Ticketmaster sale of Oasis tickets

[Brendan Burgess]

If TM want is to commit a number of hours to being on hold, on their dodgy website,

There is nothing dodgy about it.

If 500,000 people join a queue for 150,000 tickets, it will take hours to process.

When you get on, you are usually given some minutes to complete the transaction.

Brendan

 

[MrEarl]

There is nothing dodgy about it.

If 500,000 people join a queue for 150,000 tickets, it will take hours to process.

When you get on, you are usually given some minutes to complete the transaction.

Brendan

I actually meant "dodgy" in the sense of unreliable and low quality, which their app and website both are, but I appreciate how it may have come across, in my previous post. Sorry for the confusion.

People regularly report not being able to log on, their session freezing, the TM website getting kicked out of the website part way through a transaction, suspending their access for the good reason etc.

I disagree about how long the transactions should take to process - we're not talking about a dozen people handling paper tickets here, we're talking about automation.

 

[Brendan Burgess]

I disagree about how long the transactions should take to process

The system is fast. But the customers using it are slow.

 

[Greenleaf]

Hello,

I was wondering, has anyone ever tried making a complaint about Ticketmaster, on anti-competitive grounds?

While, in theory, there is competition in the marketplace, in reality, they have a defacto monopoly.

By extension, they charge what they want on fees, with no competitive pressure to keep fees reasonable, and their service is dreadful.

Is this one for the Competition Authority (CCPC ?) or have people previously tried and got nowhere?

The dynamic pricing piece, whilst very irritating, is genius. I have two friends who paid €1,200 for two normal standing tickets (insane).

They had free choice whether to pay the price or not. Clearly people have that sort of money to pay otherwise the tickets wouldn't have sold out so fast.

I wanted to fly to Birmingham last week at short notice. The flights were €325. I chose not to go.

If you don't want to pay €1,000 to see Oasis, then don't. Let someone else who wants to pay that price go.

I am not a fan but if I had got tickets at €20 each, I would probably have gone to see what all the fuss was about thus depriving a real fan.

That would be my take also. They quite happily paid €400 per tct, I really don't know what all the fuss is about.

 

[Howth Head]

One thing that's been lost in this whole discussion is the fact that the music business as a whole is the most capitalistic, demand & supply, winner-takes-it-all, pure market-driven industry of them all.

It's the Pareto Principle on steroids, albeit more like the 1% versus the 99% in terms of success/failure rather than the usual 80/20 distribution. Even within bands'/artists' catalogues a handful of songs make them the bulk of their earnings. If you hear a Police song on the radio it's 99% likely to be either 'Every Breath You Take' - or 'Roxanne' with a few others trailing far behind percentage wise ('Walking On The Moon', 'Don't Stand So Close To Me' etc.)

Yes, there are bands/artists who've had a lot of hits/acclaimed albums and can sustain long careers but that model is fading fast. (They were literally giving away Taylor Swift tickets to hospital staff on her previous visit to Dublin due to over-estimated demand. What happened in the meantime? Who knows.)

Can recommend any of David Hepworth's books on the music industry for some insights - his latest, about age-ing rock legends who refuse to give up is suitably titled 'Hope I Get Old Before I Die'...

 

[Brendan Burgess]

CCPC has 'legitimate concerns' over Oasis ticket sales

There are "legitimate concerns around the consumer experiences" of buying tickets for Oasis concerts at the weekend, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has said, and it is "actively reviewing the situation".

www.rte.ie

 

[Brendan Burgess]

Ah, it's going to be sorted if only you vote the right way, which is the left way, at the next election.

The leader of Sinn Féin has said that working class Oasis fans "who got [the band] where they are" were "thrown under the bus" by a "crazy" ticketing system.

Mary Lou McDonald said that Ticketmaster's dynamic pricing which massively hikes the cost of tickets when demand surges is "completely unfair" and "just needs to stop".

"The working class got them where they are and they're throwing them under the bus," Ms McDonald said of the Gallagher brothers, Noel and Liam.

"It’s crazy that permission would be given for concerts, without any notification as to the cost of tickets."

 

[Brendan Burgess]

A former MD of Ticketmaster says it's better now than in the old days

Oasis tickets controversy: ‘People say it was better in the old days. It really wasn’t’

Amid calls for Ticketmaster’s ‘dynamic pricing’ to be investigated, the company’s former MD says it is not a monopoly and will remain popular

www.irishtimes.com

It was different in his early days. He sold £6.50 tickets to 700 people who went to see Oasis in the Tivoli in 1994 and recalls how a couple of years later there were thousands of people on Grafton Street queuing for tickets to see the band in the old Point Depot. “People say it was better in the old days. It really wasn’t. At least now I can sit in my bed on my computer queuing for tickets,” he said.

 

[losttheplot]

Does anyone know how many tickets were subject to the surge pricing?

 

[rustbucket]

A former MD of Ticketmaster says it's better now than in the old days

Oasis tickets controversy: ‘People say it was better in the old days. It really wasn’t’

Amid calls for Ticketmaster’s ‘dynamic pricing’ to be investigated, the company’s former MD says it is not a monopoly and will remain popular

www.irishtimes.com

It was different in his early days. He sold £6.50 tickets to 700 people who went to see Oasis in the Tivoli in 1994 and recalls how a couple of years later there were thousands of people on Grafton Street queuing for tickets to see the band in the old Point Depot. “People say it was better in the old days. It really wasn’t. At least now I can sit in my bed on my computer queuing for tickets,” he said.

but they all paid £6.50. Some better seats were probably a bit higher.
They didn’t go up the closer you got to the ticket desk.

Worst thing to worry about was selling out. Not being priced out of going.

 

[T McGibney]

That doesn't excuse the industry, in any shape or form, as I'd hope you will agree.

It still undermines your suggestion that endemic industry greed can be cured by government action.

 

[24601]

I think the issue is the total lack of transparency. Promoters should be obliged to advertise that dynamic pricing is in play before tickets are on sale, which MCD/Ticketmaster/Oasis did not do. They also never advertised the pricing levels beforehand. I'd say they probably sold 1 ticket at €89.95 or whatever it was, if any at all. Livenation/Ticketmaster/MCD are one and the same: they book the acts, promote the events, sell the tickets - there are definitely competition issues at play.

Appreciate that hotels and airlines use dynamic pricing but this is much different with the window of sale concentrated into a few hours and there being no alternatives. That being said, nobody forces anyone to pay €X but the system is purposely set up to mirror the dopamine rush from gambling. There's this event where a zillion people want tickets, get in line and you can win the chance to buy one, get to the top of the line and you're presented with tickets 3x to 4x the price advertised and 80 seconds to make a decision. It's pretty grim. They can charge what they want but the law should govern the advertising more strictly.

Bad form from Oasis too making a big song and dance about cancelling touted tickets and then selling the same the tickets with a 500 - 600% markup. They were also selling the same tickets at different prices simultaneously - I could see General Admission Standing tickets for €177 including booking fees and "In Demand Standing" tickets for €415 when I was in the checkout. I reckon that that was an IT issue but it's still awful.

 

[Brendan Burgess]

Livenation/Ticketmaster/MCD are one and the same: they book the acts, promote the events, sell the tickets - there are definitely competition issues at play.

This is certainly something which could be looked at.

MCD is not going to go to another ticket seller if its parent owns Ticketmaster. If Livenation promotes a tour it's going to use MCD and Ticketmaster.

But presumably Oasis could have used some other promoter and ticket distributor?

 

[Kfox92]

This is certainly something which could be looked at.

MCD is not going to go to another ticket seller if its parent owns Ticketmaster. If Livenation promotes a tour it's going to use MCD and Ticketmaster.

But presumably Oasis could have used some other promoter and ticket distributor?

Venues are also tied into this monopoly. They are threatened with being blacklisted from all future events if they sway from ticketmaster/live nation

 

[Brendan Burgess]

Venues are also tied into this monopoly. They are threatened with being blacklisted from all future events if they sway from ticketmaster/live nation

Where is your evidence for this? If you have it, you should certainly let the CCPC know as I assume that would be abuse of a dominant position.

 

[Kfox92]

Where is your evidence for this? If you have it, you should certainly let the CCPC know as I assume that would be abuse of a dominant position.

They're currently being investigated in America for it

Justice Department Sues Live Nation-Ticketmaster for Monopolizing Markets Across the Live Concert Industry

The Justice Department, along with 30 state and district attorneys general, filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Ticketmaster LLC (Live Nation-Ticketmaster) for monopolization and other unlawful conduct that thwarts competition...

www.justice.gov

• Locking Out Competition with Exclusionary Contracts: Live Nation-Ticketmaster locks concert venues into long-term exclusive contracts so that venues cannot consider or choose rival ticketers or switch to better or more cost-effective ticketing technology. These contracts allow Live Nation-Ticketmaster to reduce competitive pressure to improve its own ticketing technology and customer service.
• Blocking Venues from Using Multiple Ticketers: Live Nation-Ticketmaster’s conduct and exclusive contracts prevent new and different promotions and ticketing competitors and business models from emerging. They block venues from being able to use multiple ticketers, who would compete by offering the best mix of prices, fees, quality, and innovation to fans.

 

[MrEarl]

It still undermines your suggestion that endemic industry greed can be cured by government action.

I disagree

 

[Brendan Burgess]

Oasis are washing their hands of it.

Oasis deny knowledge of dynamic ticket pricing for sold-out UK and Ireland shows

Band says ticketing system was decided on by management, Ticketmaster and promoter

www.irishtimes.com

Oasis said the decision to go for dynamic pricing was made by the promoter, Ticketmaster and the band’s management as part of a “positive sales strategy which would be a fair experience for fans, including dynamic ticketing to help keep general ticket prices down as well as reduce touting. The execution of the plan failed to meet expectations.

“All parties involved did their utmost to deliver the best possible fan experience, but due to the unprecedented demand this became impossible to achieve.”

The statement did not explain how dynamic pricing, which sees prices go up if there is sufficient demand, was supposed to keep general ticket prices down.

Ticketmaster has said it does not set concert prices and its website states this is down to the “event organiser” who “has priced these tickets according to their market value”.

 

[MrEarl]

We'll, if they wanted publicity for their come back tour, they certainly got it!

And lots of money, thrown into the bargain....

 

[T McGibney]

Oasis are washing their hands of it.

Not at all.

Oasis said the decision to go for dynamic pricing was made by the promoter, Ticketmaster and the band’s management