News story on the ticket mess

[royo]

Hey all--

I'm writing a news story for Groovevolt.com about the ticket mess this morning. WHile I have tons of personal experience regarding today, I'd like some quotes from others.

Just FYI, Groovevolt is picked up by Google News, so you will see your name online if you look. If this is a problem for any reason, please don't post/email.

my email is royo@groovevolt.com or post here.

Thanks

 

[madonna's child]

U2 backed out on a promise to their most loyal fans. We joined the U2.com fanclub under the premise that we would have priority ticket buying. Well, I'm a member of the fanclub, but 3 hours after the pre-sale began, I am still ticketless. U2 have clearly not alloted for enough tickets to accomodate the fanclub members. This treatment is unethical and has hurt the people that have funded the band's career for the past 25 years.

My name is Emily Wirth. You can use my little rant if you want, though I'm so mad right now, I doubt it makes much sense.

 

[adenoid_hynkel]

Basically, this whole thing is screwed. The band took a reliable fan-friendly service like propaganda and replaced it with a poorly-managed company. the fan tix used to come directly from the band, but now ticketmaster, with it's piss-poor website, has been brought in. i had two GA tix, but when i tried to pay for them, the site crashed and my password quit. by the time i got ticketmaster to straighten that out (after 3 calls, some heated words, and demanding to speak to a supervisor), the tix were gone.

the old system worked perfectly. you were guaranteed tix for multiple shows, but under this new system (which we had to pay extra to continue our existing memebrship), u2 have handed the whole process off to a private company, fanfire, in the name of 'effectiveness.' it's obvious that fanfire offered the band a good chunk of cash for this opportunity. the result is a money-grubbing scam that cheated longtime fans of the band.

as others have pointed out, all you have to do is check ebay to see people selling 500 pairs of tickets. the old way was nearly scalper-proof. this new system plays right into their hands.

for the first time since 1992, i will not be seeing the band and if this is how they treat their fans, i really don't give a damn about them anymore.

i would like my $20 back, though

 

[stevec]

Scammed out of $40USD by U2.com. Ignored by Ticketmaster. Time wasted on a day off work. Promises of a chance to buy presale tickets broken!

This is the thanks that a fan of 20+ years gets, for making the effort and spending the money to see his favourite group.

Ticketmaster had no business running the presale if they couldn't handle it, which U2's management and promoters SHOULD have confirmed BEFORE they hired them. What did Ticketmaster expect, a few dozen kids trying to buy tickets to see their friends' garage band at the local social club?

It's left a sour taste in my mouth and frankly, I'll be wary of trusting anything that U2.com or the band's managament do or say from now on. Worst of all, this will be a very negative impact on a band that puts so much stock in its fans' loyalty.

U2 - U suck!

Steve Connolly

 

[beatlesboy]

I had an existing subscription to Propaganda and never received (like many others) my subscription code for U2.com, but I joined paying the full $40 subscription cost (like many others) just for the ticket benefits, lord knows there's no other reason to join the F'n thing! And now I have no tickets (like many others) and I'm very PISSED (like many others!). There seems to be a trend here! I hope the a-holes at U2.com are lying on the beach enjoying the forty bucks from everyone they screwed! I love U2 and it's scary and sad that I'm starting to think differently about them over the last few months. I don't know...

 

[yyoo]

We should give U2 a chance to make good. But if they don't, they've lost a fan in me, and I'm sure I'm not alone in saying this.

 

[jammin909]

u2 have turned into greedy rats. they should stop playing music and pick up jobs in the false advertising business.

matt wagner

 

[U2atUSC]

Today's showing was disgusting. It is well over an hour since the presale has begun. I have come in contact with one (1) U2 fan on the west coast who made it through on Ticketmaster, and they were offered two $165 seats in the upper deck corner of the arena. They declined.

Everyone else I have spoken to could not even connect to buy tickets for these west coast shows.

U2 has dropped the ball and angered their fans.

Chris Martin

 

[cmb737]

Shut out multiple times at multiple dates. Had 3 seperate tix error out after giving them the security code.

Bullshit.

Fuck U2.com, I'll take a refund thanks.

 

[briarrose]

I was extremely disappointed. I woke up this morning expecting to be able to buy tickets. There wasn't a thought in my mind that said it wasn't going to happen. Boy was I wrong. I tried for tickets at exactly 10am and had to wait 10 minutes to see if there were any available, and there wasn't any. I paid $40 for nothing. Literally nothing. I never received the keychain, not that i really care anymore. I wasted my entire morning on some false hope of maybe there being decent seats available rather than nosebleeds. I've lost a lot of respect for these guys. It all started with their limited edition of HTDAAB and it's lack of CD notes. I feel it's all a scam.

 

[RademR]

Don't people get arrested for things like this? This is incredible, they advertise that $40 membership with the "gaurantee priority seating" for the tour. Priority seating? I want to know how many real u2 fans, not scalpers, actually got what they wanted today. I finally got two tickets for Philadelphia show, but that was after an hour of stress and anger. And to add insult to injury, I didn't even want to go to the Philadelphia show. I tried to go to Boston and New York. I was there the second the presale began, and immediately it said "No GA seats available." How it that possible?

u2.com and u2's management pulled one on their very loyal fanbase, some of which has been around for 20+ years with the band. u2.com have handled this poorly from the beginning. They never responded to emails even before the presale, their no help habits have continuted. Ticketmaster is also horrible, I submitted twice an order and then they gave me an error message, the site has been down half the day because of "internal errors." And to add to it, when I try to call them, you can't get through to anyone because their busy.

Bono says u2 fans make u2 shows so good. Well, he might have lost a few today if they don't straighten this mess out.

 

[LiLJennie]

I live in California and was going for GA tickets in San Jose. When I got into the website I kept getting an internal error.

I am very upset right now. I gave up a vacation day for this, not to mention my $40 for my membership fee. I am feeling as if I am a victim of fraud, they took my $40 amongst many other people, and I am sure they made money hands over fists just in membership fees alone, yet they never produced anything for it. The other problems with the U2.com website just adds insult to injury, such as webmail problems and issues that came to surface with the fan forums.

Now I still love the band, and I will do my best to get what I want through the general sale, however at this point I should have not had to do that. The way that this was handled was atrocious!

I feel robbed.

 

[lancerla]

After 45 minutes of clicking, my wife got through to Anaheim and selected best available. She got the top deck. She declined. Her password is probably lost. I spent an hour and a half trying to get tickets to LA and couldn't get past an internal error.

I've spent thousands of dollars on U2, seen them a dozen times, have nearly every single, every DVD, and tons of merch, and the only time I regretted spending money on them was with U2.com. I even ended up paying double because they couldn't find my Propaganda subscription.

If they wanted to get rid of Propaganda (which truly was a great thing), that's fine, but at least let us know what the new system is going to be so we don't blow$40-$80 on a pipe dream. It really does hurt the integrity of the band.

 

[bonoed]

I wish there was some way of knowing if it will be up and working, what the problem is, if we will get any tickets, if that damn page saying "internal error" will ever disappear, if we can get a refund for this horror we have been through from U2.com.

I give up, I'm going to go get a sandwich.

 

[knox]

The problem with today's ticket sale was that there weren't enough shows to meet the demands of the loyal fanbase, not even the general public as a whole. I live in Chicago, and that's where I'm going to see U2. The next closest places to see them are Denver and Philadelphia, and that means that everybody in between is looking to go to one of two shows in Chicago.

U2's management should have sold tickets to more concerts, as they are sure to add more shows in the United States. Unbelievably, the biggest rock band in the world seems to have underestimated their ticket-selling abilities.

If U2 has a sense of justice for their fan club members, they will allow members to have priority ticketing to any shows that are added, as well, especially because so many fan club members were unable to secure tickets in their guaranteed presale.

Name: Gavin J. Dow

 

[Samu2]

I spent $40 on a membership to give me a good chance of getting tickets,doesn't sound alot but when brining up three young children that could have been put to some use.

Seven hours after the tickets went on sale and I still have no valid password or tickets.

I have supported U2 since I was 13 years old,I am a loyal fan and never thought I would see the day when I was ripped off by them.

Ticket Master said they had more traffic then they were prepared for,if us members knew that they were going to get a high demand of tickets,how could they not realize this when it is their job?

I have been let down badly,I have seen fans pull together today to help each other out,share words of encouragement,and share our hurt and disappointment,none of us deserved this-ticket U2 managment should be ashamed

sam Thompson

Although I'm sure you will not be quoting me lol

 

[DrMusk]

U2 - wankers

 

[wolfeden]

I _don't_ fault the band in this -- but I do fault a breakdown in the reality-checks of a great many people within the business structure of the U2 corporation. Fanfire? Ticketmaster? Please. They had to know this would be nothing but a crisis. To have thought otherwise is either the result of naivete, stupidity, or outright disregard for the dedication of the fans -- and all three are dismaying to this 21-year veteran.

What in hell was PM thinking??

 

[Judah]

Wish U2 Inc. had spent as much time "visioning" innovative ticket-sale strategies to benefit more die-hard fans as they did for, say, the iPod partnership.

 

[LPU2]

My God, what a major clusterf#@k. I almost feel guilty I was able to get tickets.

 

[DirtyFrank]

The fan club has never guaranteed tickets, only presale access. This is not symptomatic of just U2.com, but of Propaganda at well. The difference has been that with Propaganda, those in charge of Prop, took care of what show you were going to, (but you were really at their mercy.) Once, I put in for tickets in Providence, but only got my second choice, Baltimore. However this time around that stress has been pushed from the Fan Club to the fans themselves, and that is where the anger is coming from.

All you can hear is the complaints, and since those who were lucky enough to get their first choice tickets (of which there are probably thousands) are too busy being happy.

 

[U2utah2U]

I am very displeased with the recent events. First of all, I was under the impression that by renewing my fan club membership for $20 I was guaranteed the best seats in the house. Although not stated overtly by u2.com, any U2 fan knows that the best seats in the house are the General Admission Floor tickets. The official fan club messages allude to the idea that the GA tickets are the cheapest and best in the house to cater to the die-hard fans of the band.

I participated in two presales this morning with a fast and reliable internet connection. Unfortunately, I was not given the chance to purchase these highly coveted GA tickets in either presale. I was able to secure tickets to two different shows for a total of over $700. I knew that they were a hot item and I purchased an extra membership just in case I was shut out on my first attempt.

Am I disgruntled? You bet I am. The Propaganda system from Elevation was simple, straightforward and effective. Although they did not guarantee your first choice of tickets, at least you had a choice between venues and price ranges. With Ticketmaster, it was a huge gamble and ultimately not worth the extra $60 I paid just to have access to the presale. I will take my chances with the general sale and, hopefully, will secure what I wanted in the first place.

The Ticketmaster / U2 presale was misleading, unfair and poorly executed. The band and management should be ashamed for their poor planning and poor business partnerships in this particular event. They have replaced the simple Propaganda system with an inferior alternative. They should offer every fanclub member the opportunity to presales on additional dates and the third leg.

Having said all that, I am grateful that I was able to secure tickets in the first place. U2 is the hottest live act in the world right now and at least I am going to be able to see them.

- James Krause

 

[U2@NYC]

Shut up, Dirty Frank. Propaganda delivered much better tickets in a much more organized way. Even if they gave you a second option, you at least were offered a second option. Here, you had to go flipping back and forth between websites to see if you can get a ticket for one or other show and, still, this did not give you a guarantee to get any tickets.

And compare the # of posts of happy fans vs. pissed fans in this forum and you would have an idea how well they delivered.

Furthermore, if it is a Fan Club, and since they charge for it, they have to provide a service. No point in putting the stress to the fans if we are paying for it.

On the news story, add that many fans are actually faxing Principle Management to complain about the mess. Their fax #s are +(353) 1 6777 276 (Dublin Office) and +1 (212) 765 2372 (New York Office).

 

[mellyinsf]

NOBODY got GA tickets anywhere in california. I waited an hour and a half to get tickets online and the best tickets they offered me was top level out of the way for $98.00 each. Are they out of there mind!!!! I am so upset I am crying right now, I really thought at last I can get two GA tickets, a dream for me. We all got fouled, I really hope the band finds out about this so they will fix this mess. By the way did anyone see the company that is advertising on this site is offering GA tickets for $250.00. WHat is going on here

 

[Angtre01]

Do I feel lucky I got GA tickets in Boston now! People cannot even get any tickets???

 

[Johnovox]

Control, control, control. As I have posted elsewhere, the problem with the presale was that U2 no longer controlled distribution of the tickets - it was like any other Ticketmaster/fanfire presale. TM and the US promoters could care less about Prop members or U2.com members. In their mind, they put good seats for sale to shows that are going to sell out in no time. They think we should be thrilled with what was available and we are ungrateful pigs. But many of the paid subscirbers are longtime fans used to getting their choice of seats (at least to one show) - GA for Elevation (or very good loge seats, not the crappy stuff on sale this morning), good floor seats for Pop, Zootv and JT tours. we are used to being spoiled by prop and the band and this is unacceptable.

And the worst part is that those who think the remaining 90% of the seats will really go on sale Saturday are fooling themselves. The majority of the good seats are likely already gone.

 

[adenoid_hynkel]

...

i knew this was going to happen when u2 decided to ally itself with ticketmaster, fanfire, and their tour sponsor, clear channel, represents everything that is wrong with the music industry today

i've defended the band for decades from psuedo-punks who try to label them as bloated millionaires, but if this situation isn't remedied in some way, then they truly have sold out

 

[U2@NYC]

Both fax #s:

Principle Management NY: (212) 765-2372
Principle Management Dublin: +(353) 1 6777 276

Make sure you send your complaint there so they realize how they ruined the band's relationship with its fans.

 

[mmueller]

It is actually understandable that there would be such a huge demand for these tickets that the systems would fail. What can the admin of a website do when they *know* their site will be swamped at 10am on a particular day. -> They are as much at the mercy of their ISP and every ISP/router between their website and your PC.

That said,

The mechanism with the pre-sale codes could have been implemented more rigorously, so that codes were checked at the purchase stage, rather than before the tickets are even selected. That would have at least reduced the problem to "lines being flooded" rather than "getting through and being told the code wasn't valid - what?!?"

What does make this whole affair really stink is that at the same time that there are thousands of U2 fans missing out, there are large quantities (85, 100+ GA) of tickets being sold by scalper companies and on eBay. These are tickets that have been siphoned off by the promoters and distributors completely undermining the notion of there being any "exclusive pre-sale opportunity" for U2 fans (members of U2.com). It really rubs salt into the wound and is aggravating the situation considerably.

Lastly I would add that U2.com must have had a fair idea that they were getting U2.com subscriptions from people who only wanted access to the pre-sale tickets. I'm sure that they could have stopped the pre-sale code promotion earlier. Yes, people who hadn't joined in time before they suddenly stopped the promotion would have been dissappointed, but it would be the long-term members of U2.com that would have had chances for the tickets (ie, the "fans").... (I only joined the night before the pre-sale opened, so this suggestion doesn't come out of self-interest!)

You can quote any of that!
Mike Mueller (London)

I live in the UK but I come from NZ and one of the reasons I like it here is that we can see these big concerts that we miss out on in NZ. Oh the irony!

 

[adenoid_hynkel]

"And the worst part is that those who think the remaining 90% of the seats will really go on sale Saturday are fooling themselves. The majority of the good seats are likely already gone."


--exactly, how do people think these scalpers got 86 pairs of tix to offer.

hope u2 enjoy playing to abunch of businessmen who just want to hear 'with or without you" and "the ipod song" before they head off early to beat the crowd home