Here’s an unpopular suggestion. Don’t buy the ticket.
The live entertainment experience has not gotten better since the 2010 merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation.
Have you tried to buy a ticket for a live performance for a major artist or event recently? How do you like those Ticketmaster prices? And those fees? I think there’s a fee to cover the cost of charging you fees. Isn’t there? I’m sure I’ve seen it.
Well if you don’t like it, you can always buy your ticket elsewhere. Can’t you?
No. You can’t.
Ticketmaster has a virtual monopoly on live entertainment access. Venues not actually operated by Live Nation Entertainment, and there are an increasing number of these, are required to provide 100% of the seats for an event to be sold through Ticketmaster. They accomplished this by allowing venues to eliminate the cost of their box office and by providing advances on the venue’s take, making life easier for the venue operators. Once sucked into the contract the venues are as trapped as you are. With control of these tickets, Ticketmaster applies a service charge for themselves and a service charge for the venue, plus anything else they can think of. So face-value concert tickets, etc are a thing of the past. Every ticket comes with service fees. Performers and their managers have no option for…
