08-19-2004, 06:40 PM
I take every opportunity I can to let TicketMaster know what I think of their service. Surely, I SHOULD pay a convenience charge to use TM.... I mean, I log on via the internet, click a few buttons, and a week later, the tickets arrive at my doorstep. I'm willing to pay for that.
But the amounts we do pay seem excessive. Even if it was 10% (which seems to much)... let's see, the Hip play Molson Amphitheatre w/ 16,000 people at $50 a ticket. If TM gets 10%, that's $80K. For one show.... friggin' ridiculous. What does an agent get, 15%?
My understanding of why they use TicketMaster - they have to. If you want to sell tickets to an event at Molson Amphitheatre... you have to use TM. TM has locked up a ton of venues, and if you want to play them, you've gotta use TM... and they set their own service charges. That's why Pearl Jam sued... they tried (and found) that they couldn't even launch a nationwide tour thru the US without using TM....
But the amounts we do pay seem excessive. Even if it was 10% (which seems to much)... let's see, the Hip play Molson Amphitheatre w/ 16,000 people at $50 a ticket. If TM gets 10%, that's $80K. For one show.... friggin' ridiculous. What does an agent get, 15%?
My understanding of why they use TicketMaster - they have to. If you want to sell tickets to an event at Molson Amphitheatre... you have to use TM. TM has locked up a ton of venues, and if you want to play them, you've gotta use TM... and they set their own service charges. That's why Pearl Jam sued... they tried (and found) that they couldn't even launch a nationwide tour thru the US without using TM....