First, "scalpers" became "brokers". Now, we have "Live Nation" and "Ticket Exchange". The latter has tickets for sale at inflated prices before you can click "Enter" on your Ticketmaster purchase, during the very SECOND that sales begin. Hmmm; now surely we know why. Point is, screwed is screwed.
We are concert goers. And, I am a ticket snob whose one vice in life lies in the first seven or eight rows of chosen venues. Long before the Internet, when ticket outlets were distances away from us, and after Joe's being nearly trampled by a bunch of crazy women on a Ticketmaster queue, we decided to purchase resale tickets. It was all very hush-hush back then, and our tickets were usually found in Sunday TIMES ads.
When scalpers became brokers, and suddenly there was no legal issue involved(?), and the NY Attorney General seemed to give up on correcting the situation, we "graduated" to online purchases from TicketsNow. They were always somewhat fair, hosting individuals reselling their loot. The artists were not involved, back in the day. I would wait till about two days before a show and score unsold tickets, often dead center in the first few rows, for only a few dollars above face value.
This year, I've noticed some unpleasant Signs(ND), especially as it concerns this particular performer and now Billy??? These two have always touted reasonable prices to suit the masses. TicketsNow is suddenly an affiliate of Ticketmaster. Irving Azoff's name is mentioned in more areas than I care to acknowledge. People are actually BUYING LiveNation seats, with ridiculously contrived packages of crap, to sit in the first few rows that I am sitting in by being patient. And, those packages of crap contain articles seemingly "donated" by the artists themselves. For the record, patience is annoying, because we have to travel to any venue that we choose, and some planning is nice. But, we know all those outrageously priced tickets will be tossed back into the sale at the last minute.
Okay, okay; you don't feel sorry for me, because if you're reading, you know that we go to our fair share of shows. And now, if you know me very well, you know that I'm trying to score tickets for The Boss. Well, guess what? "Cheers" for The Boss. He took a public stand. Tickets are STILL pricey; but at least it's your everyday "commoner" doing the scalping for Bruce. Oh, pardon me; it's doing the brokering.
The following article is disheartening; and I'm not feeling colorful OR inspired. Please link Screwed
