[account42]

Complaining yes, but how many people are actually putting their foot down? As for bands, they may actually be profiting from this scheme where ticketmaster ensures higher prices while taking the blame. If they really cared enough they could chose not to deal with Ticketmaster. Sure, that would limit their choices in venues which could mean lower potential for profit. Probably not going to be a real issue for the the more popular groups.

And yes, if there are no concerts with acceptable terms (and that's really a hypothetical if) then don't go to any for the rest of your life. You make it sound like this is some kind of required part of the human experience when it is just one of many possible ways to spend your time. Even if you are really into music, concerts are just one way to experience it - and when it comes to audio quality, a fairly crappy one.

[Spivak]

It's possible you can put your foot down, lots of venues will sell you paper tickets at the box office. It's inconvenient but they also don't charge TM fees sooo. It's what I do since they open the box office during any of their events. Just get tickets for the next few shows right there.

> Even if you are really into music, concerts are just one way to experience it - and when it comes to audio quality, a fairly crappy one.

This fundamentally misunderstands why people go to see live music and honestly maybe what people enjoy about music entirely.

[TylerE]

The bands are absolutely profiting.

Ticketmaster is basically “customer punching bag ad a service”.

[mattmaroon]

The bands at the top are absolutely not profiting, they’re losing money over it. Instead of a healthy ecosystem of promoters willing to pay them market rates, they’re dealing with a monopsony that depresses earnings. They HAVE to go through TicketMaster venues, because TM has locked up 85% of large ones, which means they have to accept whatever fee the promoter (LiveNation, same company) is willing to pay them. That’s part of why AEG sued them, they are a giant international promoter who is effectively boxed out of the American market by TMs stranglehold on venues and vertical integration.

Venue owners are profiting. LN/TM can pay them a lot for exclusive rights thanks to their monopoly-inflated profits.

[TylerE]

The bands get more than a small cut of the various fees, and especially the upcharge things like Platinum tickets.

[mattmaroon]

No they don’t, that’s not how the money works in concerts. The bands get paid a flat fee by the promoter. You can Google this if you don’t believe me but I know from working with concert promoters.

Why would Ticketmaster/live nation pay them at all? They don’t have to, the bands don’t have any other places to play and they make most of their income from live shows.

[TylerE]

Platinum Tickets are priced by the artists who get the bulk of the revenue.

[JansjoFromIkea]

Just to back this up, Robert Smith references Platinum Tickets here https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-64975160

Choice quote: "It is a greedy scam and all artists have the choice not to participate. If no artists participated, it would cease to exist."

[mattmaroon]

I am fairly sure that’s not true, and also that platinum tickets are a small percent of tickets.

Do you have a source for that statement? The article about it linked below does not back up either assertion. I’m pretty sure they’re dynamically priced by a TM algo, and I’d bet little of it goes to the artists.