You'll have no problem getting a ticket. Why doesn't Congress utter a mea culpa, admit it knows nothing about ticketing.
Next Friday night Taylor Swift is performing in Glendale, Arizona.
Want to sit in the very first section, closest to the stage?
That's available. Not cheap, in the neighborhood of $500 apiece, but for a once in a lifetime event, or at least your kids have convinced you of this, you can pony up.
But let's say you just want to be in the building, which is half the fun.
You can sit in the upper deck from $168. Those are behind the stage, but for $201 you can sit in the center on the side.
Of course you won't find these tickets on Ticketmaster. But wait you say, TICKETMASTER IS ALSO A RESALE SITE! Yes, look up most shows, the primary sale may be over, but the act will allow you to post available seats, as long as they're no cheaper than the original price.
So why can't I buy Taylor Swift tickets on Ticketmaster? BECAUSE SHE DOESN'T WANT YOU TO!
There you have it folks. The act is in control of ticketing, Ticketmaster just takes the heat.
Now if you want to go to the show on Saturday, ticket prices are a bit more.
But expect them to go down. As they will for Friday night. Because as you get closer to the date...people don't want to take a total loss.
And let's be clear, most of the upper deck tickets were purchased by consumers caught up in the mania. They bought to two to use and two to sell, believing the hype. But in truth demand has been satiated, they'll have to lower the price of the ducats to incentivize people to go.
So this is a Ticketmaster problem, right?
WRONG!
I still maintain Taylor Swift made a mistake by putting all her tour tickets on sale at the same time.
Then again, maybe this was a genius move. There was mania. And few facts. People got caught up in the hype. You couldn't get tickets...you'd better buy them now, even more than you need, because they're so valuable!
What is the true demand for Taylor Swift? If tickets were sold market by market we might have found out it was less than perceived. Maybe not. But by selling all the tickets at once the question never came up!
As for tickets to see Bruce... So far people have had no problem getting them. I know people who turned them down in Denver, where even more were made available.
Now if the price was lower...would more people be incentivized to go? But we only have so much time, a precious commodity, there are acts I won't go to see even if they paid me.
And although this was a national story, the Taylor Swift ticketing fiasco... Taylor Swift has less market and mindshare than she ever has. This has nothing to do with her music, it's the competition in the field, the alternative diversions, not only in music, but television, video games, the opportunities are endless!
So what we have with so many of these ticketing "fiascos" is a small number of fans caught up in the hysteria, complaining. To the point the rest of us take notice, but we still have no intention of going. Sure, there are hard core Springsteen fans out there who need to be in the building, but this is not 1985, Bruce's glory days, when he was on MTV endlessly and everybody not only knew his name, but his music.
Sure, it's harder to get a ticket for a smaller building.
But once you get to arenas, certainly stadiums... They're hard to fill.
But that's part of the mystery of the business. It's one of the few mysteries left. Generally, mystery is history. Everybody is online, their dirty laundry is aired, and if you don't play online it's like you don't even exist.
But when it comes to ticketing... It's like a black box, only insiders know what is going on. And even those who do know what is going on complain. Yes, I heard from a manager complaining about the fees. But managers and agents are fully aware of the fees. And in many cases can negotiate them.
As for the economics of the business, I point you to Peter Shapiro's comments in response to Jamie Lee Curtis's rant that acts should play matinees:
"We Asked the Experts Why Jamie Lee Curtis Can't See Coldplay at Noon": bit.ly/3T8xbl4
Money quote:
"Shapiro says with the majority of ticket revenue and service fees going to the band (and ticketing agencies), the headliners take home most of the night's haul, leaving the venue to live off ancillary revenue, most of which comes from the bar."
But Ticketmaster and Live Nation and the promoters are evil.
What the acts want is to commission the fees too, or not have them exist. So how is the promoter going to make any money? Never mind taking all the risk, happens all the time, what is predicted to be an instant sellout is not. Upside? 5%. Downside? The whole enchilada.
Live Nation's recent quarterly report said it paid $9.6 billion on "investments in artists," which made it "the largest Financial Supporter of Musicians." Never mind AEG and other promoters. The acts make their money on the road. And they've got leverage. Believe me, when you can sell out, you write your own terms, you squeeze the promoter mercilessly. But this is all hidden by Ticketmaster. Acts point the finger at Ticketmaster, which is paid to take the heat.
Could there be more transparency?
Of course.
Could there be all-in ticketing? Sure, a good number of managers and talent agencies are signatories to the FAIR Ticketing Act, but not everybody, and we need everybody to sign on to make change. But it's a dirty business, and not everybody wants to commit, because ultimately they like the lack of transparency. Just blame the ticketing company for high fees. Don't let the public understand where the money goes.
Now if you're interested in buying Taylor Swift tickets...
You'll have no problem. Just remember that prices fall as the date approaches.
For a good appraisal of availability just go here:
bit.ly/3JxkxZE
That's a secondary market/scalper site. But on one hand the industry loves scalpers, they purchase inventory and they do their best to fill the building, otherwise seats are empty and the act doesn't like it.
It's a complicated business.
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