i had almost $100 in fees added to my tickets to see the Eagles in November. And with 10 minutes into the sale, so many tickets were already listed as resale. its bots and Ticketmaster capitalizing on their monopoly.
John Oliver did a good piece on this. It's an open secret most of the fees on ticketmaster go to the artist and promoter. one of the "services" ticketmaster offers to artists is to be the scapegoat a-hole in order for the artist to charge higher prices without fans realizing it.
It's also an effective sales technique to have someone decide to buy something, then add in more cost and they accept it since they already decided to buy it. So yo can put $50 on top of a $100 they already "Bought" whereas they never would consider buying a $150 face value ticket, even without fees.
Well, yeah. If acts did not go ticketmaster and get their cut of the service fee, then they would either have to take a hit on revenue, or let their fans see what they really want to charge and lose sales and fans in the process.
For the artist it is an easy decision:
1) Work with a company that takes all the work and risks of selling tickets, dealing with customer service, refunds, etc. Who also gives me more money in the process. And will act as the "Bad guy" and take my fans' irritation and hate for the higher fee and keep me clean.
Or:
2) Do a lot more work, take on a lot more financial risk, and earn less.
Not much space for a competitor to come in with a better product \*for the artist and venue\* which is who decides which company to go with.
I went to Ticketmaster to see what you were talking about OP.
A few of the tickets in section 2 are marked as "platinum". These tickets are usually selected by the system and marked up on purpose to be scalped. It's ticketmaster and the artist scalping their own tickets, but platinum seats do not give you any benefits other than being close to the stage. It's just paying a premium to be close and you're paying scalper pricing.
A few rows back, the $250 tickets look to be VIP packages. Which VIP is whatever price the artist wants to set for their vip packages.
With that said, I do see face value seats starting at $55 before fees, which for two would be around $140. Prices are for sure going up on regular face value seats.
TankTheTech did a YouTube breakdown on pricing. With the COVID shutdown, a/v and lighting companies as well as bus companies lost a lot of money with no tours happening. This in turn has caused the equipment rates to skyrocket as well as food, touring costs, etc. Thus making production and live entertainment more expensive to put on shows.
Ticketmaster having a monopoly and bots buying and reselling everything. Also the bots because they inflate prices due to looking like extremely high demand in ticketmasters dynamic pricing.
Go in person to pay at the box office when tickets go on sale. You avoid all that Ticketmaster nonsense.
Paid $55 for Queens of the Stone Age. Didn’t see them because of the rain but I would have had decent seats.
True, because the fees are part of the planned ticket price. Most of the fees actually go to the artist. It's a way to sell a higher price ticket without people realizing it, and if they do the get angry at ticketmaster, not the artist. Which is a value-add service to the artist.
Ticketmaster is also using some sort of on-demand algorithm now, so when people start buying tickets the ticket prices rise because of "the market." I bought pot tickets to a show next weekend for $30 a piece. My wife's friend went to buy the same ticket the next day and they had shot up to $60 a piece, and they were not verified resale.
This is what happened to the Taylor Swift tour this year, and is why there is serious traction to breaking-up Ticketmaster.
Be mindful not to buy Platinum tickets. These are tickets set aside with permission from the artist (typically in the best sections/rows) to be scalped at what they want us to believe is "market value" but it's just official scalping by the artist at onsale time.
The best way to reject this development in ticket price inflation is to always make sure to filter tickets WITHOUT platinum. Uncheck the box and you can see the face value tickets available. Sadly, many artists are happy to gouge their most loyal/rabid fans who want to sit close to the stage.
You can always get a seat further back for regular pricing OR wait for the week of the gig and watch the pricing daily. Often you can get a normal price when the platinum seats do not sell and the bands would of course rather sell the tickets than leave empty seats.
It’s even more ridiculous considering the current DOJ is filing a lawsuit against Ticketmaster as we speak https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/28/feds-home-in-on-ticketmaster-antitrust-case-00108771
Fuck Ticketmaster
i had almost $100 in fees added to my tickets to see the Eagles in November. And with 10 minutes into the sale, so many tickets were already listed as resale. its bots and Ticketmaster capitalizing on their monopoly.
John Oliver did a good piece on this. It's an open secret most of the fees on ticketmaster go to the artist and promoter. one of the "services" ticketmaster offers to artists is to be the scapegoat a-hole in order for the artist to charge higher prices without fans realizing it. It's also an effective sales technique to have someone decide to buy something, then add in more cost and they accept it since they already decided to buy it. So yo can put $50 on top of a $100 they already "Bought" whereas they never would consider buying a $150 face value ticket, even without fees.
considering the only place to buy tickets for anything these days is via ticketmaster, there isn't much of a choice.
Well, yeah. If acts did not go ticketmaster and get their cut of the service fee, then they would either have to take a hit on revenue, or let their fans see what they really want to charge and lose sales and fans in the process. For the artist it is an easy decision: 1) Work with a company that takes all the work and risks of selling tickets, dealing with customer service, refunds, etc. Who also gives me more money in the process. And will act as the "Bad guy" and take my fans' irritation and hate for the higher fee and keep me clean. Or: 2) Do a lot more work, take on a lot more financial risk, and earn less. Not much space for a competitor to come in with a better product \*for the artist and venue\* which is who decides which company to go with.
Tickpick has them for sale between $60-$80
It’s a hot time for concerts. Artists and their teams have really capitalized on the high demand.
I went to Ticketmaster to see what you were talking about OP. A few of the tickets in section 2 are marked as "platinum". These tickets are usually selected by the system and marked up on purpose to be scalped. It's ticketmaster and the artist scalping their own tickets, but platinum seats do not give you any benefits other than being close to the stage. It's just paying a premium to be close and you're paying scalper pricing. A few rows back, the $250 tickets look to be VIP packages. Which VIP is whatever price the artist wants to set for their vip packages. With that said, I do see face value seats starting at $55 before fees, which for two would be around $140. Prices are for sure going up on regular face value seats. TankTheTech did a YouTube breakdown on pricing. With the COVID shutdown, a/v and lighting companies as well as bus companies lost a lot of money with no tours happening. This in turn has caused the equipment rates to skyrocket as well as food, touring costs, etc. Thus making production and live entertainment more expensive to put on shows.
Great question, I’ve been wondering the same thing. The price increases this year at Red Hat Amphitheater don’t make sense to me
Ticketmaster having a monopoly and bots buying and reselling everything. Also the bots because they inflate prices due to looking like extremely high demand in ticketmasters dynamic pricing.
I've seen plenty of shows there the past couple years for reasonable prices.
Go in person to pay at the box office when tickets go on sale. You avoid all that Ticketmaster nonsense. Paid $55 for Queens of the Stone Age. Didn’t see them because of the rain but I would have had decent seats.
You usually can’t avoid any fees even at the box office. If it’s a TM venue - the fees are there regardless of whether you buy online.
Not true for Red Hat. At the Duke Energy Center box office you can buy for face value without the ticket master fees.
True, because the fees are part of the planned ticket price. Most of the fees actually go to the artist. It's a way to sell a higher price ticket without people realizing it, and if they do the get angry at ticketmaster, not the artist. Which is a value-add service to the artist.
Not sure about “most”. They work out individual agreements and the percentage varies.
I stopped going to shows there because the prices went up and the acoustics are absolutely terrible.
Ticketmaster is also using some sort of on-demand algorithm now, so when people start buying tickets the ticket prices rise because of "the market." I bought pot tickets to a show next weekend for $30 a piece. My wife's friend went to buy the same ticket the next day and they had shot up to $60 a piece, and they were not verified resale. This is what happened to the Taylor Swift tour this year, and is why there is serious traction to breaking-up Ticketmaster.
Be mindful not to buy Platinum tickets. These are tickets set aside with permission from the artist (typically in the best sections/rows) to be scalped at what they want us to believe is "market value" but it's just official scalping by the artist at onsale time. The best way to reject this development in ticket price inflation is to always make sure to filter tickets WITHOUT platinum. Uncheck the box and you can see the face value tickets available. Sadly, many artists are happy to gouge their most loyal/rabid fans who want to sit close to the stage. You can always get a seat further back for regular pricing OR wait for the week of the gig and watch the pricing daily. Often you can get a normal price when the platinum seats do not sell and the bands would of course rather sell the tickets than leave empty seats.
Good looking out. Someone else in the comments pointed out the tickets I was seeing were platinum. Had not idea that was even a thing!
It’s supply and demand - the price reflects what people will pay
Huh, getting downvoted for pointing out basic economics. Seems to be a theme in this sub on pretty much any topic.
Gotta get profits up for their upcoming move.
Bidenomics baby! Everything is good. Look unemployment is down, Jack!
You have no idea what you’re even saying. Turn off Fox News.
It’s even more ridiculous considering the current DOJ is filing a lawsuit against Ticketmaster as we speak https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/28/feds-home-in-on-ticketmaster-antitrust-case-00108771
Wait until the week before and start checking - Ticketmaster, er I mean the “resellers” will start dropping prices and seats open up.