Concerts, tickets and scalpers II
Rolling Stone is out this week with a new story about ticket brokers and ticket scalpers. "Can Scalpers Be Stopped?"
In case you hadn't already figured out the answer, it's "no" according to the magazine.
When musicians create a requirement that buyers pick up tickets in person, scalpers go along. Have to join a fan club to get good seats? Scalpers join the clubs.
All of this is legal, of course. And let's face it, even average fans get into the act, sometimes buying their maximum of tickets and then reselling them for a profit, the magazine reports.
There's a lot more going on to help brokers get in line ahead of individual fans. Rolling Stone wrote about it here.
Here's a twist: Scalpers are also blamed for the super-high prices of tickets these days. The Rolling Stones are selling some seats for more than $400. The report says that performers are resigned to scalping, so they get a bigger cut up front of a ticket they know is going to be sold for much more.
Still, there may be a positive by-product for the casual fan: Some acts, like the Stones, are selling cheaper seats for $60 so people can get into the shows, even if they can't sit up front.