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Why aren't ticket sales an auction? That would allow Ticketmaster and the promoters (and hopefully artists) to extract maximum value for each ticket. It would s
by jdblair 8y ago
Why aren't ticket sales an auction? That would allow Ticketmaster and the promoters (and hopefully artists) to extract maximum value for each ticket. It would simultaneously take all the profit out of scalping. Tickets could be exchanged at face value, but if the maximum value the market will pay is already extracted there will be no margin left for resellers.
- baddox 8y agoBecause many performers want their concerts to be accessible to their broad fanbase, and this is probably better for their bottom line in the long run, since there is sure to be animosity towards a popular performer once fans discover that only very rich people can attend their concerts.
- jdblair 8y agoIf that's the goal, then active measures to deter reselling tickets should be used. Thom Yorke succeeded at this when I saw him earlier this year. All tickets were Will Call and you had to enter immediately after ticket pickup. Selling tickets in a way that puts fans in direct competition with well-resourced resellers doesn't help fans either.
- derrekl 8y agoI worked for Ticketmaster back in the early 2000s and helped build an auction platform for them. Some artists did use it for the highest quality seats, and a few even did it for the entire venue, but many artists were afraid of it because they felt like they would then be the responsible party for 'squeezing' their fans. Perhaps the idea that they would get the money along with other people running the event, as opposed to scalpers didn't resonate. I wasn't around when the platform was decommissioned so I can't say for sure all the factors at play but, for sure many artists didn't like the idea.
- analog31 8y agoThis could backfire if the social makeup of the fan base / audience is part of the band's market appeal.