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Impact of Ticketmaster's paperless tix
Screen shot from Ticketmaster's Miley Cyrus paperless tickets and and tour information page.
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TEXT OF STORY
Kai Ryssdal: Maybe the next computer-related Chinese government order could address concert tickets that seem to disappear before they even go on sale. You're looking forward to singing along with Miley Cyrus, but the only tickets available are triple the face value. Well today, Miley -- and Ticketmaster -- launched an experiment aimed at helping fans make 'the climb' out of the ticket morass. Jill Barshay reports.
JILL BARSHAY: Miley Cyrus hopes she can cut out scalpers from her next tour by selling only paperless tickets. Ones you can't give or sell to someone else. Ones you buy online and pick up at the concert gate by showing your driver's license and a credit card.
Sean Pate is the spokesman for StubHub, the big ticket resale site, owned by eBay. He's predicting paperless tickets will mean long lines on concert night.
SEAN Pate: You know, we're going to see a lot of inconveniences for the fans, especially of Miley Cyrus's demographic. Her fans more than likely don't own credit cards.
That means mom or dad may have to listen to the concert too. Not to mention how mortifying it is for a 12-year-old to be seen with her parents.
Critics say some concerts will still sell out quickly. And prices will be jacked up. The question is by whom. Don Vaccaro is the CEO of TicketNetwork, another resale site. He points out that Miley Cyrus's management company, which is owned by Ticketmaster, is selling prime seats on its Web site starting tomorrow for $295.
DON Vaccaro: Miley Cyrus is in effect scalping her own tickets through ILoveAllAccess.com and pocketing those proceeds.
Resellers fear paperless tickets are really a way for Ticketmaster to control the entire live music market. Last year, Ticketmaster bought TicketsNow, a leading ticket resale Web site.
In New York, I'm Jill Barshay for Marketplace.
Was Lucky to get tickets for my granddaughter for Hannah Montana two years back. Her friends moms were trying to pry the tickets from us.
My daughter couldnt afford the tickets, I was going to send her some but I can't go to the show. Good Move, Miley you learned the basics of extreme greed at an early age. Hope your career is as successful as your dads (when you have your own kids to further your mediocre talent)
While there may be minor problems in the Miley Cyrus market for paperless tickets in regard to tweens not having their own credit cards, for most acts this will dramatically cut out scalping. The scalper would literally have to walk with the buyer to the venue entrance after sale, which I'm sure neither party would be thrilled about.
Why would Ticketmaster want to shift to paperless tickets? Scalpers essentially underwrite the public sale of the tickets, reducing Ticketmaster's risk. Stated another way, the tickets are more valuable (thus, more likely to sell and to sell for more) when they can be resold.
The answer would seem to be that Ticketmaster does not want to prevent scalping: it wants to be the exclusive broker for scalpers. Paperless tickets do not ensure that tickets cannot be resold - they merely ensure that any resale would have to go through Ticketmaster, which would no doubt collect a hefty transaction fee. Now that Ticketmaster operates its own secondary market for tickets, it is only a matter of time before electronic Ticketmaster tickets are available for resale through TicketsNow. If not for this concert, soon...
The real question is what can existing secondary ticket markets (StubHub, et al) do? Is it an antitrust violation for Ticketmaster to extend leverage it's primary market dominance over the secondary market?
I Love All Access has done many tours and is just a way to get VIP access. The Jonas Brothers as well have used a similiar program. Some packages include meet and greets, others just a special "fan party" and a guarantee of good seats. I have used I love all access before and it's a wonderful way to attend a show.
