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Internal emails reveal Ticketmaster helped scalpers jack up prices, FTC says

(arstechnica.com)
327 points dthread3 | 9 comments | 19 Sep 25 18:47 UTC | HN request time: 0.851s | source | bottom
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pavel_lishin ◴[19 Sep 25 19:19 UTC] No.45305346[source]▶
We bought $700 tickets to see a show we really wanted to see, but ended up being unable to make it.

We tried selling it on Ticketmaster, where you can in theory set your own price, or accept their "best offer". Our best offer was somewhere in the neighborhood of $150, and given that it was the night of the show, we accepted it.

We paid $54 per ticket in "processing fees" when purchasing, and paid $50 in more "processing fees" when selling. I'm sure the eventual buyers of our tickets probably had to pony up something like that as well.

If I had a magic button that made everyone above a certain level working there destitute and homeless, I'd probably break my finger pushing it.

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1. yard2010 ◴[19 Sep 25 19:28 UTC] No.45305441[source]▶
Their whole business is based on bullying, dark patterns and ripoff, they either go out of business and become homeless or turn out to be the next president of the united states.
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2. JumpCrisscross ◴[19 Sep 25 19:55 UTC] No.45305800[source]▶
> Their whole business is based on bullying, dark patterns and ripoff

No. It’s based on monopoly. There are a limited number of venues that can host a modern superstar, generally no more than one per geography, and Ticketmaster made it a point to represent all of them. Which means any modern superstar and their fans must work through Ticketmaster. Which, in turn, enables this nonsense.

The cause is monopoly. Not “bullying, dark patterns and ripoff;” those are effects.

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3. bombcar ◴[19 Sep 25 20:14 UTC] No.45306010[source]▶
It’s worse than that.

The venue contracts with Ticketmaster to hike all the fees and shit, which then get kicked back in some percentage to the venue (and sometimes the band) and Ticketmaster takes the heat.

So the 50% that goes to “Ticketmaster” may be 80% to the venue.

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4. will4274 ◴[19 Sep 25 20:23 UTC] No.45306102[source]▶
> turn out to be the next president of the united states

From the site guidelines:

> Eschew flamebait. Avoid generic tangents. Omit internet tropes.

5. MengerSponge ◴[19 Sep 25 21:59 UTC] No.45307217{3}[source]▶
They're a liability sink. It's good business!
6. analog31 ◴[19 Sep 25 23:04 UTC] No.45307824[source]▶
It's also a weird kind of monopoly, in that the good itself has no meaningful elasticity.

When people talk about ticket prices, I always tell them: "Come hear my band for 15 bucks at the door, and free street parking." But of course I know that it's not a comparable experience.

7. lokar ◴[19 Sep 25 23:29 UTC] No.45308040[source]▶
And even more clever: they leverage their control of the big acts and venues to force everyone else into line.

So even a mid sized venue can’t cross them because they can retaliate

8. jart ◴[19 Sep 25 23:36 UTC] No.45308088{3}[source]▶
Ticketmaster actually kicks money back to the venue?

I thought their business model was to bankrupt venues and then buy them at auction.

9. 8bitsrule ◴[20 Sep 25 01:42 UTC] No.45309198[source]▶
>Their whole business is based on bullying, dark patterns and ripoff

Much like the corporations that use private homes as gambling chips.

Much like many organizations playing on the ongoing slump of Western values.