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Sorry Sly...
There’s a battle currently raging in the entertainment world that may have a profound effect on who pockets your concert dollars in the future. The major players are well known, heavily financed, and have built sophisticated marketing programs to ensure that their message captures the hearts (and wallets) of the nation’s music fans.
No, it’s not a battle for chart position, or who gets top billing at the next major festival. It’s over how you may purchase your next concert ticket, and what you’re allowed to do with it once you do.
At issue is the ever-increasing presence of the secondary ticket market (better known by the far-more derogatory name of scalping). Opinions on this practice generally fall into one of two camps - those who view scalping as a nefarious practice that hurts artists and the ticket-buying public (not to mention their own profits), and those who make their living from the resale of tickets. As the debate has intensified, two "grassroots" organizations have emerged (or more accurately, been created) to lobby and/or influence potential legislation regarding ticket reselling. As you'll see, "grassroots" is a very loose interpretation:
Fans First Coalition - Although technically a non-profit organization, the primary financial backer of the Fans First Coalition is Live Nation, who’s merger with Ticketmaster last year made them the biggest player in ticketing. The group has broad support from a number of industry players, including artists (REM, The Dixie Chicks), sports teams (Carolina Panthers) and venues (virtually every Live Nation venue).
Fan Freedom Project - Acting as philosophical counterweight in this battle is the Fan Freedom Project, who’s major financier, StubHub, is the world’s largest ticket reselling portal and a division of the granddaddy of auction sites eBay.
At first glance, the players seem so similar that it’d be difficult for the uninformed to tell them apart. Both groups boast the support of some influential players, and are backed by some serious industry dollars. Both have their fingers in the secondary ticket market, yet claim to be acting solely on the behalf of concert fans. Hell, both have the word FAN right in their name. Although there are disagreements regarding specific business practices (and even some surprising agreements), the primary argument seems to rest on one philosophical question - is a concert ticket a commodity, or a permission slip?
The Fan’s First Coalition (i.e Live Nation/Ticketmaster) is advocating the use of paperless digital tickets as a method to combat ticket re-selling. The redemption of these electronic tickets are tied to the purchaser and the purchasing credit card. This makes them nearly impossible to resell on the secondary market. The FFC believes that this will circumvent some of the questionable practices many scalpers use to secure tickets, ensuring “real” fans easier access to tickets at a reasonable price.
Not surprisingly, the Fan Freedom Project (StubHub) is against the increased use of this technology. Outwardly, they argue that electronic tickets as currently designed are too restrictive, making the honest transfer of tickets and distribution among the purchaser’s party excessively difficult. In their mind, once you buy the ticket, it’s yours to do with what you like. Behind the scenes though, the motivation is primarily economic - anything that limits access to reselling puts a dent in StubHub’s business. Likewise, they argue that the primary backers of the Fans First Coalition (namely Live Nation/Ticketmaster) have their own fingers in the secondary market, so their attempts to circumvent the scalping process is disingenuous at best, designed more to protect their own interests than those of the fans.
So where do my sympathies fall?
Honestly, I’m of two minds about this. As a music fan, I’m naturally all for measures that will keep ticket prices reasonable for the greatest number of fans. I’m also for anything that makes the concert experience easier and more enjoyable for everyone involved. However, I’m also a firm believer in the philosophy of free market competition. And despite the use of “fans” in their name by both groups, neither party is using the fans best interest as their primary driver. It’s economics, pure and simple. So let’s dispense with all the talk about “fan friendliness” already - who’s argument carries the most intellectual weight? My vote is with the Fan’s First Coalition...on a purely technical basis.
In my opinion, a concert ticket is no different than an airplane ticket - you pay for the ride. And just like airplane tickets, if you buy’em, you own’em. There’s no inherent right to resell them, transfer them to another party or (most of the time) return them. You alone are responsible for your purchasing decision. It’s not the company’s responsibility to conform its policy to your life circumstances, and they have every right to protect their interests any damn way they please. Just as concert fan have the right to protest such actions...with their entertainment dollars.
I get that some may find this to be a less-than-fan friendly position to take. I also understand the hypocritical nature of fighting for restrictions on the secondary ticket market while simultaneously participating in it yourself. But let's be honest...there may be a few people every show who may sell their tickets to their buddy, or toss them up on Craigslist. But the vast majority of resellers are professional ticket-jockeys who employ often unscrupulous means to snatch up large blocks of tickets, and then resell them at an hyper-inflated price. Arguing that your primary interest in preventing restrictive digital tickets is to protect the fan is simply disingenuous.
Tossing out all the talk about who’s REALLY looking out for the fans (since neither group is), the argument becomes about how a public corporation is allowed to design, package, and protect its own product. In this regard, StubHub (err, I mean, the Fan Freedom Project) just doesn't have a ticket to the show.
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