for a ticket, but it’s actually worth $1,000 on eBay, the ticket’s worth $1,000. I think more and more, our clients — the promoters, the clients in the buildings and the bands themselves — are saying to themselves, `Maybe that money should be coming to me instead of Bob the Broker.’ “
- New York Times
I like how Mr. Pleasants weaves in the idea that artists and their people will receive more money through this platform, because who will argue against that? But there is no way I can believe that Ticket Master is out to “help the artist”, so I am left with only the fact that this corporate giant has found another way to fatten their pockets?
Albeit the microseconds one has to submit a request for tickets at release time is slim, but at least there was a slight chance to get desired seats at a set price rather than being kicked in the groin right out of the gate. I pray that the next Raffi show isn’t riddled with these inhumane auction tactics.
Jimmy’s Ticket Master Auction Screenshot 
* The name Jimmy is used for anonymity
