ticketmaster
Top Bruce Springsteen Ticket Prices Fueled Rage, But the Average Cost Wasn’t So High
Bruce Springsteen fans had a rough introduction to the world of dynamic ticket pricing Wednesday (July 20), as many logged into Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan platform to buy tickets for his upcoming tour with the E Street Band and experienced sticker shock at the cost of the best seats. Those prices – which climbed into the thousands of dollars, as widely reported – represented about 1 percent of the tickets listed on the Ticketmaster Verified Fan sale, but they became a sore point for fans who felt that they no longer had a shot at great seats after years of loyalty to the Boss. By selling high-priced platinum tickets, Ticketmaster argues, the company can prevent the best seats from being bought and resold by scalpers. That money can instead go to Springsteen. However, this only works when ...
New York State to Ban Hidden Fees on Concert Tickets
New York legislation requiring ticketing companies to display “all-in” ticket prices now awaits Gov. Kathy Hochul’s signature after passing the state senate on Thursday and the assembly on Friday (June 3). Those and other new rules are meant to bring “honesty” into the ticket market, the bill’s sponsor, James Skoufis (D-Hudson Valley), chair of the Senate Investigations and Government Operations Committee, tells Billboard. Hochul must sign the bill before the existing law expires on July 1. Most notably, the bill requires primary or resale web pages for events in New York to disclose an “all-in” price that includes the ticket price inclusive of all ancillary fees, and show “in a clear and conspicuous manner” the portion of the price that represents a service charge or any other fee. The fi...
National Concert Week Offers $25 All-In Tickets for 3,700 Upcoming Shows
Between May 4th and 10th, Live Nation will offer $25 all-in tickets to more than 3,700 shows across North America as part of its annual National Concert Week campaign. Discounted tickets will be available for shows including Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill anniversary tour with Garbage; Wu-Tang and Nas’ “NY State of Mind” tour; Jack White’s “Supply Chain Issues Tour”; Tears for Fears’ upcoming jaunt with Garbage; Rob Zombie and Mudvayne’s co-headlining outing; New Order and Pet Shop Boys’ co-headlining tour; Kraftwerk’s “3D Tour”; and Interpol and Spoon’s upcoming tour together. Some of the other notable acts included in the promotion are The Killers, The Who, Florence + The Machine, Roxy Music, HAIM, Morrissey, Machine Gun Kelly, The Black Keys, Willie Nelson, Tenacious D, The Chic...
World’s Largest Digital Ticket Marketplace Launches in South Africa
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Ticketmaster’s Arbitration Policy Again Enforced in Dispute Over Pandemic Refunds
Ticketmaster filed a motion to compel arbitration. It argued that Hansen, like anyone else who buys concert tickets through its site, agreed to its terms of use which contains an arbitration agreement. In September, both Ticketmaster and StubHub prevailed on similar motions in disputes brought by baseball fans. There, U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer found that the click-through agreements users interact with while signing into the site and buying tickets are sufficient to provide notice of the policy and constitute mutual assent to an arbitration agreement. That’s one of the arguments Hansen made here; he didn’t read the terms of use and was unaware it included an arbitration provision and therefore he couldn’t have assented. U.S. District Judge Edward M. Chen isn’...
The Future of Festivals? Ticketmaster May Require COVID-19 Vaccination Proof to Attend Concerts
Will verified vaccination speed up the return to traditional live events? While we all drool over the safe return of live events, Ticketmaster is hard at work trying to make it a reality. One idea underway involves verifying fans’ COVID-19 vaccination status before allowing access to future concerts. The news arrives after reports of the potential efficacy of the vaccine—developed by Pfizer and BioNTech—which allegedly has a 90% prevention rate, according to the preliminary analysis. The vaccine was tested on 43,500 people in six countries and so far no safety concerns have been raised. In order to have it ready by the end of the month, the two companies will be applying for emergency approval. Mark Yovich, the president of Ticketmaster, spoke to Billboard t...
Ticketmaster Denies Reports of Mandated COVID-19 Vaccination Proof for Access to Concerts
“We are not forcing anyone to do anything.” Following a Billboard report that Ticketmaster planned to check the COVID-19 vaccination status of attendees prior to allowing them access to concerts, the ticketing giant has denied the news. “We are not forcing anyone to do anything,” Ticketmaster said in a statement provided to BBC News. Ticketmaster’s president, Mark Yovich, originally told Billboard that the company is exploring a plan that would use smartphones to verify fans’ vaccination status or a negative test for the virus within a 24 to 72 hour window. However, while the original article noted that Ticketmaster’s plan was merely being considered, myriad news outlets went on to report the plan as having been o...
Ticketmaster Preps Plans to Verify Concertgoers’ COVID-19 and Vaccination Statuses
Live music — at least the way we remember going to gigs in the “before” time — might be even closer to coming back than initially thought. After Pfizer announced that early results for a new COVID-19 vaccine presented a 90% efficacy rate during its first set of trials earlier this week, Ticketmaster began working on a safety plan that would use smartphones. The phones would be used to whether verify concertgoers were vaccinated or had tested negative for COVID-19 over the previous 72 hours, Billboard reported. “In order for live events to return, technology and science are going to play huge roles in establishing integrated protocols so that fans, artists, and employees feel safe returning to venues,” says Marianne Herman, co-founder and principal reBUILD20, told Billboard. ReBUILD20 is a ...
How Ticketmaster Plans to Check Your Vaccine Status for Concerts: Exclusive
Here’s how it would work, if approved: After purchasing a ticket for a concert, fans would need to verify that they have already been vaccinated (which would provide approximately one year of COVID-19 protection) or test negative for coronavirus approximately 24 to 72 hours prior to the concert. The length of coverage a test would provide would be governed by regional health authorities — if attendees of a Friday night concert had to be tested 48 hours in advance, most could start the testing process the day before the event. If it was a 24-hour window, most people would likely be tested the same day of the event at a lab or a health clinic. Once the test was complete, the fan would instruct the lab to deliver the results to their health pass company, like CLEAR...
Concertgoers Seek Ticketmaster Terms of Use Click Rates in Antitrust Class Action
Concertgoers suing Ticketmaster and Live Nation over live event ticket fees believe no one actually reads the terms of service that bind them to arbitration and are asking a California federal judge for discovery that could help them prove the websites’ formats are to blame. Olivia Van Iderstine and Mitch Oberstein in April sued Ticketmaster and its parent Live Nation claiming the companies have a monopoly on live events and therefore can charge “extraordinarily high fees” for tickets. The companies responded in June with a motion to compel arbitration. They argue that in order to buy tickets through their sites users have to affirmatively agree to their terms of service at least three times — and those terms include a mandatory arbitration provision and a waiver of class...
Ticketmaster President: Reps. Pascrell & Porter Are Wrong, Company Has Processed More Than $600M in Refunds
The following letter was submitted to Billboard by Ticketmaster President Jared Smith in response to a letter posted on Billboard earlier today by U.S. Reps. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) and Katie Porter (D-CA). Last month Ticketmaster revealed its plan to offer refunds for all canceled and postponed Live Nation and AEG shows. Respectfully, Mr. Pascrell and Ms. Porter either misunderstand or elect to misrepresent the realities of our business and refund policies, as we outlined in our April 17 response letter to them. It is entirely disingenuous and flatly wrong to claim that we have “pointed the finger at others.” To reiterate, Ticketmaster is a platform that allows event organizers to sell tickets directly to consumers. The fact is, the money we need to refund fans is held by our clien...
