[vintermann]

Kickback? I wouldn't exactly call it that, since it's the venue's seats, and the artist's acts it's selling.

The problem is more that they own the venues, and aggressively punish anyone who works with their competitors.

[HDThoreaun]

Half of the fees go to the artist and venue. Ticketmaster takes the position of the “bad guy” to take all the blame for high prices while artists can say “the tickets only cost $40” even though the real price is easily double that.