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No big surprise with that. When you have a dominating monopoly on most of the major venues in America, you probably don't lose any sleep at night worry about us

No big surprise with that. When you have a dominating monopoly on most of the major venues in America, you probably don't lose any sleep at night worry about user experience. The only way that is ever going to change is if people vote with their wallets and stop going to Ticketmaster events...

Anechoic 15y ago
The problem is that those events are "Ticketmaster events" they are "events I want to attend that are only handled by Ticketmaster." So it really comes down to accepting the Ticketmaster model or pretty much not going to any live concert or sporting events. Of course the other annoying thing that the article didn't mention was TM's habit of "sharing" your email address with partners (which you couldn't opt out of) and then leaving it up to the individual to remove themselves from the subsequent spam lists. I bought a ticket to an NFL game a couple of years back and then spent the next six months trying to get TM partners to stop spamming me.
- SwellJoe 15y ago
  So it really comes down to accepting the Ticketmaster model or pretty much not going to any live concert or sporting events. I haven't paid a TicketMaster fee in years, and I go to live music events all the time. How, you ask? Indie music. It is alive and well, and the best bands working right now are not playing in arenas. In any major city in the country on any given night (and at least once or twice a week in most mid-sized cities), you can see a great band for five to fifteen bucks. They'll be ecstatic that you showed up, you'll probably be able to sit or stand within spitting distance of the band if you want, and you'll share a unique experience with 50-300 like-minded individuals. You'll also meet more interesting people, be able to drink good beer (not that swill they serve at arenas for 9 bucks a pop), and you can do it all again the next night, and the next, if you want, without breaking the bank. I swore off of arena shows for reasons unrelated to TicketMaster, but it's an equally valid reason to opt out of the bullshit commercial entertainment industry and instead focus on artists for whom the work is the important thing, and not merely the money they're paid to do the work.
  - acgourley 15y ago
    Ticketmaster runs tons of stuff that isn't arena scale. Warfield/Grand Regency Ballroom/Fillmore in SF come to mind.
    - rationalbeats 15y ago
      I think he is referring to venues like Cafe Du Nord, and Bottom of the Hill.
    - vegashacker 15y ago
      A number of the venues allow you to buy tickets directly from the ticket window without the extra fees. (The Fillmore allows this during restricted times, e.g.) I will usually try to do this as a way of not supporting the Master--but, come to think of it, I actually don't know how the money is divided when I purchase like this.
- FreeKill 15y ago
  Yeah, of course you're right but that is what Ticketmaster is counting on. They are kind of like the TSA in a way. They are hoping that you want what they are offering so badly you won't mind being taken advantage of to get it. It's not going to stop being that way while people take it.

Anechoic 15y ago

The problem is that those events are "Ticketmaster events" they are "events I want to attend that are only handled by Ticketmaster." So it really comes down to accepting the Ticketmaster model or pretty much not going to any live concert or sporting events. Of course the other annoying thing that the article didn't mention was TM's habit of "sharing" your email address with partners (which you couldn't opt out of) and then leaving it up to the individual to remove themselves from the subsequent spam lists. I bought a ticket to an NFL game a couple of years back and then spent the next six months trying to get TM partners to stop spamming me.

SwellJoe 15y ago
So it really comes down to accepting the Ticketmaster model or pretty much not going to any live concert or sporting events. I haven't paid a TicketMaster fee in years, and I go to live music events all the time. How, you ask? Indie music. It is alive and well, and the best bands working right now are not playing in arenas. In any major city in the country on any given night (and at least once or twice a week in most mid-sized cities), you can see a great band for five to fifteen bucks. They'll be ecstatic that you showed up, you'll probably be able to sit or stand within spitting distance of the band if you want, and you'll share a unique experience with 50-300 like-minded individuals. You'll also meet more interesting people, be able to drink good beer (not that swill they serve at arenas for 9 bucks a pop), and you can do it all again the next night, and the next, if you want, without breaking the bank. I swore off of arena shows for reasons unrelated to TicketMaster, but it's an equally valid reason to opt out of the bullshit commercial entertainment industry and instead focus on artists for whom the work is the important thing, and not merely the money they're paid to do the work.
- acgourley 15y ago
  Ticketmaster runs tons of stuff that isn't arena scale. Warfield/Grand Regency Ballroom/Fillmore in SF come to mind.
  - rationalbeats 15y ago
    I think he is referring to venues like Cafe Du Nord, and Bottom of the Hill.
  - vegashacker 15y ago
    A number of the venues allow you to buy tickets directly from the ticket window without the extra fees. (The Fillmore allows this during restricted times, e.g.) I will usually try to do this as a way of not supporting the Master--but, come to think of it, I actually don't know how the money is divided when I purchase like this.
FreeKill 15y ago
Yeah, of course you're right but that is what Ticketmaster is counting on. They are kind of like the TSA in a way. They are hoping that you want what they are offering so badly you won't mind being taken advantage of to get it. It's not going to stop being that way while people take it.