Ticketmaster spun off

Posted by aubin on Thursday, June 26, 2008 at 2:00 PM (EDT)

The notorious ticketing company Ticketmaster has been spun off from parent IAC/InterActiveCorp. This just a few months after the company lost its contract with Live Nation/Clear Channel. The two events are notable because it diminishes much of the market power that enabled Ticket Master to control venues, tickets and their famous service charges.

The new company will no longer have exclusive access to Live Nation's venues. This was one of the most common complaints by major artists like Pearl Jam who made charges to monopolistic behaviour against the company.

You can find the Reuters report here.

Games and Technology (40 comments)

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Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not respon sible for them in any way. Seriously.

TheOneTrueBill (June 26, 2008)

Just don't go to shows at venues that use ticketmaster or if have to, go to the venue's box office. It's much easier to completely avoid them than most people think.

Thus_Spoke_Sean (June 26, 2008)

that's what i do now too.

BUT you obviously live close to a venue, when I was growing up in maine and any sort of 'large' show came through it was either use ticketmaster or spend three cars (roundtrip) driving to the venue and back for tickets.

KlausVanderson (June 26, 2008)

not always easy to do though. My friends and I are headed to Cleveland to see LTJ/Goldfinger, so we can't exactly drive to the venue and pick up tickets. So what's the alternative? Get slapped in the face with a $7.15 service charge per ticket.

bwisott (June 26, 2008)

I hate ticketmaster

remainsunseen (June 26, 2008)

good, i hope this means less venues will use ticket master so i dont have to pay ridiculous fees just to go to a fucking show.

bwisott (June 26, 2008)

Amen

SloaneDaley (June 26, 2008)

last time I used ticket master was because I had a giftcard, otherwise I stear clear (channel).

TheOneTrueBill (June 26, 2008)

Exactly. I got a $25 gift card for christmas 2006 and tried to use it to see a $20 Naked Raygun show. After all the extra fees and shit needed to actually use it the show ended up costing $12 of my own money.

Fucked up.

wikk3d (June 26, 2008)

I never understood Convenience Fee's. If anything, it's more of a hassle because I have to enter my credit card into the system manually, an then wait 6 weeks to get my tickets so I don't have to pay again to print them right away.

Going to the box office is so much easier/cheaper.

Dante3000 (rich) (June 26, 2008)

How is ticketmaster in debt? I don't get it. I know someone who works for a company that does ticketing solutions for some venues and they've never had a problem. I can't imagine a monster like ticketmaster couldn't sustain itself.
-Dante

dev (June 26, 2008)

Especially $750 million in debt. Something's not quite right, here...

ZombieCrush (June 26, 2008)

It looks like the parent company has a grip of debt and is breaking off some of the companies under it's unbrella and shoving the debt on them.

I think they are able to sustain themselves pretty well. The article says they should see profit growth in 2009. I would figure you have to be turning a profit in order to see a growth in it.

Something doesn't sound right in this though. Can a parent company tansfer debt to a subsidiary and then just wash their hands of them? That sounds like a rad (yet shady as hell) business idea if that is what is going on.

No matter what Ticket master is horrible. Pearl Jam totally should have won that lawsuit. Ticketmasters laywers must be the same ones that Monty Burns has on retainer.

SloaneDaley (June 26, 2008)

I don't really get why the service charges are so high, I mean what expenses doe sthe company have? printing some fucking tickets, what exactly have they done?

Wentz_Equals_Death (June 26, 2008)

at least they're fuckin tryinnnnnnnng

... what the fuck have you done?

SloaneDaley (June 26, 2008)

bought some cherry flavoured nibs.

douglas_is_rad (June 26, 2008)

Finished this six-pack!

...on of the better reviews on the org.

IUsedToBeSomeone (June 27, 2008)

They charge that much simply because they can.

I hate TicketBastard, and this news just made my day! :-)

Torgo (June 26, 2008)

Question I only care about for someone in the know: Will their ridiculous charges cost less because of this?

LookingForCorpses (June 26, 2008)

I didn't read the article yet, but doesn't LiveNation/Clear Channel own their own competitor, that they've been putting in place of Ticket Master?

punkbytheounce (June 26, 2008)

Hooray!

danpib08 (June 26, 2008)

Fuck Ticketmaster, although affiliated with TM, Ticket Web, is extremely reasonable.

Ben-- (June 26, 2008)

who cares? what everyone wants to know is when the new schlong album is going to be available on compact disc.

cheesehead4 (June 26, 2008)

what's everyone's favorite song on this new lagrecia????? I really love the guitar riff on hey medic but I gotta go with two shotguns...fucking stellar album

canaandrumzz (June 26, 2008)

It's clearly you like baseball, I like Ghosts, its sheer awesome.

MrStylson (June 26, 2008)

everytime I listen to it I have a different favorite. This time through... "Don't Wanna Be Right"

ARROBAST (June 26, 2008)

The whole album is amazing, but my favorite song is "According To My Notes". This album will be the best of '08.

scientistrock (June 26, 2008)

I think we're missing the point. Lending Tree got spun off. Lenders competed and we won. Now what?

Holy_Balls (June 26, 2008)

They are no longer the master of tickets.

Archangel (June 26, 2008)

If I had to riff off a list of "The Ten Best Things That Could Happen to the World" I would definitely put "Ticketmaster goes totally bankrupt" in the top five. Fuck 'em.

evil_crap_monster (June 26, 2008)

i work at venue that's owned by live nation.

they include a convenience charge even when you pick up tickets at the box office.

and a parking fee is also included in the ticket price even though the venue its self has free parking.

and even with all this, we still don't have enough in the budget to fix a damn lawn mower.

bwisott (June 26, 2008)

What Venue is this?

gedgeispunk (June 27, 2008)

That money is going somewhere. They must make a fortune when the Madonna, U2, and Stones shows happen. The old excuse used to be "upgrading technology" expenses.

Guy_Incognito (June 26, 2008)

Anyone bother to look up ticketmaster's financials? That info should be freely available as their parent company is a public company right?

Until someone does that, you won't really have the scoop on if they charge too much, just right, or not enough.

Facts people, somebody who is less lazy than me should go get the facts!

mfOHIO (June 26, 2008)

Sooo. Is this good news or bad news for those of us who have wished some sort hellfire curse on TM at one time or another?

SkolarX (June 26, 2008)

it really doesn't matter. for the tom waits show in knoxville, they didn't use tcketbastard and i still paid 20 dollars in service charges, including 3 dollars to ship even though its will call only, for which there was another 3 dollar fee

IllaZilla (June 26, 2008)

Let's all share our worst "raped by Ticketmaster" stories.

A few years back I was going to see Reel Big Fish with Catch 22 at the House of Blues in San Diego, where I live. Tickets were $20. It was Ticketmaster, though, and I didn't want to pay the extra fees and charges, so I stopped by the venue on the way home from work to buy a ticket right from the box office. I walk up to the window and order a ticket. The girl in the window punches a few buttons and says "that comes to $35." I say "wait a minute, the price is $20. It says so right there on the sign" (there was a flyer right behind her advertising the show). She says "well, there's a $5 processing fee..." I reply: "What processing? I'm paying in cash, so you're not processing a credit card. You don't even have to print the tickets; they're sitting right there in a stack next to the register. The P

show rest of commentLet's all share our worst "raped by Ticketmaster" stories.

A few years back I was going to see Reel Big Fish with Catch 22 at the House of Blues in San Diego, where I live. Tickets were $20. It was Ticketmaster, though, and I didn't want to pay the extra fees and charges, so I stopped by the venue on the way home from work to buy a ticket right from the box office. I walk up to the window and order a ticket. The girl in the window punches a few buttons and says "that comes to $35." I say "wait a minute, the price is $20. It says so right there on the sign" (there was a flyer right behind her advertising the show). She says "well, there's a $5 processing fee..." I reply: "What processing? I'm paying in cash, so you're not processing a credit card. You don't even have to print the tickets; they're sitting right there in a stack next to the register. The PROCESS is you HANDING me the ticket." She adds "...There's also a $10 convenience charge..." to which I reply: "What convenience? I came HERE to get the ticket. This is convenient for YOU and INCONVENIENT for me. I should be rewarded for making this convenient for YOU."

At this point I notice that the guy standing at the window to my right is having the same conversation with the teller at his window. We exchange a glance of complete befuddlement and disenchantment with humanity. For an instant we both contemplate a less objectivist and capitalist world in which all shows are basically Fugazi shows. The sound of a car horn brings us crashing back to reality and I turn back to the girl at my window to say: "So what you are telling me, is that there is absolutely NO WAY to purchase the ticket for the price advertised; the price that is also printed on the front of the ticket itself? That no matter how I purchase the ticket I will be forced to pay at least a 75% markup?" She thinks about this for a moment and answers, somewhat sympathetically, "I guess not."

"I'm pretty sure that's illegal" I say as I slide 2 twenties under the window. The guy to my right grunts in agreement and does the same.

Dakotacore (June 26, 2008)

Damn, that is pretty fucked up. I usually buy my tickets from a local record store and I think they use etix or something like that. I don't remember ever playing too much in service or "convenience" fees. Lately, most of the shows I have gone to have been at the Slowdown (venue owned and operated by Saddle Creek records here in Omaha) where I just buy from the box office and I think there is only like a 2 dollar surcharge. I am willing to pay that because I love the Slowdown.

SkolarX (June 26, 2008)

thats really fucked up. i know a lot of venues tack on a buck or two the day of a show to try to make it seem like you should buy in advance but that really doesn't make any sense at all. only thing i can figure is there must be a huge kickback from ticketmaster out of the service fees that they charge

gedgeispunk (June 27, 2008)

I didn't know Ticketmaster split from Live Nation. I haven't noticed a difference. Ticketweb was great until TM bought them out and they are still better than TM directly. I was disappointed to see Goldenvoice using TM. What sucks is when a big band plays a smaller venue, you have no choice but to go online for tickets if you want a chance to get in. Luckily some clubs make the effort to have their box office open more frequently than others. Why did Virtious go under? They were the best for online.

ChadReligion (June 27, 2008)

I usually try to stay away from the ticketmaster venues in SF (i.e. The Warfield, Bill Grahm Civic Auditorium, and The Fillmore) because the ticket isn't the only thing that is overpriced. Drinks at The Fillmore are 5 bucks, or anywhere, and a mix drink is an easy 8 bucks, so your shelling out so much dough for shit. I will only go if it is someone I really want to see. I bought tickets to see The Jesus and Mary Chain last year at the FIllmore. Tickets were $40 with a $9.50 sur charge, and I bought two of them. I mean, they have hardly been touring since they got back together. Yes, it was totally worth it, and didn't even care how much money I blew as my wife and I drank ourselves into dancing that night, haha!

I usually try to go to Slims and The Great American Music Hall(which is my personal favorite), that usually have a $1 sur charge

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