Some of you may have heard that Live Nation, a venue promotions entity is merging with ticketing behemoth (Satan) Ticketmaster. My stomach turned when I was informed of this. I thought to myself - “How could purchasing tickets for shows online get any fucking worse?” The good news is that Live Nation is buying out Ticketmaster to form “Live Nation Entertainment”. Ticketweb is the most efficient service in my opinion but I had no beef with Live Nation. They always seemed to have had reasonable pricing (limited surcharge) and operated a user friendly site. My fears are that Ticketmaster….those “Convenience Charge” whores…will infect the Live Nation Entertainment pricing methodology like “hoof-n-mouth”.
NY Senator Charles Schumer (I have always dug Chucks policy views) echoes my fears claiming that - “This merger would give a giant, new entity unrivaled power over concert-goers and the prices they pay to see their favorite artists and bands.”
The Live Nation CEO assured the public - “Too many tickets go unsold and too many fans are frustrated with their ticket-buying experiences…the new company will work to simplify the ticketing process and increase attendance at events.”
For the love of God just ease-up on the surcharges. If you want to sell more tickets then make it somewhat reasonable to consumers financially. In the long run this builds a relationship and ultimately will yield a better profit for vendor/venue/artists. Don’t charge a 30% premium strictly for convenience (ridiculous). At least Ticketmaster called it for what it was without masking it in ambiguous language like “service” or “handling” or “back-handed”.
BOTTOM LINE - Not everyone lives near the venues to pick up the tickets in person at the box office. Many people have fallen on hard economic times and going to a concert, theatre or sporting event may be the only outlet which brings them enjoyment, relaxation and sanity. If this emotional outlet can not be realized given ridiculous pricing models, then these pent up frustrations are often channeled into other forms of "release" such as booze/drugs/karaoke/clog-dancing. No one wants that. I apologize to the strung-out cloggers of the world. I happen to enjoy booze and karaoke in moderation. Please rock responsibly.
NY Senator Charles Schumer (I have always dug Chucks policy views) echoes my fears claiming that - “This merger would give a giant, new entity unrivaled power over concert-goers and the prices they pay to see their favorite artists and bands.”
The Live Nation CEO assured the public - “Too many tickets go unsold and too many fans are frustrated with their ticket-buying experiences…the new company will work to simplify the ticketing process and increase attendance at events.”
For the love of God just ease-up on the surcharges. If you want to sell more tickets then make it somewhat reasonable to consumers financially. In the long run this builds a relationship and ultimately will yield a better profit for vendor/venue/artists. Don’t charge a 30% premium strictly for convenience (ridiculous). At least Ticketmaster called it for what it was without masking it in ambiguous language like “service” or “handling” or “back-handed”.
BOTTOM LINE - Not everyone lives near the venues to pick up the tickets in person at the box office. Many people have fallen on hard economic times and going to a concert, theatre or sporting event may be the only outlet which brings them enjoyment, relaxation and sanity. If this emotional outlet can not be realized given ridiculous pricing models, then these pent up frustrations are often channeled into other forms of "release" such as booze/drugs/karaoke/clog-dancing. No one wants that. I apologize to the strung-out cloggers of the world. I happen to enjoy booze and karaoke in moderation. Please rock responsibly.
1 comment:
Here's a fun bit of info - Live Nation now charges a $2 service fee on tickets purchased at their box offices. Nice surprise I walked into Saturday morning.
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