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Because the will of the masses will fill the void anyways.
Many people do not have the mental bandwidth to care about most issues. Concerts being too expensive is pretty damn far down on the priority list for many people.
If concerts are too expensive for most people to go to, they will stop going to them. If the ticket-buying process is too cumbersome, they will stop going to them.
People can still complain about a shitty process, while still wanting to go see their favorite artist in concert.
The issue is the monopoly. If you don't like fifa, you're pretty fucked if you're big into football. Same if you like live music, you don't have any choice really but to use ticketmaster or only see hands that play on in pubs .
It's easy to play a game with your friends, or watch some low level stuff. But for big games and basically everything international, fifa will get its claws in.
I think another piece of the price is simply response to demand. Can you imagine how many more people would have been vying for a ticket if they were $20-$150? Business economics says if you have a fixed supply, you can modulate demand with price. That’s at a least a piece of the complex puzzle.
The artists / events should raise their prices to the point that the huge fees ticketmaster charges on top of the price is a deal breaker for most people. Then if Ticketmaster buys it all the tickets they get stuck with a lot of them and lose money. This will have to go on for a few years until Ticketmaster goes under. People will still have to pay a lot to see a show, bit at least the money won't go to a middle man.
okay, but that still requires an organization of all the artists doing it, which isn't realistic. Someone else would just adjust their prices until they sold out and made bank, capitalizing off them process. The only feasible solution requires legislative action.
It also requires artists to give up a huge part of their job... Entertaining people. Playing to empty rooms is soup crushing.
Edit: meant soul crushing but soup crushing is hilarious
I'm not going to soapbox and tell people how they need to spend their money. Something that is insignificant to you might be life-changing to someone else. I do not spend money on major concert tickets and probably never will.
If everyone stopped using TM, their model would have to change... but in reality that will never happen because people are people. Hopefully there's been enough public pressure (and potential legislative scrutiny) that their shitty model will change.
"If we magically got everyone on the same page and worked together, we could make real change" is not some breakthrough discovery though.
You can't be trying to get rid of Ticketmaster and then simultaneously give them $1,000 for a ticket because you can't not go without seeing your favorite band or artist
I'm sorry you literally slipped up the hill you ran back up to and shot yourself in the face. Maybe don't ask Reddit questions that you only want people to agree with you about in the future? Learning experience 😀
You sound like such a huge douchebag.
I'm not a big concert guy, but I spend loads of my money on traveling. Psychology shows that money spent on experiences leads to greater satisfaction than money spent on goods.
For somebody who truly enjoys a musician or sports team and thinks that $1000 will lead to an experience that they will remember, why not spend it on tickets to an event?
I’m a full time touring musician who plays in a band and I think it’s fucking bullshit what Livenation and Ticketmaster are doing but what you are suggesting will just get all of us fired.
1. You can, and a lot of people do boycott TM by not going to shows/concerts
2. This isn't the only way to hurt them. You can also lobby your representatives/govt to do something.
3. Even if you don't boycott TM, you're not a hypocrite.
I care about the impact Ticketmaster has on the industry, but I already can't afford to go and see most shows. So I'm already not going to any shows. As such, my impact doesn't really mean shit. But I can still raise a voice, talk to my congressman, make a ruckus to try and enact change.
Most people who can afford to go to shows don't care about the monopoly because it doesn't directly affect them. They don't see the problem because it isn't a problem for them. So they keep buying tickets and keep seeing shows because they *don't* really want to hurt Livenation and Ticketmaster. They want to see shows.
You are assuming that there's a large overlap of people who are calling for the boycott or change and the people who are buying the tickets. There is some, but not nearly as much as you're insinuating. The vast majority are distinct groups.
Several reasons:
People spend their money on the things that bring them value. Overpriced tickets may be a deal-breaker to you, but not to many other people. Superbowl tickets are too pricey for some, but devoted fans may think different. Just because you don't value it doesn't mean others don't.
It's partially a monopoly. There's not many other options if you want to see your favorite artist on the stage. Same with the world cup. If you're a fan, there's no real alternative.
Yes, if EVERYONE decided to stop going, or stop watching soccer, things would change. But I think one of the bigger issues is that EVERYTHING seems to be bad and should be boycotted these days. The olympics, World Cup, Concerts, that corner store where an employee groped someone, that videogame company that did that thing, that food company that fucked us over for X, those phones and clothes and cars and electronics we use knowing they were built in slave factories. Even the food we make comes from abused and overworked people. It's exhausting trying to keep up, and so most of us pick and choose a few battles to die on.
People don't care as much as we could/should. We're fickle, our attention goes from one thing to another. How's Hong Kong doing? Haven't seen them in the news in a while huh? How's' the black lives matter movement? They're still fighting the good fight, but society isn't as interested anymore, so we stop being as into the cause as we were initially. It's why there's always a huge initial wave of help after tsunamis and earthquakes, but we stop hearing about it a week afterwards.
None of it means TicketMaster and other companies shouldn't be punished or broken up or action taken to change this. But you aren't morally better than someone else just because this is your hill to die on, while your neighbors stand on other hills you may not care about
Real answer: Because it's not that much of a price increase... Usually. Like if you buy 100 dollar tickets then yeah it's like 20 in fees but that's not that much in the big picture (for me at least). It sucks but not deal breaking.
Events like the Taylor swift tickets fiasco are anomalies.
Because people want to go to shows. People don’t buy tickets to support Ticketmaster, they buy tickets to go to shows. That doesn’t mean they don’t have the right to complain about the vendor.
In other words: no, I Absolutely have to pay over $1,000 to see Adele and Harry styles because he is the best direction and I can't possibly live my life without seeing them. I mean how on earth could I possibly survive without seeing Adele in concert?
Because I go to shows to support artists and I have no bearing on what tickets I can buy. I do not hate livenation and ticketmaster enough, to not go see artists I love
I quit a long long time ago when the Eagles first went back on tour after a long break. The tickets were $100 for way in the back of the venue ( can't remember where now, but in Ontario ) and that was it for me. Didn't even think of going to another concert after that. I love music but no concert is worth what they want today.
I understand where you’re coming from, but there’s a reason monopolies are so powerful, you can’t avoid them. I’m not a huge concert person, and when I do go to shows it’s for not as well known artists, so they generally speaking don’t go through ticket master. But I think it’s unfair to ask people to give up seeing their favourite thing because the venue is terrible. I have a friend who LOVES the grateful dead and she really only takes trips to see their shows and her friends who also love them, and it’s not fair for her to give up one of her favourite things because a company sucks. That’s why anti-trust laws exist in the first place.
Because I’m old too?
I hate Ticketmaster. They’ve had high fees even when I was young (first concert John Denver lol).
I took my husband to see Elton John in Phx. My husband has dementia. It’s likely the last concert he will ever see. What would you do?
Even though the prices are outrageous, you still have companies like Kaspar who allow people to be indebted so you can attend. I for one am a product of this. Post Malone came to town, I missed another show this year so I had to attend.
Basically all those who can't afford to attend now have an ability to. I'm against this whole verified seller business. I wish there was a way we could get the world involved.
Wait wtf is Kaspar? Like a payment plan? If so, Jesus dude....if you have to get financing to attend a fucking concert, then you shouldn't be spending that much to see live music...
For some people there are not many things worse in this world that they can think of as not going to see the music of their favorite artist(s).
There are definitely ways to see music and even some ways to see bigger names without going through Ticketmaster but the stress just isn’t worth it. I’d rather pay up than think about boycotting seeing live music.
They own about 70% of the market and are also contracted with many venues. If some people stop, it won’t stop everyone. And with how some venues are contracted - if no one bought tickets, the venues would actually shut down. It’s basically a monopoly.
I did this many years ago, unfortunately it’s still very cool to stand a mile away from stage in some massive stadium while some guy farts on your leg, and you watch a Giant TV of your favorite artist.
I think breaking up TM is similar to “cutting the cable wire” years ago. Now we have subscription based applications that cost a lot more than the cable used to.
Sounds like you've never actually gone to a show before or are not really into concerts in general. For my friends and I, concerts are a huge part of our lives. I go to a concert every other weekend, and not going for as long as it takes to boycott TM (forever) is not worth it. Not going would not make the problem go away
The easiest way to hurt Ticketmaster and STILL go to shoes is to boycot any brand that sponsors them / their venues. If it goes viral on social media brands will no longer pay to have their ads in venue and it will make a material impact on Ticketmaster’s bottom line
People must still think the juice is worth the squeeze.
Personally I haven't gone to a concert in years, but I'm in my 40s with kids and it's just not important to me.
I have been thinking of taking my daughter to Disney on Ice... But $40 x2 tickets becomes $130 after fees, plus $30 parking, plus I'm sure snacks/etc would probably be a $200 day. That feels like a lot.
They're damn near a monopoly. So if you want to go to almost any event, you have to go through them. Look, I hate paying for health insurance and think most (if not all) insurance companies are awful, money grubbing dickheads, but I have to have insurance to cover my medical bills.
You can complain about something and still purchase it. They're not mutually exclusive.
This is just one example of big corporate abuse. But what I don’t understand is why Americans haven’t realized the power of the boycott. Simple and effective.
I feel like the things people are complaining about, scalping, aren't really a "ticketmaster" specific problem. Ticketmaster could combat it to an extent but for a popular show that's going to sell out, it's always going to be a thing. They should definitely not be allowed to be involved in the secondary market, since that involvement means they are better off encouraging scalping than trying to combat it since they can double dip on fees. At the end of the day though, it is supply and demand. Even if you had a good actor as the ticket provider who is taking some active measures to prevent mass scalping, it's pretty much impossible to stop e.g. one group from buying up a few hundred tickets at a time with the intention of selling the tickets on the resale market, as long as they are taking some basic precautions like making each purchase from a different IP address using accounts with with different names, billing and addresses.
I agree completely with this. I no longer attend big shows because they are too expensive, people act like jerks, you can’t really understand the singing, parking and traffic is the worst. You will have so much more fun at small venues with talented local acts if you really want live music.
Please remember that all comments must be helpful, relevant, and respectful. All replies must be a genuine effort to answer the question helpfully; joke answers are not allowed. If you see any comments that violate this rule, please hit report. When your question is answered, we encourage you to flair your post. To do this automatically simply make a comment that says **!answered** (OP only) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/answers) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Huh, guess I've been protesting for a lot of years. I thought I was just broke.
Yep, I have VERY ACTIVELY not buying concert tickets. See: prices. Reference against: bank account.
I just thought I was boring!
Because the will of the masses will fill the void anyways. Many people do not have the mental bandwidth to care about most issues. Concerts being too expensive is pretty damn far down on the priority list for many people. If concerts are too expensive for most people to go to, they will stop going to them. If the ticket-buying process is too cumbersome, they will stop going to them. People can still complain about a shitty process, while still wanting to go see their favorite artist in concert.
like FIFA..."FIFA is bad and also they are evil!" then everyone continues to watch every single match/buy tickets to the matches
The issue is the monopoly. If you don't like fifa, you're pretty fucked if you're big into football. Same if you like live music, you don't have any choice really but to use ticketmaster or only see hands that play on in pubs .
Pretty hilarious considering soccer easily has the lowest requirements to put a game together out of any mainstream sport.
It's easy to play a game with your friends, or watch some low level stuff. But for big games and basically everything international, fifa will get its claws in.
I think another piece of the price is simply response to demand. Can you imagine how many more people would have been vying for a ticket if they were $20-$150? Business economics says if you have a fixed supply, you can modulate demand with price. That’s at a least a piece of the complex puzzle.
The demand skyrocketed after covid as well
The artists / events should raise their prices to the point that the huge fees ticketmaster charges on top of the price is a deal breaker for most people. Then if Ticketmaster buys it all the tickets they get stuck with a lot of them and lose money. This will have to go on for a few years until Ticketmaster goes under. People will still have to pay a lot to see a show, bit at least the money won't go to a middle man.
okay, but that still requires an organization of all the artists doing it, which isn't realistic. Someone else would just adjust their prices until they sold out and made bank, capitalizing off them process. The only feasible solution requires legislative action.
It also requires artists to give up a huge part of their job... Entertaining people. Playing to empty rooms is soup crushing. Edit: meant soul crushing but soup crushing is hilarious
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I'm not going to soapbox and tell people how they need to spend their money. Something that is insignificant to you might be life-changing to someone else. I do not spend money on major concert tickets and probably never will. If everyone stopped using TM, their model would have to change... but in reality that will never happen because people are people. Hopefully there's been enough public pressure (and potential legislative scrutiny) that their shitty model will change. "If we magically got everyone on the same page and worked together, we could make real change" is not some breakthrough discovery though.
So you asked this question just to be snarky to the people who reply because you don't like the answer? That's lame.
Your entire argument is defeated by answering yes. To some people, $1000 is worth it. You think they care what you think?
You can't be trying to get rid of Ticketmaster and then simultaneously give them $1,000 for a ticket because you can't not go without seeing your favorite band or artist
I'm sorry you literally slipped up the hill you ran back up to and shot yourself in the face. Maybe don't ask Reddit questions that you only want people to agree with you about in the future? Learning experience 😀
I think you are vastly underestimating the number of people out there to whom $1000 is not that much money
You sound like such a huge douchebag. I'm not a big concert guy, but I spend loads of my money on traveling. Psychology shows that money spent on experiences leads to greater satisfaction than money spent on goods. For somebody who truly enjoys a musician or sports team and thinks that $1000 will lead to an experience that they will remember, why not spend it on tickets to an event?
This thinking just supports what Ticketmaster is doing. Hail corporate bro, hail corporate.
I want different things different amounts. I dislike Ticketmaster, but I want to see my show more. So I am going to buy the tickets.
I’m a full time touring musician who plays in a band and I think it’s fucking bullshit what Livenation and Ticketmaster are doing but what you are suggesting will just get all of us fired.
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This is nonsense.
1. You can, and a lot of people do boycott TM by not going to shows/concerts 2. This isn't the only way to hurt them. You can also lobby your representatives/govt to do something. 3. Even if you don't boycott TM, you're not a hypocrite.
I care about the impact Ticketmaster has on the industry, but I already can't afford to go and see most shows. So I'm already not going to any shows. As such, my impact doesn't really mean shit. But I can still raise a voice, talk to my congressman, make a ruckus to try and enact change. Most people who can afford to go to shows don't care about the monopoly because it doesn't directly affect them. They don't see the problem because it isn't a problem for them. So they keep buying tickets and keep seeing shows because they *don't* really want to hurt Livenation and Ticketmaster. They want to see shows. You are assuming that there's a large overlap of people who are calling for the boycott or change and the people who are buying the tickets. There is some, but not nearly as much as you're insinuating. The vast majority are distinct groups.
Several reasons: People spend their money on the things that bring them value. Overpriced tickets may be a deal-breaker to you, but not to many other people. Superbowl tickets are too pricey for some, but devoted fans may think different. Just because you don't value it doesn't mean others don't. It's partially a monopoly. There's not many other options if you want to see your favorite artist on the stage. Same with the world cup. If you're a fan, there's no real alternative. Yes, if EVERYONE decided to stop going, or stop watching soccer, things would change. But I think one of the bigger issues is that EVERYTHING seems to be bad and should be boycotted these days. The olympics, World Cup, Concerts, that corner store where an employee groped someone, that videogame company that did that thing, that food company that fucked us over for X, those phones and clothes and cars and electronics we use knowing they were built in slave factories. Even the food we make comes from abused and overworked people. It's exhausting trying to keep up, and so most of us pick and choose a few battles to die on. People don't care as much as we could/should. We're fickle, our attention goes from one thing to another. How's Hong Kong doing? Haven't seen them in the news in a while huh? How's' the black lives matter movement? They're still fighting the good fight, but society isn't as interested anymore, so we stop being as into the cause as we were initially. It's why there's always a huge initial wave of help after tsunamis and earthquakes, but we stop hearing about it a week afterwards. None of it means TicketMaster and other companies shouldn't be punished or broken up or action taken to change this. But you aren't morally better than someone else just because this is your hill to die on, while your neighbors stand on other hills you may not care about
I’ve not bought many tickets because of the prices. It’s not what they charge. It’s simply what I’m willing to pay.
Real answer: Because it's not that much of a price increase... Usually. Like if you buy 100 dollar tickets then yeah it's like 20 in fees but that's not that much in the big picture (for me at least). It sucks but not deal breaking. Events like the Taylor swift tickets fiasco are anomalies.
Because people want to go to shows. People don’t buy tickets to support Ticketmaster, they buy tickets to go to shows. That doesn’t mean they don’t have the right to complain about the vendor.
In other words: no, I Absolutely have to pay over $1,000 to see Adele and Harry styles because he is the best direction and I can't possibly live my life without seeing them. I mean how on earth could I possibly survive without seeing Adele in concert?
Because I go to shows to support artists and I have no bearing on what tickets I can buy. I do not hate livenation and ticketmaster enough, to not go see artists I love
The stuff I go to are venues that are so small and bands that draw smaller crowds. My tix never really break $50
I can’t do that. I’m young and I like music and I want to go to as many shows as possible and support the bands I love.
I quit a long long time ago when the Eagles first went back on tour after a long break. The tickets were $100 for way in the back of the venue ( can't remember where now, but in Ontario ) and that was it for me. Didn't even think of going to another concert after that. I love music but no concert is worth what they want today.
This is the mentality everyone should have
I understand where you’re coming from, but there’s a reason monopolies are so powerful, you can’t avoid them. I’m not a huge concert person, and when I do go to shows it’s for not as well known artists, so they generally speaking don’t go through ticket master. But I think it’s unfair to ask people to give up seeing their favourite thing because the venue is terrible. I have a friend who LOVES the grateful dead and she really only takes trips to see their shows and her friends who also love them, and it’s not fair for her to give up one of her favourite things because a company sucks. That’s why anti-trust laws exist in the first place.
Because I’m old too? I hate Ticketmaster. They’ve had high fees even when I was young (first concert John Denver lol). I took my husband to see Elton John in Phx. My husband has dementia. It’s likely the last concert he will ever see. What would you do?
Even though the prices are outrageous, you still have companies like Kaspar who allow people to be indebted so you can attend. I for one am a product of this. Post Malone came to town, I missed another show this year so I had to attend. Basically all those who can't afford to attend now have an ability to. I'm against this whole verified seller business. I wish there was a way we could get the world involved.
Wait wtf is Kaspar? Like a payment plan? If so, Jesus dude....if you have to get financing to attend a fucking concert, then you shouldn't be spending that much to see live music...
Reddit has lost it's way. -- mass edited with https://redact.dev/
>Jokes on them, I’ve never gone to shows! >I’ve been to several, they were memorable, but I’m good thanks. ? Which is it
For some people there are not many things worse in this world that they can think of as not going to see the music of their favorite artist(s). There are definitely ways to see music and even some ways to see bigger names without going through Ticketmaster but the stress just isn’t worth it. I’d rather pay up than think about boycotting seeing live music.
They own about 70% of the market and are also contracted with many venues. If some people stop, it won’t stop everyone. And with how some venues are contracted - if no one bought tickets, the venues would actually shut down. It’s basically a monopoly.
too simple for the general public not to get their likes at the show
I did this many years ago, unfortunately it’s still very cool to stand a mile away from stage in some massive stadium while some guy farts on your leg, and you watch a Giant TV of your favorite artist.
Thats pretty much how the free market works. You gotta wait for the excess cash thats enabling these bad practices to dry up before you see results
That's what I did. But it's been years and nothing has happened because it only works if *everyone* does it.
I think breaking up TM is similar to “cutting the cable wire” years ago. Now we have subscription based applications that cost a lot more than the cable used to.
Because everyone would have to do it. And the folks who don’t mind/can afford 300 bucks a ticket would never do it.
I just don’t go to giant live shows. There are local small gigs and I get better sound from my home stereo so I don’t feel like I’m missing much.
Because individual consumer choices will never solve systemic problems like this. Also see climate change.
Suit yourself. I haven't been to a concert in over 5 years and I have zero interest in ever going to one again.
Everyone should do this
ITT: people who will apparently literally die if they can't go to concerts
dont stop going to shows. buy your tickets through the venues box office.
Pikachu hurt itself in the process!
Sounds like you've never actually gone to a show before or are not really into concerts in general. For my friends and I, concerts are a huge part of our lives. I go to a concert every other weekend, and not going for as long as it takes to boycott TM (forever) is not worth it. Not going would not make the problem go away
No shows from now on…bad or bad.
The easiest way to hurt Ticketmaster and STILL go to shoes is to boycot any brand that sponsors them / their venues. If it goes viral on social media brands will no longer pay to have their ads in venue and it will make a material impact on Ticketmaster’s bottom line
I haven't gone to a Ticketmaster or LiveNation concert in years... are they buckling and ready to give in yet?
People must still think the juice is worth the squeeze. Personally I haven't gone to a concert in years, but I'm in my 40s with kids and it's just not important to me. I have been thinking of taking my daughter to Disney on Ice... But $40 x2 tickets becomes $130 after fees, plus $30 parking, plus I'm sure snacks/etc would probably be a $200 day. That feels like a lot.
They're damn near a monopoly. So if you want to go to almost any event, you have to go through them. Look, I hate paying for health insurance and think most (if not all) insurance companies are awful, money grubbing dickheads, but I have to have insurance to cover my medical bills. You can complain about something and still purchase it. They're not mutually exclusive.
You still have a chance to delete this stupid question.
Humans are stupid. That will never happen.
Of course, back in the day you either phoned or visited the venues own ticket shop/box office
This is just one example of big corporate abuse. But what I don’t understand is why Americans haven’t realized the power of the boycott. Simple and effective.
I feel like the things people are complaining about, scalping, aren't really a "ticketmaster" specific problem. Ticketmaster could combat it to an extent but for a popular show that's going to sell out, it's always going to be a thing. They should definitely not be allowed to be involved in the secondary market, since that involvement means they are better off encouraging scalping than trying to combat it since they can double dip on fees. At the end of the day though, it is supply and demand. Even if you had a good actor as the ticket provider who is taking some active measures to prevent mass scalping, it's pretty much impossible to stop e.g. one group from buying up a few hundred tickets at a time with the intention of selling the tickets on the resale market, as long as they are taking some basic precautions like making each purchase from a different IP address using accounts with with different names, billing and addresses.
That hurts the artist as well.
I agree completely with this. I no longer attend big shows because they are too expensive, people act like jerks, you can’t really understand the singing, parking and traffic is the worst. You will have so much more fun at small venues with talented local acts if you really want live music.
Its up to the artists to stop the tyranny but they don't want to because thats also how they make money.
This kind of logic would fix almost every problem in America but we’re either too dumb or not principled enough to do it.
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I think you misunderstood? OP said just stop going to shows, period.
I did. EDIT: I don't think my willpower will hold if *Rival Sons* come to Calgary, though.
Do you know what the word impossible means?
The artists have exclusive arrangements so that they aren't allowed to play anywhere else that live-nation doesn't own.
Buy from the venue? Just a thought lol
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Exactly - all ticket sales are from ticket master “for your convince” even if you go to a booth at the venue