Leonard Cohen and Ticketmaster
Leonard Cohen and Ticketmaster
Hello, I'm with CBC News, we're looking into Ticketmaster's practices - how
it releases tickets and how it uses its secondary site Ticketsnow. We're
looking for Leonard Cohen fans who either were not able to get tickets to his
Canadian concerts, or managed to but paid an extraordinary price.
If this is you or someone you know and you're interested in doing an interview,
we would love to hear from you.
You can contact me at aaron.saltzman@cbc.ca
Thanks,
Aaron Saltzman
CBC National News
it releases tickets and how it uses its secondary site Ticketsnow. We're
looking for Leonard Cohen fans who either were not able to get tickets to his
Canadian concerts, or managed to but paid an extraordinary price.
If this is you or someone you know and you're interested in doing an interview,
we would love to hear from you.
You can contact me at aaron.saltzman@cbc.ca
Thanks,
Aaron Saltzman
CBC National News
Re: Leonard Cohen and Ticketmaster
Aaron,
I'll be anxiously awaiting a report by the good ol' CBC Didn't buy tickets for any Canadian venues, but curious as to what you find, so please post a link to the article online.
Some interesting thoughts here about the industry: http://ask.metafilter.com/90142/The-Tic ... to-eat-you
Regards,
Rachel
I'll be anxiously awaiting a report by the good ol' CBC Didn't buy tickets for any Canadian venues, but curious as to what you find, so please post a link to the article online.
Some interesting thoughts here about the industry: http://ask.metafilter.com/90142/The-Tic ... to-eat-you
Regards,
Rachel
Re: Leonard Cohen and Ticketmaster
We're not in Canada, but we tried for NYC Beacon concert, and were shut out. Tickets were then on sale for up to $3000/ticket. We finally got tickets to a show 1.5 hours away from the city.
Shoshana
Shoshana
Leonard Cohen, Scalpers, and Ticketmaster
Hi Aaron. The problem is actually quite a bit more complex than Ticketmaster simply redirecting buyers to its own brokerage, TicketsNow.
You see, what's happened for this tour is that the very best seats in the house have been retained by LC's promotion company for sale as "VIP" packages and perhaps even more egregiously, for sale as "Platinum" seats through the "Ticketmaster Marketplace" functionality.
I suspected shenanigans when there were NO top price tickets made available for the fan club presale in Oakland. Where were these tickets? They surely weren't in the VIP area (At $549 each, a markup of $373 over face value of $176). Answer: They are in the "Ticketmaster Marketplace" for only $1200 each! In fact, if you carefully examine the seats for sale in the "Marketplace" you will notice an overrepresentation of the 101-103 or 102-104 center aisle pairs, as well as the 126-128 or 125-127 inside aisle pairs. This is the usual pattern for these sorts of promoter holdbacks. What's less usual is that these seats are being scalped right up front, with the profits presumably flowing immediately to the producers, and hence to Leonard Cohen.
That's right, Leonard Cohen is essentially scalping his own tickets! Well, he's certainly not the first to do this. Bill Graham, the late promoter of the Grateful Dead engaged in this habit for YEARS. It's just that it's become so much more high tech these days.
For anyone that doubts what I'm saying, check it out for yourself on the Ticketmaster website. If the seats are sold out, you will be redirected not to TicketsNow (That scam was exposed through the Bruce Springsteen brouhaha) but to the "Marketplace".
You see, what's happened for this tour is that the very best seats in the house have been retained by LC's promotion company for sale as "VIP" packages and perhaps even more egregiously, for sale as "Platinum" seats through the "Ticketmaster Marketplace" functionality.
I suspected shenanigans when there were NO top price tickets made available for the fan club presale in Oakland. Where were these tickets? They surely weren't in the VIP area (At $549 each, a markup of $373 over face value of $176). Answer: They are in the "Ticketmaster Marketplace" for only $1200 each! In fact, if you carefully examine the seats for sale in the "Marketplace" you will notice an overrepresentation of the 101-103 or 102-104 center aisle pairs, as well as the 126-128 or 125-127 inside aisle pairs. This is the usual pattern for these sorts of promoter holdbacks. What's less usual is that these seats are being scalped right up front, with the profits presumably flowing immediately to the producers, and hence to Leonard Cohen.
That's right, Leonard Cohen is essentially scalping his own tickets! Well, he's certainly not the first to do this. Bill Graham, the late promoter of the Grateful Dead engaged in this habit for YEARS. It's just that it's become so much more high tech these days.
For anyone that doubts what I'm saying, check it out for yourself on the Ticketmaster website. If the seats are sold out, you will be redirected not to TicketsNow (That scam was exposed through the Bruce Springsteen brouhaha) but to the "Marketplace".
Last edited by colombo on Mon Mar 02, 2009 11:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Leonard Cohen and Ticketmaster
Yes... big demand, small supply especially for the theatre venues like Ottawa and Calagary. There were also tons of presales last week (Fan Club, Amex, Best Buy, Venue, Family & Friends, Radio Stations, etc. etc.) which ate up some of the inventories and...
Tons of seats have been designated as "Platinum Seats" and are selling via Ticketmaster's Marketplace facility (also known as TM TicketExchange) at outrageous prices! Ticketmaster only provides the facility or platform through which these seats are sold... Ticketmaster does not set the prices for them. It is the promoter with the full approval of Leonard Cohen Management that controls ALL ticket inventories and sets ALL of these obscene ticket prices in the TM Marketplace. Ticketmaster can and should be blamed for a number of its business practices (e.g. Relationship with Ticketsnow.com, service charges, etc.) but this isn't one of them. Leonard Cohen Management has to take FULL responsibility for the pricing and ticket inventory management associated with this tour.
At 2:30 pm today, the promoter/LC Management have listed 61 and 68 pairs of "Platinum" seats respectively on the Ticketmaster Marketplace for the May 25th and 26th Ottawa NAC shows. The top per ticket price for May 25th is $716.64 and for May 26th is $727.21!
Similarly for the Calgary show, there are 26 pairs of "Platinum" seats listed with the top price set at $800.16 per ticket!
And most of us thought the $689.00 VIP package was a cash grab!
It is highly likely that the Platinum ticket prices will go down as we get closer to the shows and many could well be quietly dropped into the general Ticketmaster public ticket inventory at the "regular" $250 ticket price.
Yes... I will be going to both Ottawa shows and I have spent $1,000+ in total so that I have a pair of prime seats for each night. But I have an incredibly bad taste in my mouth after seeing how the tickets for these shows are being priced and sold and I cannot blame it on Ticketmaster. Leonard... stand up, dip your hat and take a bow!
All the best.
Tons of seats have been designated as "Platinum Seats" and are selling via Ticketmaster's Marketplace facility (also known as TM TicketExchange) at outrageous prices! Ticketmaster only provides the facility or platform through which these seats are sold... Ticketmaster does not set the prices for them. It is the promoter with the full approval of Leonard Cohen Management that controls ALL ticket inventories and sets ALL of these obscene ticket prices in the TM Marketplace. Ticketmaster can and should be blamed for a number of its business practices (e.g. Relationship with Ticketsnow.com, service charges, etc.) but this isn't one of them. Leonard Cohen Management has to take FULL responsibility for the pricing and ticket inventory management associated with this tour.
At 2:30 pm today, the promoter/LC Management have listed 61 and 68 pairs of "Platinum" seats respectively on the Ticketmaster Marketplace for the May 25th and 26th Ottawa NAC shows. The top per ticket price for May 25th is $716.64 and for May 26th is $727.21!
Similarly for the Calgary show, there are 26 pairs of "Platinum" seats listed with the top price set at $800.16 per ticket!
And most of us thought the $689.00 VIP package was a cash grab!
It is highly likely that the Platinum ticket prices will go down as we get closer to the shows and many could well be quietly dropped into the general Ticketmaster public ticket inventory at the "regular" $250 ticket price.
Yes... I will be going to both Ottawa shows and I have spent $1,000+ in total so that I have a pair of prime seats for each night. But I have an incredibly bad taste in my mouth after seeing how the tickets for these shows are being priced and sold and I cannot blame it on Ticketmaster. Leonard... stand up, dip your hat and take a bow!
All the best.
-
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Mon Feb 23, 2009 5:31 pm
Re: Leonard Cohen and Ticketmaster
Speaking of the Marketplace tickets, did anyone notice this:
Convenience Charge CA $55.90 x 2
Unbelievable.
Convenience Charge CA $55.90 x 2
Unbelievable.
Leonard Cohen, Scalpers, and Ticketmaster
The promoter sets the "convenience charge" as well. Ticketmaster splits the cut with the promoter and the retail outlet, if any.
Thanks Leonard! Thanks AEG! Sorry about your financial adviser ripping you off and all, but two wrongs don't....well, do they?
Thanks Leonard! Thanks AEG! Sorry about your financial adviser ripping you off and all, but two wrongs don't....well, do they?
Re: Leonard Cohen and Ticketmaster
Since the summer, Ticketmaster has been using a 20% convenience charge for its Marketplace sales. Coincidentally, they are copying the same convenience charge protocol as that of all of the scalper/broker sites. When TM first started TicketExchange Marketplace and TM Auctions, at least in Canada, there was an order charge but no per ticket convenience charge... the starting price for TM Auctions was always about $20 higher than the ticket's face value.
I remember the Rolling Stones were one of the first groups who took a piece of the Ticketmaster service charges. TM would have to issue a press release before an onsale explicitly stating what the per ticket service charges were going to be as they were so much higher than the normal fees and they were afraid that people lining up at outlets might be short of cash. Of course TM could not say why the service charges were so expensive. lol
All the best.
I remember the Rolling Stones were one of the first groups who took a piece of the Ticketmaster service charges. TM would have to issue a press release before an onsale explicitly stating what the per ticket service charges were going to be as they were so much higher than the normal fees and they were afraid that people lining up at outlets might be short of cash. Of course TM could not say why the service charges were so expensive. lol
All the best.
Re: Leonard Cohen and Ticketmaster
You know, everyone's complaining about the costs of these tickets. But given how quickly they've been selling out they've been underpriced, if anything. I don't see anything wrong, or unscrupulous about anything that's been done here. I wanted tickets. I paid what I had to to get them. If the tickets had been more expensive I simply wouldn't have been able to go. In the same way that I don't drive a BMW, and I don't live in a massive house with a swimming pool.
Leonard Cohen and Ticketmaster
Walrus: I think you misunderstand this and other threads if you believe that everyone is simply "complaining about the ticket prices."
What many of us are complaining about is the manipulation of the ticketing process to create an artificial scarcity, and the involvement of the principals in the promotion company AEG in the resultant secondary market for the tickets.
You see, the tickets for most shows are not "sold out" in the usual sense of the word.
They are "unavailable" at the stated face prices, themselves already high. Why are they unavailable? Have they already been sold to fans?
NO!
They are "unavailable" at the stated prices because they have been rerouted into the Ticketmaster "marketplace" aka "Platinum seats."
And yes, this is nothing new. Steely Dan did it last summer, Britney Spears is doing it right now.
And yes, if these seats go unsold at the inflated secondary prices, they will find their way back into the general inventory. But why the games?
There is but one answer, and it is lucre.
And that's fine. I understand the need for LC to replenish the retirement coffers. I do.
But you should also understand that although I understand the motive, I need not agree with the means.
Carry on.
What many of us are complaining about is the manipulation of the ticketing process to create an artificial scarcity, and the involvement of the principals in the promotion company AEG in the resultant secondary market for the tickets.
You see, the tickets for most shows are not "sold out" in the usual sense of the word.
They are "unavailable" at the stated face prices, themselves already high. Why are they unavailable? Have they already been sold to fans?
NO!
They are "unavailable" at the stated prices because they have been rerouted into the Ticketmaster "marketplace" aka "Platinum seats."
And yes, this is nothing new. Steely Dan did it last summer, Britney Spears is doing it right now.
And yes, if these seats go unsold at the inflated secondary prices, they will find their way back into the general inventory. But why the games?
There is but one answer, and it is lucre.
And that's fine. I understand the need for LC to replenish the retirement coffers. I do.
But you should also understand that although I understand the motive, I need not agree with the means.
Carry on.
Re: Leonard Cohen and Ticketmaster
The high cost of seeing Leonard Cohen play Ottawa
Monday, March 2, 2009 | 6:31 PM ET CBC News
Peter Iswolsky thought he'd have a better chance of getting
tickets if he turned up at the NAC box office in person,
but he was wrong. (CBC)
The Ontario government is looking into how concert and sports tickets are sold online across the province, and some Ottawa residents have good reason to welcome the probe.
When tickets for Leonard Cohen's Ottawa concert went on sale at 10 a.m. Monday morning, many fans went online to purchase tickets.
But while Ticketmaster.ca didn't have any tickets left for sale, there were still some to be found for the Ottawa show at TicketsNow, a site affiliated with Ticketmaster.
But those tickets were selling for inflated prices, from $300 to $1,600.
Cohen performs at the National Arts Centre on May 25 and 26.
Some Cohen fans skipped the online lineup and tried to buy their tickets in person.
"I walked here because I didn't want to go to go to Ticketmaster," said Peter Iswolsky who showed up at the National Arts Centre's box office.
"I don't like paying their surcharges," he said, "and I don't think they represent the NAC very well."
But when Iswolsky arrived half an hour after the tickets went on sale, there was already a sign posted that read: "Leonard Cohen – Sold Out."
"If there's a demand, tickets are going to sell out and they're going to sell out quickly," said Simone Deneau, who books shows at the National Arts Centre.
She said the facility has been pleased with the service provided by Ticketmaster Canada.
Ontario Attorney General Chris Bentley is looking into the company as part of the province's investigation into ticket sales.
At least four class-action lawsuits have been launched against Ticketmaster in Canada over the way it handles the sale of tickets for events.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/story/2009/03/02 ... entix.html
Monday, March 2, 2009 | 6:31 PM ET CBC News
Peter Iswolsky thought he'd have a better chance of getting
tickets if he turned up at the NAC box office in person,
but he was wrong. (CBC)
The Ontario government is looking into how concert and sports tickets are sold online across the province, and some Ottawa residents have good reason to welcome the probe.
When tickets for Leonard Cohen's Ottawa concert went on sale at 10 a.m. Monday morning, many fans went online to purchase tickets.
But while Ticketmaster.ca didn't have any tickets left for sale, there were still some to be found for the Ottawa show at TicketsNow, a site affiliated with Ticketmaster.
But those tickets were selling for inflated prices, from $300 to $1,600.
Cohen performs at the National Arts Centre on May 25 and 26.
Some Cohen fans skipped the online lineup and tried to buy their tickets in person.
"I walked here because I didn't want to go to go to Ticketmaster," said Peter Iswolsky who showed up at the National Arts Centre's box office.
"I don't like paying their surcharges," he said, "and I don't think they represent the NAC very well."
But when Iswolsky arrived half an hour after the tickets went on sale, there was already a sign posted that read: "Leonard Cohen – Sold Out."
"If there's a demand, tickets are going to sell out and they're going to sell out quickly," said Simone Deneau, who books shows at the National Arts Centre.
She said the facility has been pleased with the service provided by Ticketmaster Canada.
Ontario Attorney General Chris Bentley is looking into the company as part of the province's investigation into ticket sales.
At least four class-action lawsuits have been launched against Ticketmaster in Canada over the way it handles the sale of tickets for events.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/story/2009/03/02 ... entix.html
Re: Leonard Cohen and Ticketmaster
Aaron. . .I encourage you to go after Cohen. I am very disallusioned. I went online the minute tickets went on sale in Seattle and could not get good seats, at all.
I have my (far back) very expensive tickets, but if I had to do it over again, I would pass.
I have my (far back) very expensive tickets, but if I had to do it over again, I would pass.
- mirka
- Posts: 487
- Joined: Wed Sep 21, 2005 9:59 am
- Location: SF Bay Area, California + Warsaw, Poland
Re: Leonard Cohen and Ticketmaster
I think this is exactly what happend during this tour on several occasions -- artificial demand for tickets was created by initially offering limited amount of mediocre tickets, at the same time selling best tickets through various brokerage outlets. Since Ticketmaster (or promoters ?) control the whole pool, they are able to shift the tickets between outlets depending on how well they sell.jonathon wrote: It is highly likely that the Platinum ticket prices will go down as we get closer to the shows and many could well be quietly dropped into the general Ticketmaster public ticket inventory at the "regular" $250 ticket price.
This is what I've noticed at the Dublin concert: I couldn't get any tickets on-line even if I started logging in before/at the announced begin of the sale. I bought a ticket from a local Irish fan (a seat fairly far from the stage), and just a couple of days before the show I found out better tickets became available on-line again (closer to the stage, center, same price range as those I got).
Same happened at the Manchester concert sale: I was able to log in at the begin of the sale, only to be offered last row balcony tickets (which I didn't accept).
Some may call it skillful marketing, I'd rather call it exploiting most enthusiastic fans.
ps.
I've found 2 threads describing details of the European tricks, I'm sure there are more:
viewtopic.php?f=26&t=11049
viewtopic.php?f=26&t=10697
viewtopic.php?f=29&t=11839&p=130715#p130715
I'm not sure who is behind this manipulation, LC and his management or Ticketmaster.
Bruce Springsteen published open letter to his fans condemning TM, we haven't heard from LC so far.
mirka
--
Last edited by mirka on Tue Mar 03, 2009 1:39 pm, edited 4 times in total.
/Warsaw March 22 1985 / Halifax May 16 /Charlottetown May 18 / Dublin June 15 / Vienna Sept 24 2008/
Oakland April 13, 14, 15, San Jose Nov 13 2009/
Las Vegas Dec 11 2010/ Oakland March 2 2013/
Oakland April 13, 14, 15, San Jose Nov 13 2009/
Las Vegas Dec 11 2010/ Oakland March 2 2013/
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Re: Leonard Cohen and Ticketmaster
Exactly.
Re: Leonard Cohen and Ticketmaster
Most of the tickets that go straight to TicketsNow, and are never offered for sale on TicketMaster, are owned by Season Ticket and Season Box holders. I don't think most people understand that some seats are owned for every show at a venue, and are never offered to the public. As a season ticket holder at multiple venues I get my tickets from Ticketmaster when the venue tells them to print and send them to me. If I don't want to use those tickets I can log into my Ticketmaster account and send them to Ticketsnow for resale. Ticketmaster has no control over whether I choose to do that or not. I've never done it myself, but I know how to do it if I want to in the future.