One of the common perceptions about the power of the web is that it can break down established trade practices and make distribution more democratic while reducing the price of goods and services. The Guardian Music blog points to an example of where the web can actually do the opposite: ticket touting. Prince is planning his farewell UK tour and was trying to offer his fans low-cost tickets at £31.21 for a night at the 7 night residency at the O2 Arena. The problem, it appears, is that the tickets were snapped up by touts (pro and amateur) and are for sale at prices much, much higher than the original price. The Guardian says:
The odious secondary ticketing market is now benefiting from Prince’s fair pricing. Viagogo are now selling tickets for all seven shows. Prices start at £73 and are currently capped at the, well, princely sum of £171. Seatwave prices are currently between £88.99 and £120.
The utter grossness of this “market” is particularly transparent when you think about how swiftly these tickets appeared online to be resold, quadrupling in value for the honour of having passed through one person’s hands to another… Prince was offering his fans a fair chance to see him for an affordable price, but thanks to the electronic touts it seems that wasn’t his decision.
Guardian Unlimited: Arts blog – music: Seeing Prince will make us paupers
Facebook
Twitter
Digg
Reddit
StumbleUpon
Live venue ticket pricing has been on a tear for a few years and one report I read puts it out of reach for most people within the next decade or so iirc. That’s the price of “free” music available online (see my comment to earlier questions: http://www.psfk.com/2007/05/march_of_the_pi.html ).
Thing to remember though, if audiences are going to expect musicians to create songs which can’t be sold to pay for their efforts, then something has to give. Therefore, don’t be surprised if some musicians keep blocks of seats as part of their compensation for playing at a venue and then selling those seats themselves at *much* higher margins.
May 14th, 2007 at 3:50 pm
We believe a solution exists that protects the fans from excessive pricing, but also guards against over-regulating a free market.
By listing all the ticket prices and availability for all UK events in one place, both primary and vetted secondary, we allow the consumer to make an informed and safe decision about their ticket purchase.
This technology, called ‘Vertical Search’, follows a strong trend from the US, where small internet start ups are leveraging the massive investments made by sites who have previously tried to consolidate markets rather than work with the fragmentation. Vertical search allows many small sites to exist and works to give the user best access to information.
We believe the launch of our ‘PowerSearch’ for tickets (see http://www.tickex.com) has heralded a new era for the live event fan, and has already been called “the Google for tickets” by Music Week. Within the next 4 weeks we will be the largest ticketing site (by displayed inventory) in the UK.
Try the search – have fun !
Dan Brinderson
Founder
http://www.TickEx.com
May 15th, 2007 at 4:51 am
Another common perception is that Prince is still worth a £120 concert ticket price. And here I thought The Police were the real winners on the 2007 nostalgia tour. Silly me – I guess there’s more than enough cash to go around.
May 15th, 2007 at 5:58 am
The secondary ticket market in the UK is exploding, Prince is one of a band of older artist who are using their large fan bases to have long touts at arenas such as the O2. please check out our site http://www.ticketnova.com
http://www.ticketnova.com
June 20th, 2008 at 12:23 pm