I wanted to write this for months but every time I started, another Ticketmaster story popped-up. I can’t put it off any longer. So this is the story for now. Only time will tell where it goes.
2022 has been a bad year for Ticketmaster’s public image with the company facing constant controversy.
Currently, Ticketmaster is under scrutiny for its role in reselling tickets. Commonly, ticket scalpers buy tickets on Ticketmaster and then use the fan-to-fan resale feature to mark-up the price and often make huge profits. This is bad enough on its own. But Ticketmaster supports this practice and takes a cut from the resale, benefitting from the scalpers.
The Blink 182 reunion was massive. As well as a reunion they announced a world tour. Ticketmaster sold tickets and so very many had problems getting them. When Mark Hoppus, Blink 182 bass player, tried to get tickets himself to see how difficult it was for fans, the website crashed on him. Many tickets were snapped up by scalpers ahead of fans.
The legions of fans in search of Taylor Swift tickets got the same treatment. Ticketmaster handled this sale and once again it appeared they couldn’t handle it with the site crashing multiple times during the pre-sale. However, shortly after the pre-sale closed Ticketmaster released a statement saying that all tickets had been sold.
Taylor swift released a statement addressing the issue.
Such was the scale of failure for fans, people have begun to question whether Live Nation, the company that owns Ticketmaster, has become an unfair monopoly that can set what prices they like without any competition to run against.
People are getting sick of how expensive tickets are becoming. Generally, fans do understand tickets are more expensive these days because tours are the main way artists make money. However, Ticketmaster seems to be setting whatever price they like and adding extra service charges. And when tickets move to resale, it’s the scalpers (and Ticketmaster) that makes money rather than the musicians. The cost of tickets keeps rising and rising. It now feels that these prices are only for the wealthy and have become a barrier for younger and less well-off fans to experience live music.
When most are struggling with cost-of-living increases, rocketing ticket prices are cutting off the escapism and release of music. Fans can accept that bands need income. But where Ticketmaster is profiteering from its monopoly and empowering rip-off scalpers, this is leading to cynicism about the industry and turning many away.
“Future Music Festival 2013” by Eva Rinaldi Celebrity Photographer is licensed under CC BY-SA
