Auction tickets new tour - LiveNation

[phommel]

Some people on this website were happy about U2 stopping with ticketmaster and joining LiveNation for the next tour tickets sale.

I have to say I am a 'little'concerned for nexts ticket sales. Not only the prices of tickets are already (too) high), they will only become much higher!

In Netherlands there is, like everywhere, a big problem with ticket sales for popular concerts. Tickets are bought by people or big companies in order to sell them for a lot more than the original price. In Netherlands Mojo Concerts (part of LiveNation) always fighted against this (unfortunately legal) business. But since one year they have their own Auction-website. People can offer their tickets for a fixed price or sell them via an auction. LiveNation eplains that they decided to do this step to prevent others doing this and giving the guarantee that the tickets you buy are official.

However, what LiveNation is doing is making a lot extra profit on ticketsales. People who sell their tickets get 85% of the money, people who buy tickets hae to pay 10% extra.

This means that if they sell a U2 GA ticket for $100, and I but it and try to sell it for $300 (which is what some people want to give for it) they (and probably the band) will make an extra $75 profit on top of the profit they already made by selling the original ticket.

And do you remember what Paul McGuiness said lately...? that U2 is looking at options to do an own auction on their concert tickets?

Although I understand that extra earned money should go to the band and not to the ticket traders, the problem is that there is one group the deceived one: the fans! Ticket prices for bands like U2 will be unpayable and completely decided by the market. The normal hard-working fan will have more and more difficulties to get the desired tickets for a normal price

 

[BVS]

So really nothing has changed.

The only thing that has changed is that Live Nation have found a way to make extra money on a service that is already occuring.

This really has nothing to do with U2.

 

[quadcaster]

So really nothing has changed.

The only thing that has changed is that Live Nation have found a way to make extra money on a service that is already occuring.

This really has nothing to do with U2.

I disagree.

I think that it does have a lot to do with U2 seeing as they have just signed this deal with them.

THAT SAID, U2 the band have always fought as hard as they could for the fans in relation to ticket pricing. We've all heard the stories about Zoo TV running without making profit due to the fact that the band didnt want to raise the ticket price.

I just hope that the actual band members get the say in relation to this stuff, not the hanger oners.

 

[BVS]

I disagree.

I think that it does have a lot to do with U2 seeing as they have just signed this deal with them.

Well then please explain...

 

[pepokiss]

for some reason, I already hate LiveNation...

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

i will be upset with the boners if they introduce ticket auctions.

 

[quadcaster]

Well then please explain...

Well if you look at it like this, U2 signing with livenation is an agreement between the band, the bands management and the company livenation. If they didnt agree with livenation as a company then they would not have signed with them.

If the band were in disagreement with livenation's methods, then they wouldnt have made the agreement in the first place.

It has everything to do with the band because they have a great deal of control over what they do and they still made the agreement.

I guess i kind of see it as this: if the band signed an agreement with the company, it means that they endorse and condone that companys methods.

see where im coming from?

 

[ZOOTVTOURist]

So really nothing has changed.
The only thing that has changed is that Live Nation have found a way to make extra money on a service that is already occuring.
This really has nothing to do with U2.

Of course, this has nothing to do with U2. No, how could it? No, maybe they don't know about it? No, this has nothing to do with U2 ...

Hello, hello? As so often I do ask myself, in which virtual U2 world some of us here do live & dream. I really ask myself how much must happen, that some people here really wake up – when we do talk about U2 as business, U2 as an industry:
There are document discussions for years. There are lawyers cecking the deals. These deals are to be signed. And there's U2, who are paid with extraordinary fortunes to do so. As written a while ago, I expect, this new deal with 'Live Nation' will make it worse for us fans. I'm really concerned ...

 

[last unicorn]

That's one of the reasons why I "love" U2 fans:

Whining, whining, whining before they even know ANYTHING.

 

[Mr. V]

That's one of the reasons why I "love" U2 fans:

Whining, whining, whining before they even know ANYTHING.

agreed.

 

[phommel]

Haha, well I do not blame for U2 if they will do the auction together or not with LiveNation. It's better the money goes to the creative artists then to other people who just wanna make money on this.
And even Paul McGuinness himself said last month that they are planning to do an auction on the next tour. It doesn't mean it's going to happen of course, but what it does mean is that U2s management is thinking about this as a serious option.

But I think there is a solution for this and this is buying tickets on name (via your passport number) In Spain this system is already working.
This could prevent that big companies are making money on artists.

In the system with the auction the concert promotor / band even encourage this trading. Why wouldn't I buy the maximum allowed amount of tickets next time? I only need 2, but i would be crazy not to buy 8 tickets next time and sell the other 6 for profit...

 

[BVS]

Of course, this has nothing to do with U2. No, how could it? No, maybe they don't know about it? No, this has nothing to do with U2 ...

Hello, hello? As so often I do ask myself, in which virtual U2 world some of us here do live & dream. I really ask myself how much must happen, that some people here really wake up – when we do talk about U2 as business, U2 as an industry:
There are document discussions for years. There are lawyers cecking the deals. These deals are to be signed. And there's U2, who are paid with extraordinary fortunes to do so. As written a while ago, I expect, this new deal with 'Live Nation' will make it worse for us fans. I'm really concerned ...

First of all, the original poster didn't even post a link, right now we're just taking their word.

Secondly, how does this paticular action a) make it worse for us fans, and b) how does it connect to U2?

Please explain it to me without your sarcasm and vague BS...

These auctions would be occurring with or without this LiveNation deal, correct? The problem are the auctions, but legally there's no precedent to end them, so why can't LiveNation at least try to get a part of the pie? It's not as if LiveNation is directly putting the tickets on auction...

 

[BVS]

But I think there is a solution for this and this is buying tickets on name (via your passport number) In Spain this system is already working.
This could prevent that big companies are making money on artists.

But so far there is no legal precedent to do such a thing here in the States or many other places.

In the system with the auction the concert promotor / band even encourage this trading. Why wouldn't I buy the maximum allowed amount of tickets next time? I only need 2, but i would be crazy not to buy 8 tickets next time and sell the other 6 for profit...

This has always been the case, this hasn't changed except now it's easier because you have a bigger audience. In the 70's you could buy 8 and bring them back to your high school, in the 80's you could buy 8 and sell them on 1-800 numbers, 90's you got Ebay... This doesn't change with this deal.

 

[gvox]

I agree that we don't know a hell of a lot so it doesn't make sense to get all riled up about it...

...however, a clear message to U2 here and/or Zootopia that we don't want to see any sort of auction process can't necessarily be a bad thing, imo.

 

[phommel]

But so far there is no legal precedent to do such a thing here in the States or many other places.

I agree with you. so this has to change imo. Luckily the (Dutch) politicians are busy with this, and there seems to be a majority in the parliament to forbid trade/auctions and to connect a name to the ticket. The problem here is of course that it will be more difficult to buy tickets for your friends or to sell your tickets in case your plans change for whatever reason

This has always been the case, this hasn't changed except now it's easier because you have a bigger audience. In the 70's you could buy 8 and bring them back to your high school, in the 80's you could buy 8 and sell them on 1-800 numbers, 90's you got Ebay... This doesn't change with this deal.

I agree again. But it doesn't mean we shouldn't do anything about it. And since it is easier it happens more and more. Last tour I was number 5 in the row at my local post office when ticket selling started. And I was lucky to get seat-tickets for the 3rd concert in Amsterdam (150.000 tickets sold out within 10 minutes!). The demand is higher than ever, the prices raise. You know it will sellout and it's easy to get rid of your tickets by high profits. almost everybody buys the maximum amount of tickets and sells their leftovers.
That's why I said that I prefer the money goes back to for example U2 in stead of to in-between ticket traders. However, this does not solve the problem.

I think there are two options. Or they raise the ticket prices to market value and that means they can maybe ask twice as much for their tickets (at least in the Netherlands, but I suppose in many places). Or they start selling tickets on name. But I have the feeling the first option brings more money in the drawers of LiveNation (and the artists they are representing), so they will never start doing this, unless they are obliged by laws. And that's what hopefully will happen...

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

i think it's fair to discuss the idea of certified ticket auctions before as an option before the tour, and to say that you would be upset with the idea is not whinning before the fact. many large acts, such as the police, have done this ticket auction thing, and it's not out of the realm of possability that u2 may be considering the same thing.

the whole argument of "well it's already happening with scalpers and e-bay so they may as well get a piece of it" doesn't really fly with me. there's already been many examples... springsteen & pearl jam to name a few... of major acts instituting certain policies to keep the best tickets out of the hands of the scalpers and into the hands of fans who actually intend on going to the show... i.e. mandatory will call and/or off-site pickup locations for the best tickets.

there are also many other technologies worth exploring. nobody buys with cash anymore... everyone buys tickets online or through the phone with a credit card. so why not use a system similar to the ATM type machines that movie theaters have? besides the will call windows, you have kiosks at the major venues where people can pick up their tickets the day of the show by simply swiping their credit card.

there are many other options to explore out there to combat scalping and e-bay that do not involve simply charging the fans more money.

 

[ntalwar]

But since one year they have their own Auction-website. People can offer their tickets for a fixed price or sell them via an auction. LiveNation eplains that they decided to do this step to prevent others doing this and giving the guarantee that the tickets you buy are official.

However, what LiveNation is doing is making a lot extra profit on ticketsales. People who sell their tickets get 85% of the money, people who buy tickets hae to pay 10% extra.

Ticketmaster does a similar thing. After I bought tickets for another artist, I was given the option to relist my tickets at a price I name. This is mainly to compete with sites like StubHub. I don't necessarily think that artist auctions or ticket auctions are a bad thing, as long as they don't go overboard with it - e.g. offering 5% of the premium seats at auction. I noticed that for other artists, the winning auction prices tend to be far lower than what brokers charge.

I have bought tickets from a TM auction before, but never from a broker.

 

[phommel]

I completely agree with Headache in a Suitcase. there are many possible options. ATM, selling on name...

Great you refer to Pearl Jam. I was always able to get tickets for Pearl Jam and Radiohead, since they made sure a big part of their tickets was sold to their fans via their website in a kind of presale. But I also do think that the fanbase of U2 is much muchh larger so probably more difficult to achieve.

 

[BVS]

the whole argument of "well it's already happening with scalpers and e-bay so they may as well get a piece of it" doesn't really fly with me. there's already been many examples... springsteen & pearl jam to name a few... of major acts instituting certain policies to keep the best tickets out of the hands of the scalpers and into the hands of fans who actually intend on going to the show... i.e. mandatory will call and/or off-site pickup locations for the best tickets.

And I think those are decent attempts, but they haven't blocked all PJ and Springsteen tickets from getting put on Ebay and other sites...

Yes there are a lot of different options to explore. The problem is the power's that be, don't really have any reason to change things. Now a handful of bands want to change things, but as we've seen in the past, one or two bands against a company like Ticketmaster doesn't work.

But I think we're getting off topic here. Some of us are talking in broad issues regarding the industry as a whole, and some of us are talking about Live Nation, and some of us are blurring U2 and Live Nation as one.

My whole point is that right now Live Nation is finding a way to regulate what is already happening. Period. Regardless if U2 had signed with them or not, this would be going on with them or some other auction sites. In that sense it changes nothing with U2. For anyone that says it does, please show me.

 

[phommel]

Re: Re: Auction tickets new tour - LiveNation

Ticketmaster does a similar thing. After I bought tickets for another artist, I was given the option to relist my tickets at a price I name.

And this is exactly what I hate. First they fight for years against ticket scalpers and now (since they see how much profit they can make) they are doing exactly the same thing.

And this isn't about few money. In the next article I read that it is believed that 1/3 of all bought tickets are resold!!




U2 takes the ticket as fans pay the pipers
The Independent, Ireland
Sunday March 02 2008

AS if we hadn't seen enough ways to make an extra buck from U2, it seems they've come up with yet another one.

But now they've just been given a hammering for their latest idea -- and "ripping off" fans -- by legendary pop impresario Harvey Goldsmith.

The band, it would seem, have plans to cash in on a new-found way to soak music fans: "reselling" tickets for gigs by auction to get more than their face value.

Goldsmith bumped into Paul McGuinness, the "fifth band member" of U2 (and presumably one of the five mystery employees who were each paid €5m last year by U2's parent company), at a music industry festival in France last month.

McGuinness had just given a speech lambasting internet service providers (ISPs) as thieves for allowing music piracy traffic by their users. With declining album sales internationally, he was doing his job and protecting his band's revenue stream. Fair enough.

But when Goldsmith -- who is one of the world's most famous promoters of live music -- met McGuinness for a drink afterwards and discussed how the internet has effectively legalised ticket touts, he was shocked at the response. So much so that Goldsmith used the conversation as an anecdotal intro for a "keynote address" at the Concert Industry Consortium in Los Angeles.

Speaking about McGuinness, he said: "He accused the heroes of Silicon Valley of being manufacturers of burglary kits. However, when I later had a drink with Paul and asked him about the secondary ticket market, he told me that U2 would run its own auction site.

"So on the one hand he is attacking the internet pirates for stealing his artist's music, but on the other hand he is quite happy for the very same fans to be ripped off by the secondary ticket market -- providing the money, of course, goes to him and his artist."

U2's management company didn't immediately respond to a request for clarification but, given the band's propensity to cash in on every potential revenue stream, it's an obvious one.

Nearly a third of all tickets worldwide are now resold, said Goldsmith, and the number is growing.

"In order for the fan to be true to its hero, [he or she] is stealing music on the one hand," Goldsmith said, "and paying through the nose for a live experience on the other hand.

"This is a mess! Does anybody seriously think that a fan wakes up in the morning wanting to go see Bruce Springsteen with the sole thought of how much more he can pay for the ticket than the price advertised?"

Listen up U2. We like ye, but not that much.

Enda Leahy

 

[LarryMullen's POPAngel]

And I think those are decent attempts, but they haven't blocked all PJ and Springsteen tickets from getting put on Ebay and other sites...

True, there will always be scalpers getting a piece of the action, but you never seem to hear about Vertigo tour caliber ticket fiascos with either of those artists. Perhaps if U2 adopted a system similar to either of those artists, that never would have happened.

 

[BVS]

True, there will always be scalpers getting a piece of the action, but you never seem to hear about Vertigo tour caliber ticket fiascos with either of those artists. Perhaps if U2 adopted a system similar to either of those artists, that never would have happened.

Well that was a fiasco, I agree...

 

[BVS]

Re: Re: Re: Auction tickets new tour - LiveNation

However, when I later had a drink with Paul and asked him about the secondary ticket market, he told me that U2 would run its own auction site.

So, I'm confused now...

Your original post made it seem as if Live Nation was going to have a general auction site for tickets. Now this article states U2 will run their own. It doesn't seem like we have the whole story.

 

[phommel]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Auction tickets new tour - LiveNation

So, I'm confused now...

Your original post made it seem as if Live Nation was going to have a general auction site for tickets. Now this article states U2 will run their own. It doesn't seem like we have the whole story.

Well, the first part is already true. Live Nation already has its own general auction site. At least in the Netherlands and some other countries. the next step they will do is to connect all LiveNation websites to make it easier for people form country A to buy tickets for a concert in country B (but this will enlarge the ticket problem I think...)

And you are right this article states Uw will run their own. And yes. probably we have not the complete truth yet. But u2 running it's auction site on it's own probably means LiveNation will do it. Since they will be doing their promotion, ticket sale, tour and merchandise...

 

[ntalwar]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Auction tickets new tour - LiveNation

But u2 running it's auction site on it's own probably means LiveNation will do it. Since they will be doing their promotion, ticket sale, tour and merchandise...

It might turn out to be a good idea - it depends on how it's implemented. On other auctions I've seen, 10th row was available for only $25 or so more than the highest face value. With scalpers alone, that amount would have been several times the face value. And if U2 go with auctions, they aren't going to auction every seat/ga - probably only a small percentage. At least there would be more options to obtaining tickets for a sold out show, and probably at a lower price.

 

[Chrisedge]

Here is an idea...why not wait until we know the details before panicing...

 

[pepokiss]

yes... because we all KNOW that the album is coming out this year, right?