5 ms·

I would say it would be a great thing. It’s insane that monopolies like Ticketmaster have been allowed to control entire markets and charge whatever they want a

I would say it would be a great thing. It’s insane that monopolies like Ticketmaster have been allowed to control entire markets and charge whatever they want and do whatever they want because consumers have no alternative.

pravda 7y ago
You could not go to concerts. That is the alternative.
- etrabroline 7y ago
  Yea, and if you didn't like Standard Oil, you could just not own a car (or factory).
  - pravda 7y ago
    That's not the same. The price to get into, for example, a Drake concert is determined not by Drake, but by how much people are willing to pay to see Drake. If the total cost, including all fees and taxes, is more then you want to pay, then don't buy tickets. Don't blame Ticketmaster for the high price to see Drake in concert, blame Drake fans! But if the Drake concert is cancelled, or re-scheduled, then do a chargeback.
Spivak 7y ago
You won't have an alternative with whatever replaces Ticketmaster because they don't have a monopoly on anything. Any venue putting on a show has no particular reason to use TM outside it providing value to them. There's no lock-in. Hell, there's anti-lock-in. If a venue bucks the trend and doesn't use TM customers will cheer. Well they'll cheer until they realize why everyone chooses TM. Their competition isn't any cheaper and has an even worse customer service. Seriously, I got tickets to a Luke Bryan concert and had to use some no-name ticket service and their "customer service" was a phone number with a full voicemail and was only open Tues-Thurs 8-4 PM. I just checked again and they have since switched to TM. Honestly just call the box-office. It's rare for TM to have an exclusivity contract and most places will just charge you the sticker price and mail/will-call the tickets since it's all the same to them.
- treis 7y ago
  >There's no lock-in. Hell, there's anti-lock-in. If a venue bucks the trend and doesn't use TM customers will cheer. That's not true. Live Nation runs many big name tours and will (allegedly) avoid venues that don't use Ticketmaster.
- girvo 7y ago
  If you as a venue use something other than TM, you can lose future TM run shows if there are comparable venues in your area.
- jariel 7y ago
  They are a mafia monopoly in the most classical sense. For starters answer the question 'why everyone uses Ticketmaster'? What's the value again? Because there is no obvious value-creating reason. Live Nation owns 200 venues, and 300 major artists. With enough control over the value chain, you have to pay their tax, or go out of business as the artists they control - or other artists they can bully - avoid your venues entirely. Their power is entirely based on anti-competitive practice - they don't actually do anything of real merit. Plainly 'selling tickets' is not hard.
  - etrabroline 7y ago
    For every real person explaining this, there are two questionable posts like this: https://www.quora.com/How-is-Ticketmaster-allowed-to-have-a-monopoly-on-ticket-sales https://www.quora.com/How-is-Ticketmaster-allowed-to-have-a-...

pravda 7y ago

You could not go to concerts. That is the alternative.

etrabroline 7y ago
Yea, and if you didn't like Standard Oil, you could just not own a car (or factory).
- pravda 7y ago
  That's not the same. The price to get into, for example, a Drake concert is determined not by Drake, but by how much people are willing to pay to see Drake. If the total cost, including all fees and taxes, is more then you want to pay, then don't buy tickets. Don't blame Ticketmaster for the high price to see Drake in concert, blame Drake fans! But if the Drake concert is cancelled, or re-scheduled, then do a chargeback.

Spivak 7y ago

You won't have an alternative with whatever replaces Ticketmaster because they don't have a monopoly on anything. Any venue putting on a show has no particular reason to use TM outside it providing value to them. There's no lock-in. Hell, there's anti-lock-in. If a venue bucks the trend and doesn't use TM customers will cheer. Well they'll cheer until they realize why everyone chooses TM. Their competition isn't any cheaper and has an even worse customer service. Seriously, I got tickets to a Luke Bryan concert and had to use some no-name ticket service and their "customer service" was a phone number with a full voicemail and was only open Tues-Thurs 8-4 PM. I just checked again and they have since switched to TM. Honestly just call the box-office. It's rare for TM to have an exclusivity contract and most places will just charge you the sticker price and mail/will-call the tickets since it's all the same to them.

treis 7y ago
>There's no lock-in. Hell, there's anti-lock-in. If a venue bucks the trend and doesn't use TM customers will cheer. That's not true. Live Nation runs many big name tours and will (allegedly) avoid venues that don't use Ticketmaster.
girvo 7y ago
If you as a venue use something other than TM, you can lose future TM run shows if there are comparable venues in your area.
jariel 7y ago
They are a mafia monopoly in the most classical sense. For starters answer the question 'why everyone uses Ticketmaster'? What's the value again? Because there is no obvious value-creating reason. Live Nation owns 200 venues, and 300 major artists. With enough control over the value chain, you have to pay their tax, or go out of business as the artists they control - or other artists they can bully - avoid your venues entirely. Their power is entirely based on anti-competitive practice - they don't actually do anything of real merit. Plainly 'selling tickets' is not hard.
- etrabroline 7y ago
  For every real person explaining this, there are two questionable posts like this: https://www.quora.com/How-is-Ticketmaster-allowed-to-have-a-monopoly-on-ticket-sales https://www.quora.com/How-is-Ticketmaster-allowed-to-have-a-...