Robert Smith went on an all caps online attack recently and convinced Ticketmaster to refund money to fans that purchased tickets for The Cure’s upcoming North American tour. The Cure frontman took to social media and tweeted that he was “sickened” by high fees and additional charges levied by the company. In some cases, the expenses caused the original prices to double.
Look, I can handle a late night on a random Wednesday or Thursday. I can handle the idea that eating/drinking/hobnobbing will be pricey or at least require some planning before and/or after. I can handle the idea that the headline act will (occasionally) take the stage whenever they GD feel like it. I can handle the incidental costs (gas/parking). All of that, ON TOP of paying near 200% markup for no good reason? Let me off at the next stop.
How did the process of getting a ticket to see your favorite artist turn into one colossal, frustrating shitshow? Well…
The powers that be unsurprisingly failed to stop Ticketmaster from creating a monopoly when they merged with (purchased) Live Nation. Live Nation was on the venue side owning and/or operating countless venues around the country and acting as a tour production company. Many, if not most, large venues have exclusivity deals with Ticketmaster. If The Cure (or other big deal acts) were willing to play multiple nights at smaller venues they could figure out how to do so without Ticketmaster. That’s more work for less money, so it’s easier to let Ticketmaster ruin the fan experience and complain.
I don’t need Ticketmaster adding the extra amounts. I can bank on the taxes, service charges, and venue fees to be added to the ticket prices. However, they don’t need to be laughable. The facility charge goes to the venue. The service fee goes to Ticketmaster: “A portion of ticket fees which include service fees we keep, helps us provide clients with software, equipment, service, and support to manage their tickets at the box office and provide the sales network used by clients to distribute tickets to fans and provide the sales network used by clients.” Literally none of these fees go to the musicians.
If you are the “but did the tickets sell? If so, they weren’t priced too high” type of person…well, I literally did not think contrarian culture could possibly produce people who are pro-Ticketmaster. This reasoning is an argument that when I see it I figure either it’s someone getting paid by Ticketmaster to try to tamp down on PR or, worse, someone doing it for free. They feel the need to be an internet antagonist and are willing to cape for anyone to fill that need. Actually, boot leather contains valuable nutrients that the body needs, and licking is just the most efficient way of transferring them. That’s just science.
Jokes aside, from a business’ perspective that is a “correct” take – the “right” price is whatever the market will bear. And with all the steps Ticketmaster has taken toward becoming a monopoly, they are pricing a lot of people out of a form of entertainment that used to be very accessible. Robert Smith’s actions might not be The Cure, but it could be the start of artists holding the ticket-selling giant to account.