Bruce Springsteen, Ticketmaster Ticket Scam

From backstreets.com

Congressman calls for Ticketmaster/TicketsNow investigation
Springsteen’s been a tough ticket for decades. Onsale days can be frustrating for a lot of fans — the shut-outs, the glitches, the mad scrambles. On Monday morning, fans trying for NJ tickets were told that the “ticketing system is currently unavailable due to routine maintenace.” (Ticketmaster claims “only a very small percentage of our fans” were affected.) Such is the way. But this time around, a new development added insult to injury — upon notification of a sell-out, fans were directed to TicketsNow, a Ticketmaster-owned company that handles the secondary market, where tickets were already available at inflated prices. Now that’s synergy!

According to the Ticketmaster’s TicketsNow FAQ list, “The partnership between Ticketmaster and TicketsNow allows fans the greatest choice and access to live entertainment while ensuring reliability of service, convenience, and security.” Funny, most fans we’ve heard from just felt extra-screwed. Let’s go the the Backstreets e-mailbag:

Having purchased tickets for Bruce shows since 1978, I was struck by what happened yesterday when trying to buy seats for the Chicago show. I was in the Ticketmaster site right at the start of the sale. After typing in the security words, my link was rebooted multiple times until I was finally shuttled after two or three minutes to the Ticketmaster-owned TicketsNow site. They had tons of seats, but of course at scalper prices. I never had the opportunity to buy tickets at face value. I’ve have never had this happen in the years since on line buying has become the modus operandi. It seems as if the sale was rigged upfront. - B.K.

I’ve experienced it before — being at the ready at 10 a.m. to buy tickets, only to be shut out. This year, though, I had a slightly different experience. Within minutes of my search, I was redirected from Ticketmaster to Ticketsnow.com. At 10:10 a.m .or sooner I was suddenly in Ticketsnow. I never touched a button on my computer, it just went there. The tickets offered were already marked up 100% or more. How can this be?  Is Ticketmaster running a scam with Ticketsnow? Were there ever any tickets offered at the regular price? Should Bruce blow a gasket? Should there be an investigation? I think so. I am really fed up with supporting brokers instead of my favorite artists, and this was off the charts. -C.A.

I don’t understand how the Ticketmaster-Ticketsnow relationship can pass any sort of smell test. By 10:05, I was consistently getting told by Ticketmaster that the Verizon Center was sold out (except for crappy nosebleeds) but that I could go to TicketsNow for tix in most of the lower sections, at scalpers prices. How is that ethical? With all the shows that went on sale at 10 a.m. Eastern, how can Ticketmaster already be offering huge blocks of tickets unless those tickets were shifted by Ticketmaster to Ticketsnow right at the get-go? I gotta believe that someone with subpoena authority would find that Ticketmaster is selling directly to Ticketsnow, and sticking it to the consumers. Really an outrage. -B.C.

I am over 50 and my son, 15, who has Asperger’s Syndrome (a form of autism) saw Bruce on the Super Bowl and was very excited about the opportunity of seeing him in Denver if possible. This is the first time he had expressed such interest, and I hoped to have an opportunity for both of us to share this a wonderful experience. I watched the clock and at 10:00am I logged in and was put into a loop for 15 minutes only to be kicked out.  Numerous attempts over the next 12 hours have proved unsuccessful in getting two tickets together (which with my son’s issues is critical). 
I would be a uncomplaining individual who just was unlucky, except for Ticketmaster’s prompt every time I cannot find two tickets together to log into TicketsNow for the opportunity to pay at least 40% more per ticket with a selection of over 750 tickets they have available. Isn’t there some type of conflict of interest here?
I feel confident that this issue has nothing to do with Bruce or his core team but I felt it was necessary to let someone know who may be able to get feedback to someone in his organization about this very unfair process. I explained to my son that we probably would be unable to see the group in Denver in April but told him I will be going out to buy the NYC and Barcelona DVDs so he could enjoy this great experience with me at home. - D.B.

When I tried to get tickets this morning the Meadowlands web site said it was down for routine maintenance. When I finally got through they were listing plenty of scalped tickets at TicketsNow. I tried Charlottesville, and Ticketmaster automatically relocated my request to their “partners” at TicketsNow — scalpers. By then, the only thing available at Verizon Center was in the top of the house for face value. I tried again. Sold out, but here’s an ad for, yes, the scalpers. It appears that Ticketmaster gave their “partners” the scalpers first choice at every venue. I’ve got my memories from about a hundred shows. But, I got no tickets. I guess the memories will have to do. In this economy, I will not tolerate the greed. Deal me out for this tour. - C.G.

My husband went online this morning to scramble for tickets right at 9 a.m. (we are in New Jersey. so the Izod Center is where we were looking for tickets). My husband had to leave for work, so I took over. I am not as computer oriented as he is and just knew to order quick. I received a message that my order could not be processed but that other tickets were available thru a Ticketmaster company called TicketsNow. I ordered quickly, and before I knew it I was confirmed for 6 tickets at $263 per ticket — plus fees! I called to cancel, because that is just flat out too much money, and they said (after leaving me on hold for 25 minutes) it was too late. I think it is completely misleading, outrageous and a conflict for Ticketmaster. I don’t know where to turn. - J.H.

I could go on — my inbox sure does. We’ve been frustrated for years by what is essentially legalized scalping — it’s why we created the Backstreets Ticket Exchange in the first place, to provide an opportunity for fans to help each other out at face value only. But it felt a little different when we could at least imagine that the primary sellers were as frustrated by the secondary sellers as we were. This new partnership really sticks in the craw.

And we’re not the only ones who feel that way: New Jersey Representative Bill Pascrell Jr. has asked the FTC and the Justice Department to investigate. He writes:

I am troubled by how quickly tickets priced exponentially higher became available on the secondary market to thousands of rejected fans, many who also endured unfortunate technical problems on Ticketmaster.com. 

I am concerned that the business affiliation between Ticketmaster and TicketsNow may represent a conflict of interest that is detrimental to the average fan.  There is a significant potential for abuse when one company is able to monopolize the primary market for a product and also directly manipulate, and profit from, the secondary market. 

Additionally, the speed with which tickets were made available on Ticketmaster’s official resale affiliate site raises questions about whether TicketsNow brokers were given preferential treatment instead of competing on a level playing field with average consumers to purchase the tickets.

Read the press release with Rep Pascrell’s letter here.
Read more in the Star-Ledger.

---

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

• Report: Another reason to give the Boss respect…Ticketmaster…
• Phish Quickly Selling Out Fall Tour
• A Brief History of Ticketmaster
• A Window Into Ticket Scalping