By Alfred Branch, Jr.
An Ohio state senator wants some answers on how the ticketing industry really works, and why fans sometimes get shut out from gaining tickets to hot shows, such as the current Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus tour.
State Sen. Eric Kearney, a Democrat from Cincinnati, recently called on Ohio’s Attorney General Marc Dann to investigate the industry, and the senator vowed to introduce legislation to help fans better understand event ticketing by improving the transparency of the marketplace. As a state, Ohio doesn’t regulate ticket reselling, instead leaving it in the hands of municipalities. Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus all allow some version of reselling, such as restricting it to the internet and/or requiring a permit.
Jim Gravelle, spokesperson for the attorney general, told TicketNews that while the office “took the senator’s remarks very seriously,” he can neither confirm nor deny whether an investigation is in the works.
Kearney received complaints from angry parents who were shut out of buying tickets to Hannah Montana shows in the state, but he would like any investigation to look at the industry as whole and not concentrate only on ticketing practices surrounding the young pop starlet. In New Jersey and North Carolina parents have launched lawsuits over various aspects of the Hannah ticketing mess, and Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon also investigated the situation.
“Ticketmaster and event promoters operating in Ohio should be aware that customers are angry at the way they do business,” Kearney said in a statement. “This isn’t just about Hannah Montana. It’s about every big event that comes to Cincinnati. Someone is profiting and parents are left paying the price.”
Speaking hypothetically and not specifically about the ticketing industry, Gravelle said that complaints similar to Kearney’s would potentially fall under the state’s Consumer Sales Practices Act, which makes it civilly “unlawful to deceive or treat unfairly” any consumer who is buying goods or services.
Tickets to the Ohio Hannah concerts, and other popular events in state, sold out in minutes, and seats were withheld for Cyrus fan club members and others, a common practice. In addition, tickets were quickly posted by brokers and on Ticketmaster’s TicketExchange for exorbitant prices quickly after selling out.
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Half the country doesn't have health care, my last heating oil bill was $3.37 per gallon, and our troops continue to die in Iraq, but this is what some of our elected officials are worried about? Come on.
I got plenty of tickets for Hannah shows in Ohio,, and I made lots of cash that I'm spending in Ohio and paying sales tax on my purchases. I'd say that's good for the local economy isn't it?
-- On the secondary market, many
family-friendly entertainment and sporting events sell below the ticket’s original face value!
WASHINGTON – The National Association of Ticket Brokers (NATB) today issued the following statement regarding the consumer benefits of states eliminating anti-scalping laws and adopting a free and open market for ticket resales:
“Despite some media reports continuing to focus on price and availability of some selective sports and entertainment events, secondary market ticket sales data demonstrates that the a free and open market benefits consumers. Tickets selling on the secondary market for entertainment and sporting events often are available to consumers for less than the ticket’s original cost.In fact, secondary market ticket brokers offer consumers these reduced price options while primary ticket sellers, including Ticketmaster, continue to sell the same tickets to consumers for the original price, in addition to convenience and shipping charges. market for ticket resales offers consumers options.It should be every consumer’s right to purchase tickets for less
than the original value when the market dictates.”
The following are two recent examples of tickets for entertainment and sporting events in New York, which recently repealed its long
standing statutory restriction on the resale of tickets, available on the secondary market for less than the ticket’s original price
Mel Brooks’ “Young Frankenstein at the Hilton Theatre in New York City (December 6, 2007 performance):
On December 5, 2007 a general consumer could have purchased an Orchestra Level ticket from a secondary market ticket broker for $66.00 plus convenience and shipping charges. The face value for all Orchestra tickets (as seen on ticketmaster.com) is $120 plus convenience and shipping charges. Balcony Level tickets sold by a secondary market ticket broker would have cost $36.00 plus convenience and shipping charges. The face value for all Balcony tickets (as seen on ticketmaster.com) is $50 - $75 plus convenience and shipping charges.
New York Knicks vs. Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden in New York City (December 8, 2007)
On December 5, 2007, a consumer could have purchased a Club Level ticket (between the baselines) for $182.00 plus convenience and shipping charges
from a secondary market ticket broker. The season ticket holder face value for a similar Knicks Club Level ticket is $240.00 Currently, similar tickets are being sold on the Knicks Official Ticket Marketplace for no less then $280.80 plus convenience and shipping charges. Ticketmaster.com is selling Club Level tickets (between the baselines) for 244.50 plus convenience and shipping charges.
Also on December 5, 2007, a general consumer buying from a secondary market ticket broker could have purchased a
200 Level ticket (between the baselines) for $72.00 plus convenience and shipping charges. The season ticket
holder face value for a similar Knicks 200 Level ticket (between the baselines) is $95. Currently, similar tickets are being sold on the Knicks Official Ticket Marketplace for no less then $111.15 plus convenience and shipping charges. Ticketmaster.com is selling 200 Level tickets (behind the basket) for 99.50 plus convenience and shipping charges.
The National Association of Ticket Brokers (NATB) was formed
in 1994 by a group of leading ticket brokers, involved in the sale of sports,
concerts and theater admission tickets, for the purpose of establishing an
industry-wide standard of conduct and to create ethical rules and procedures to
educate the public concerning ticket-brokering services and to serve the
primary goal of the NATB, promoting consumer protection. All members of the
NATB are dedicated to the principle of assuring the public that dealings with
NATB members are conducted with integrity, reliability and convenience. To this
end, the NATB has created procedures that permit the public to report improper
and unethical conduct by ticket brokers, and to disseminate consumer protection
warnings and guidelines. Through self-governance, the NATB has provided many
enhanced protections for ticket-buying consumers. The NATB has worked with law
enforcement agencies across the country, state and federal legislators and the
NFL and other professional sports leagues and teams, to accomplish these goals,
and has been vital in the NFL's fight against counterfeit and stolen tickets.
More information about the NATB is available at http://www.natb.org
I was appalled to see your comment that ticket re-sales should be
regulated in any manor at all. The US was built on freedom to make a
living without the government looking over our shoulder. I am a
shareholder in Premium Tickets an Ohio tax payer. It would be much
easier to go underground and sell on Ebay as the soccer moms that have
bought up the Hannah Montana tickets are doing but I am a Real and
legitimate business that provides a service to thousands and
thousands of customers that are Very happy to pay for my services.
The problem in this case is a simple one. Disney and Hannah Montana
don't know how to promote a concert tour correctly. They have 5 Million
weekly viewers, the children that you think need the governments help.
The producers of the tour in their infinite wisdom scheduled Hannah to
play for a capacity of only 650,000 seats. (this to include the
requisite number of parents attending the show with their children)
Looks like there are more than 11 of the helpless children for each
ticket sold. Supply is larger than demand. I have had tickets since
they went on sale for prices from $125.00 each and up. I have tickets
now for the show this week in Cincinnati for $250.00 each. At a market
based price there is a way to get over 4.5 Million children that want
to see Hannah to stay home, It is the price. The government has no
reason to determine which children go to the show( I think supply and
demand should). This is not a communist state that controls the
distribution of airplane tickets, gasoline or food is it? Why would we
regulate a kiddy show? Is there no pressing problems the people of Ohio
have for you to work on? No inflation, war on terror, no loss of the
bill of rights no crime, no rape or murder, no prison overcrowding,
nothing for a powerful Senator to do but worry about a kiddy show.
In summary I suggest we prosecute Hannah Montana with a stiff jail
sentence, 30 years to life, along with her Dad and the Disney Channel
for creating a successful entertainer and not doing the 10 shows per
stop as the market needed.
Or as you proposed close me down and stop collecting my taxes and have
the state pay my employees and the other businesses that I have to pay
to make a living.
P. S. Possibly the state of Ohio should also prosecute all the parents
who lied to their children and told them they would get them tickets.
If the were fair parents they would be able to explain to the children
that they can't have everything that they want. Sometimes even parents
themselves should be honest with their children and tell them, "I can't
afford that, I thought I could get through on the phone or Internet to
get tickets but I didn't, I'm sorry." The parents that are suing people
and crying to you are the scum of the earth for not being adult enough
to be honest. They are being children and setting future generations a
horrible example.
I have a lot of other things to worry about, like training my dog, paying bills and taxes.. so having politicians worry about Hanna Montana is a little much for me.
Comon gang. Get real and accept the fact that the Montana ticket scalping and scams have been part of the industry for years. The producers, promoters, ticket agencies, the act and the buildings themselves have for years salted away special seating and numbers of tickets for the elite, the advertisers, politicians and definitely for sale at exaggerated prices. Its been part of the ongoing scam for the past three to four decades. Its illegal, it prostitutes the system but all the parties are in the mix. What to do? Call in the IRS since many of these tickets are solded at vastly elevated prices to private sources without any tax being paid on such over charging. Get the Feds to subpoena the books of Ticketmaster, promoters and many of the acts and see where all these dollars have gone. As usual, the fan is at the bottom of the food chain and spit on by most promoteers and acts.
I totally agree...it makes it seem like the govrnment is playing some kind of sick game with the people.
They want to control the ticket market, yet they dont care if half the country does not have health care. these Government officials are a joke
There are more important things in life than arm-wringling with Hanna Montana tickets. Let's get on with life, folks. We should be worrying about high gas prices, high cost of healthcare, housing foreclosures, our troops in Iraq trying to stay alive each day so they can go home someday, denuclearization of Iran and North Korea, and lasting peace in the middle east. Come on, folks, this Hanna Montana thing will be over soon, but other issues in life will continue to go on like the ones I've mentioned here... Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!
I visited my folks this weekend and my mom asked me if I had heard about the Hannah Montana craziness. She told me that her neighbors had been desperately trying to get Hannah tickets for their nine-year-old daughter because she LOVED Hannah Montana and wanted to see her in concert more than anything in the world. (I would like to note that in this house the children found their Christmas presents weeks ago, so the parents gave them the gifts then and bought all new ones so they would be surprised on Christmas morning.) Well, if their little girl HAD to see Hannah Montana, they would find tickets.
They got shut out the first round of sales and thought all hope was lost. Then more seats were released and the father managed to score four tickets -- two for him and his daughter and two to sell (cause obviously people were making money on them). His little girl was so excited, it was all she could talk about for weeks.
On the day of the concert, they brought the little girl to the salon to get her hair and nails done. She dressed in her favorite outfit and told everyone how she was going to try to meet Hannah. Finally, it was time to head to the show. The doting dad told his daughter it was time to leave, expecting her to make a mad dash for the car. Instead she said, "I don't want to go anymore."
Not only did the capricious child REFUSE to attend the concert, but dear old dad still had to drive over an hour to get to the venue to deliver the extra two tickets to his buyer.
With this example to illustrate my point, I don't understand why people are getting so worked up over getting their kids to a show they won't care about soon enough.