Dispatches - The Great Ticket Scandal!

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Touting etc, interesting watching

Slunk

Watching it now. Absolute disgrace. I really hope something is done about this. The companies should be brought to court. As far as Im aware theres nothing like that here, so far. People should boycott sites like this and leave them stuck with tickets but theres always going to be people who will buy them so they will keep getting allocations and the ordinary Joe Soap will lose out.

NIBBS

Slunk wrote: »

Watching it now. Absolute disgrace. I really hope something is done about this. The companies should be brought to court. As far as Im aware theres nothing like that here, so far. People should boycott sites like this and leave them stuck with tickets but theres always going to be people who will buy them so they will keep getting allocations and the ordinary Joe Soap will lose out.

Nobody should ever buy a ticket over face value for a gig - if people stopped buying from these sites for a couple of months they'd disappear.....it's a con, and this is Touting which is being allowed for some reason.....

oddly enough MCD has been mentioned a few times in the program so far....the whole thing makes me sick, but as long as people are prepared to pay stupid money for things it'll continue.....they've looked into the Auction aspects of Ticketmaster in the US and the connections with LiveNation etc....don't know if anything was done though

Slunk

Nearly 1600 pound for three tickets. When there's muppets like that paying them prices what chance have you got

livEwirE

Hi all,

Dispatches - The Great Ticket Scandal
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/4od



Did anyone see this last night on Channel 4, it was shocking stuff:eek::eek::eek:


Fans queuing for hours to buy tickets get turned away empty handed while tickets for the same 'sold out' events appear online shortly afterwards, sometimes at astronomical prices.
Channel 4 News correspondent Morland Sanders investigates the multi-million-pound world of online ticket reselling where fans desperate not to miss out on in-demand concerts, festivals and sporting events often buy their tickets.
Leading 'fan-to-fan' ticket exchange websites say they allow 'real fans' to sell on tickets they can no longer use.
Dispatches sent reporters undercover inside two major 'fan-to-fan' ticket exchange websites to investigate who is selling via their websites and why so many tickets appear at over the face value so soon after the box office sells out.

schemingbohemia

thanks going to watch this over the weekend, thank jebus for toutless

H8GHOTI

Mr.S wrote: »

...The only thing promoters can do is adapt a glastonbury type system, which makes things really awkward...

This is true IF the promoters want to stop it from happening.

The thing I found most shocking was that promoters are actually giving tickets directly to these sites. Live Nation gave one of the sites 1000 tickets for a gig.
The site sold them for over face value & gave Live Nation 90% of the profit.

It's obvious that touts were using those sites but I didn't think things were as bad as what was uncovered by the show.

Toast

I wouldn't like widespread adoption of the Glastonbury solution because it prevents people who've a ticket and are legitimately unable to go from selling it at face value.

The problem is any system that allows transfer will be open to abuse. Also any system that allows full refund will hurt promoters when gigs don't sell. I can't think of a solution that would work 100% of the time.

As pointed out there are two different touting issues now but one only exists because of the other. You've the pro street tout problem (which also includes the pro web tout and the amateur who just happens to end up with the right ticket at the right time). You then have the ticket company directly trying to profit from the situation the aforementioned have created.

I've yet to watch this documentary but from the comments here I guess this is more about the "legit" touting where tickets go to resell sites direct from Ticketmaster. I really wish I could find the report but Ticketmaster openly admitted to planning to charge "premium" amounts for in demand tickets to get their slice of the "tout market". They acquired GetMeIn soon after.

Ultimately it is the assumption in society that with enough money you can / should be able to buy your way into somewhere that's the issue. I've had enough arguments with people on this board that claim touts "provide a service" to know it exists. Their claim is that you should be allowed pay more to gain access. However as soon as someone goes down that road it shouldn't be a surprise that the ticket companies are doing this.

The solution is people need to accept that sometimes money can't get you what you want. I think that is part of a greater issue that I don't really feel in the position to tackle.

The best I can do is help provide an alternative.

DC10555

I just finished watching this on 4OD and I'm disgusted, I can understand paying 110% to a tout because i missed out on buying a ticket for X or Y reason and they can't go, but companies selling the tickets before the actual consumers even get a chance to buy sucks bigtime.

pervertedcoffee

A lot of people are throwing around the argument that this should be allowed simply because it's following the whole 'supply and demand' theory which is a joke really if they're creating the demand themselves by buying up all the tickets.

CiaranK

It's sickening that this is going on. Even a mention of MCD in there.

I would hope many people would stop using the sites after seeing this.

:mad: :mad: :mad:

Mushy

Ok people, I'm fairly sure everyone has been in this position before. Favourite band playing a gig, gig sells out in seconds, the anguish that isn't healthy at that hour of the morning. Then to make it worse the online touts are up and running within minutes, basically robbing people of their money. So who are these people doing the robbing? Well we see people outside the venues, but it appears there is a lot more to it.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/4od#3290181

After seeing this, I really hope something is done, or can be done. Luckily I've never had to buy tickets this way. What do ye think will be done, or is it just a tough, pay up deal. Can the bands do anything, or will they bother?

Mushy

Mr.S wrote: »

Merged threads.


--

I watched this last night actually, very surprised at promoters giving the re-seller sites an allocation makes sense I suppose, ticketmaster own one of them as well don't they?

Sorry didn't realise this was already up.

Yeah Ticketmaster own getmein.com. Can anything be done to stop the companies doing this, or do we have to wait for legislation which won't be forthcoming.

Mushy

Always the problem, and of course big business means no conscience.

O'Doodle

Ticketmaster are the biggest ticket touts around.

I can't stand them. It's a shame they have a such a monopoly in Ireland and the UK.

skaface

O'Doodle wrote: »

Ticketmaster are the biggest ticket touts around.

I can't stand them. It's a shame they have a such a monopoly in Ireland and the UK.

Thats why they call them "TICKETSHAFTER"
Absolute disgrace the service charge on a ticket you buy.. a 40Euro ticket
will often cost you 47.5O.. Greedy B***ards :mad:

bodhrandude

I got shafted by Viagogo in 2007, paid over £300 pounds for a sold out Electric Picnic ticket when I was living in Edinburgh in May that year. Still think it was well worth it as that was the most amazing EP line up I have ever seen.

lordgoat

DC10555 wrote: »

I just finished watching this on 4OD and I'm disgusted, I can understand paying 110% to a tout because i missed out on buying a ticket for X or Y reason and they can't go, but companies selling the tickets before the actual consumers even get a chance to buy sucks bigtime.

IMO there's no difference between the two. There are viable options for sold out gigs.

Toutless

#ticketfairy on twitter

Turning up to the gig on the night and seeing if anyone is selling tickets - not a tout. I've sold tickets on the night to sold out shows for face value, when knowing i could have gotten alot more for it. Also always ask the box office on the night, sometimes saved tickets will often not be used and become available at the last minute.

Once the gig starts, you'll be surprised how much touts will knock off the ticket. I know people that paid E10 into sold out concerts of E80 and missed only about 30mins of it.

And lastly ask yourself, is it worth paying over the top for something that I may be able to see at a future date. If the band/artist tour often then I never see the obsession to MUST get tickets.

Mr.S wrote: »

As long as people have the mentality of "ah sure its sold out, I don't mind paying X amount over facevalue, these crooks will be in business

Yep, big plus one on this.

lenso

It is scary how much people are willing to pay!

Irish Aris

well, this was never a thought for me.
I am simply refusing to pay anything more than face value. If it is sold out, is is sold out and I might not even bother to look around. If it is something that I would "die" to see, I may follow on websites, like toutless.com, or try my luck on the day of the gig, for last minute cancellations/returns.

tigershould

i hate ticketb@stard! - if they're giving advance tickets to touts to mark up 1000% and then taking a cut then this needs to be stopped!

ive often bought tickets outside a gig or online from gumtree, adverts etc (from touts and other gig-goers)

i always have a price in my mind that i'm willing to pay -normally upto about €20 above face value.

on the same front, i've sold a few tickets outside gigs and online (if i bought in advance and couldnt make it (not for profit) - i've always sold these at face value maybe rounded up to the nearest 5 (ie €25 instead on 22.50)

if i want to see an act i'll normally make the effort, ie log in at 0800 in the morning of ticket release - seeing someone you like in your local venue is priceless.

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tigershould wrote: »

if they're giving advance tickets to touts to mark up 1000% and then taking a cut then this needs to be stopped!

There's no "if", and it's not a new revelation it's been going on for years. Trent Reznor of NIN wrote a good post on the subject in 2009 -

Trent Reznor wrote:

TicketMaster has essentially been a monopoly for many years - certainly up until Live Nation's exclusive deal ran out. They could have (and can right now) stop the secondary market dead in its tracks by doing the following: limit the amount of sales per customer, print names on the tickets and require ID / ticket matches at the venue. We know this works because we do it for our pre-sales. Why don't THEY do it? It's obvious - they make a lot of money fueling the secondary market. TicketMaster even bought a re-seller site and often bounces you over to that site to buy tickets (TicketsNow.com)!

Full post @ http://forum.nin.com/bb/read.php?59,548515