An alternative to ticketmaster?

[SkeeK]

saw this in the andrew bird newsletter:

In the US, we have partnered with a great company called MusicToday that assists with advance ticketing and allows you to purchase advance tickets to shows without Ticketmaster. Mind you, in some cities, where the venue is affiliated with Ticketmaster, all we can do to avoid the TM is to have a “presale” for 2 weeks before the TM tickets go on sale – and then the tickets are no longer available @ MusicToday - what this means is that if you prefer to not have to pay those hefty surcharges, etc, then you have to purchase your tickets way in advance, right when they go on sale. In many cities, the venues also have direct ticketing options, which we heartily endorse, keep an eye @ http://www.andrewbird.tickets.musictoday.com/AndrewBird/calendar.aspx

damnit i love when artists do stuff like this...