talk about your obvious news

[juddling]

The online ticket giant, Ticketmaster, apologized yesterday to Bruce Springsteen and his fans for Monday's ticket fiasco, saying it "clearly missed the mark" when it directed customers to its own re-sale site, where they paid as much as four times the cover price.

 

The public apology came a day after Springsteen angrily denounced Ticketmaster's handling of Monday's sale for his upcoming "Working on a Dream" tour. Within minutes of the sale's start, Ticketmaster customers were told the concerts were sold out and were directed to the service's resale site, where a $95 ticket was going for as much as $380.

 

In his apology, Ticketmaster Entertainment CEO Irving Azoff said the company will no longer link to its subsidiary, TicketsNow. He also promised to give refunds to fans who inadvertently purchased tickets from the resale exchange.

 

"We recognize that we need to change our course," Azoff wrote in an "open letter of apology to Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau (Springsteen's manager) and the entire Springsteen Tour Team" posted on brucespringsteen.net. "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."

 

Fans were outraged on Monday when they found themselves at the resale site when attempting to buy tickets for Springsteen's May 21 and 23 concerts at the Izod Center in East Rutherford. Their complaints led state and federal lawmakers to launch investigations, and caused Springsteen to post an open letter to Ticketmaster on his website demanding Ticketmaster stop the practice, which he called "a pure conflict of interest."

 

U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-8th Dist.), who on Tuesday asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the relationship between Ticketmaster and TicketsNow, kept up the pressure yesterday, requesting the House Judiciary Committee and federal regulators examine the possible merger between and Ticketmaster and Live Nation, the concert promoter that recently launched its own nationwide ticket service.

 

Springsteen said in his letter that this merger "is one thing that would make the current ticket situation even worse."

 

New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram, who announced Wednesday she would launch an investigation, sent a letter to Azoff yesterday, requesting "TicketMaster cease and desist from steering purchasers to TicketsNow.com by any method including the use of 'pop-ups.'"

 

Ticketmaster is a dominant force in ticket services, operating one of the largest e-commerce sites at ticketmaster.com as well as 6,700 retail outlets and 19 call centers around the globe, according to its website. In 2007, it sold more than 140 million tickets to sporting events, performing arts, concerts and museums.

 

Pascrell said he spoke to Azoff and vowed to stay vigilant.

 

 

Man...i'd love to see those greedy SOB's go down.

[MHizzle85]

Man...i'd love to see those greedy SOB's go down.

I wouldn't hold my breath.

[LosMediasBlancas]

Eh, they're getting refunds, no biggie.

[Kyyle23]

I wonder how Ticketmaster gets around being classified as a monopoly, especially considering this stunt where they are redirecting customers to their subsidiary scalping sites. They clearly have their fingers wrapped pretty tightly around the market

[Texsox]

I wonder how Ticketmaster gets around being classified as a monopoly, especially considering this stunt where they are redirecting customers to their subsidiary scalping sites. They clearly have their fingers wrapped pretty tightly around the market

 

They get around it by not being a monopoly. Think about all the venues there are, the venues have a choice in how and where they sell tickets. Many have their own box office.

[Kyyle23]

They get around it by not being a monopoly. Think about all the venues there are, the venues have a choice in how and where they sell tickets. Many have their own box office.

 

I guess, but they really have no major competition at all

[Balta1701]

I guess, but they really have no major competition at all

Pearl Jam tried hard to challenge the ticketmaster monopoly in the 90's, testified before Congress IIRC, tried to do a tour with independent, non-ticketmaster venues. I believe ticketmaster just out-lobbied them.

[EvilMonkey]

try getting a non-ticketmaster event going in the United center? Not gonna happen.

[Texsox]

try getting a non-ticketmaster event going in the United center? Not gonna happen.

 

The United Center has choices. That was my point. The monopoly would really only come into play if the venues had no other choices. In the end it is the venues that decide how to sell their tickets.

[Kyyle23]

The United Center has choices. That was my point. The monopoly would really only come into play if the venues had no other choices. In the end it is the venues that decide how to sell their tickets.

 

So when Microsoft was a monopoly and forced to break up, there were no other choices?

[MHizzle85]

try getting a non-ticketmaster event going in the United center? Not gonna happen.

Well you could always go to the box office if you wanna avoid TM fees.

[Texsox]

So when Microsoft was a monopoly and forced to break up, there were no other choices?

 

Interesting comparison.

 

What percentage of tickets in the US does Ticketmaster control? While they are number one by a nice margin, they do not control anywhere near even half the market. Microsoft on the other hand, was using their vast majority of operating system install base >90% to leverage their Office Suite and other products and eliminating competitors.

 

http://www.ticketnews.com/node/5009

 

http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/04/markets/thebuzz/index.htm

Devitt estimates that the combined market share for Live Nation and Ticketmaster for ticketing to all events is only about 30%. But if the relevant market is just for concert tickets, Devitt said that the combined market share is closer to 80%.

 

So depending on which category you are trying to make a monopoly case, all tickets than the combined sales of Ticketmaster and Live Nation would only be 30%, far short of a monopoly. Even with concerts, the combined share would be 80%, again, not quite a clear monopoly, and I doubt, since concerts are one subset of tickets sales, probably not enough to prove a monopoly.

 

They are also a nice employer down here.

[LittleHurt05]

i just cant stand all their damn "convenience" & facility" charges..

 

bought flight of the conchords tix last week, price listed was $38.50, but with all the fees and what not came out to 52.50 each. Thats over 36% mark-up from fees!! The worst thing is that ticketmaster is the only option if you want to buy those tix...

[Texsox]

i just cant stand all their damn "convenience" & facility" charges..

 

bought flight of the conchords tix last week, price listed was $38.50, but with all the fees and what not came out to 52.50 each. Thats over 36% mark-up from fees!! The worst thing is that ticketmaster is the only option if you want to buy those tix...

 

That does seem like a lot, but I wonder when I buy a new pair of jeans, what the store marks them up?

[Balta1701]

That does seem like a lot, but I wonder when I buy a new pair of jeans, what the store marks them up?

But...if you don't like the price those jeans are being offered for, you have many other options. You can try a different brand. You can try a different store. You can go to a discount store. You can wait for a sale. You can decide on wearing a different pair of pants. You can move to a warmer climate. You can go purchase a larger SUV and pump out additional CO2 for the next 20-30 years.

 

You have essentially none of those options in dealing with ticketmaster.

[Texsox]

But...if you don't like the price those jeans are being offered for, you have many other options. You can try a different brand. You can try a different store. You can go to a discount store. You can wait for a sale. You can decide on wearing a different pair of pants. You can move to a warmer climate. You can go purchase a larger SUV and pump out additional CO2 for the next 20-30 years.

 

You have essentially none of those options in dealing with ticketmaster.

 

right, but I'm not certain how much is fair. If those jeans, with choice, are marked up more, than maybe TM is charging a fair price

[SleepyWhiteSox]

right, but I'm not certain how much is fair. If those jeans, with choice, are marked up more, than maybe TM is charging a fair price

 

They're marked at the manufacturer's suggested retail price the vast majority of the time, and most clothes eventually go on sale. I don't think jeans are the best example.

[Balta1701]

right, but I'm not certain how much is fair. If those jeans, with choice, are marked up more, than maybe TM is charging a fair price

If TM did not have exclusive contracts with so many venues, could I turn a profit by running a ticket selling operation with service charges 50% less than TM?

[Texsox]

If TM did not have exclusive contracts with so many venues, could I turn a profit by running a ticket selling operation with service charges 50% less than TM?

I honestly do not know. Do venues charge TM a fee? What kind of an infrastructure do you need to handle the volume? You have to ask yourself why they have such a strong market share. Why are venues entering into exclusive contracts?

 

The analogy of the jeans is we really do not know the margin. We see it with concert tickets. If the acts just charged $60 and you didn't see the fee, would there be the same outrage?

[Balta1701]

I honestly do not know. Do venues charge TM a fee? What kind of an infrastructure do you need to handle the volume? You have to ask yourself why they have such a strong market share. Why are venues entering into exclusive contracts?

 

The analogy of the jeans is we really do not know the margin. We see it with concert tickets. If the acts just charged $60 and you didn't see the fee, would there be the same outrage?

While we don't exactly know the margins, there is data that can bear on this argument...the rate of increase of ticket prices.

From 1981 to 1996, gig-goers found prices going up by 4.6% a year, while the consumer price index increased by 3.7% annually.

 

Since then, ticket prices have soared. From 1996 to 2003, they rose by 8.9% a year, as against inflation of just 2.3%. Similar sharp increases have been noted in Europe, including the UK.

There are 2 forces at work here. First, people still are paying money to see these shows. As long as they're still paying, then it makes sense for the price to increase. But at the same time, the market is behaving like one where there is a monopoly...uncontrolled price increases. It's not conclusive, but it's an interesting piece of data.

[bmags]

but what does this mean for jeans?

[Texsox]

but what does this mean for jeans?

 

Substitute jeans for anything you buy. The store tacks on margin, we just do not see it. With a surcharge and fees, we see it. So I really don't know if 36% is fair or not.

[bmags]

I was joking.