Behind the music: Don’t blame the Boss for inflated ticket prices | Helienne Lindvall
Artists such as Bruce Springsteen shouldn’t be held responsible for the soaring costs of attending their gigs. It’s the secondary ticketing agents who are at the heart of the problem
The day after my blog about Ticketmaster’s service fee was posted on the Guardian site, a story appeared in the papers, saying that Bruce Springsteen “may have broken the law by holding back 12% of tickets to a New Jersey gig, sending resale prices skyrocketing”.
The story portrayed Springsteen in a rather negative light. However, I happen to take his side on this issue, as there’s more to it than first meets the eye.
It’s common practice that artists insist on having control over a percentage of tickets. Often they have to fight long and hard with promoters, ticket agencies and venues for the ones nearest the stage, since they’re the most valuable ones. Personally, I think it’s an artist’s prerogative to withhold some tickets for friends and familyafter all, they’re the ones on the stage with the pressure of putting on a great show and giving people value for money. Without the artist, all these other companies would be obsolete.
According to the article, however, the 2,262 tickets were not only held back by Springsteen (does he really have that many close friends and family?)they also went to his agent, his label and the gig’s promoter.
The reason most artists fight for those tickets is not so they can flog them for inflated prices. As a matter of fact, Springsteen usually releases some of these prime tickets on the day of the show, which can only be bought with direct entrance to the venue, to bypass the scalpers (this is known as “the drop”).
Every artist would prefer that the people in the front stand up, sing along to the songs and scream out of exaltation for being so close to their idols. That’s why some of these tickets are also held back for competitions on radio stations and their fansites, ensuring they go to their biggest fans – and not just rich people who can afford to buy them at inflated prices on fan-to-fan secondary ticketing sites.
Of course, not all artists are as concerned about die-hard fans being able to get hold of tickets at an affordable price. Some, unlike Springsteen, get into bed with the secondary ticketing sites. Make what you will out of this recent exchange I had with Eric Baker, the head of Viagogo – the UK’s biggest secondary ticketing site:
Baker: “We were Madonna’s official secondary ticketing partner and her official premium ticketing partner. Secondary ticketing is for people [who are] trading – for premium ticketing, it would be for VIP packages. This way she’s making sure that the tickets go directly to certain fans.”
Me: “So the premium tickets would go directly to Viagogo?”
Baker: “The tickets have to be sold through some outlet in any event, right? You don’t go to Madonna’s house to get a ticket. They’re taking some of the best seats and letting Viagogo distribute them directly.”
Me: “Would there be a set price on the Viagogo site?”
Baker: “It depends on the supply and demand of the market. So think of it as not being that much different from buying airline tickets.”
Me: “But you can’t re-sell an airline ticket.”
I find it interesting that Mr Baker says that secondary ticketing is for people who are trading. These secondary ticketing sites often try to give the impression they exist so fans that find themselves unable to attend a concert can sell their tickets safely and legally to another fan – hence why they insist on calling themselves fan-to-fan ticket exchanges.
Me: “If someone posts more than six tickets on your site, that surely would be a sign that they’re not fans, but scalpers?”
Baker: “Well, here’s a good example. What if someone had a hen-do and wanted to go to a specific concert? Then the do gets cancelled.”
Is that a good example? Really? I think what Andrew Blachman (who heads Ticketmaster’s secondary ticketing site GetMeIn in the UK) tells me may give a more representative description of ticket sellers on these sites.
“This idea that there’s one set price that never changes is, I think, going away – even with primary ticket sellers,” says Blachman. “Eventually we think they’re … well, they’re obviously coming together. Venues and promoters can sell tickets on our site. We don’t provide restrictions on who can buy and sell on our site. That’s what makes it successful.”
In my next Behind the music blog, you can read the rest of these interviews, find out how Viagogo and GetMeIn justify their existence (and the 25% commission they make from each ticket sale on their sites) and what kind of deals they make with the other players in the touring business.
Their answers may help to explain why you can’t get a reasonably-priced ticket to popular concerts. I dare say that taking Springsteen to court for withholding tickets to his shows is pointing the finger in the wrong direction.
Bruce SpringsteenMusic industryConsumer affairs
source : www.guardian.co.uk
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Submited at Thursday, June 25th, 2009 at 8:15 am on Music by madison
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