What is ticketmaster doing to prevent scalping of Miley Cyrus concert tickets?
Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. may have figured out how to lock scalpers out of a major concert tour, and it plans to use singer Miley Cyrus as its guinea pig. The centerpiece of the ticketing giant’s anti-scalping strategy is eliminating, well, the tickets. Ms. Cyrus’s 45-date outing this fall, for which seats go on sale starting Monday, will be the first major concert tour to rely exclusively on “paperless tickets,” according to a news release announcing the tour. Sources: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124441789931592507.
By ETHAN SMITH Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. may have figured out how to lock scalpers out of a major concert tour, and it plans to use singer Miley Cyrus as its guinea pig. The centerpiece of the ticketing giant’s anti-scalping strategy is eliminating, well, the tickets. Ms. Cyrus’s 45-date outing this fall, for which seats go on sale starting Monday, will be the first major concert tour to rely exclusively on “paperless tickets,” according to a news release announcing the tour. The technology, which Ticketmaster tested last year, is meant to make seats impossible to sell or transfer because they can be redeemed only at the concert, using the credit card with which they were bought. The plan has scalpers and resale sites crying foul. Tickets for the concerts by Ms. Cyrus, the star of Walt Disney Co.’s popular “Hannah Montana” TV series, will cost $39.50 to $79.50, plus fees. When purchasers arrive at the concert, their credit card will be swiped with a handheld scanner that will pri
The ticketing company is going paperless on singer Miley Cyrus’ upcoming 45-show fall tour – the first of its kind to sell exclusively paperless tickets, reports the Wall Street Journal ($) Monday. Concert-goers will enter the show using credit cards they purchased the tickets with, making it impossible to resell or transfer them. That’s put resale vendors on the defensive, charging that the paperless system will cause delays and possibly pose safety risks to fans. They also claim that the ticket agency will extend its monopoly over prices by essentially eliminating the secondary market. While most states have legalized scalping, promoters object to the high mark-ups scalpers are able to charge, which they get no share of. Sources: http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/06/08/business/econwatch/entry5071747.
