What do you do with your tickets stubs?

Hawk said:
I hear nothing but horror stories about ticket bastard. I wonder why they don't have any competition?
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In California there used to be a few ticket agencies in the early 80's...Ticketmaster bought them all hence a monopoly and no competition.

I completely blame Clear Channel for the cost of tickets these days...they blame the bands are demanding more money.

I think Ticketmasters only competition these days is the ticket broker agencies who are robbing people blind. Before Ozzfest tix in mountainview went on sale a broker had 2 tickets like 10th row and he want $1059.00 ....yes that ONE THOUSAND dollars.

This is where the crime should be. I do know that there is an investigation into Stub-hub and a few other ticket brokers here that I think the FCC is investigating because of their illegal search practices on the internet of using "spy-bots" to get thru the passwords and presales.

If you look back in history a bit...before Clear Channel purchased a venue, or a ticketing agency or a radio station....look at their prices for tickets, drinks, parking etc. Now look at it after Clear Channel bought it.....since the owner of CC is in ties with good ol GW Bush...I don't forsee any legal actions brought against this mega-company who owns 70% of the radio stations and 45% of the venues across the USA. I forgot they also are buying up a lot of billboards across america as well.

They (CC Entertainment) has had disputed with a few bands as well. The band is coming to town and they are not playing at a Clear Ch. venue..so what happens....the CC owned radio station pulls their music from the play list. Something like you play my venue and I'll play your music. Complete B.S. and it sure sounds illegal!!! you can go to www.clearchannel.com to see just how huge this company is!! I searched california and they own 101 radio stations here. Here is there "Mission Statement"

"We are in the business of helping our customers grow their businesses. We do this effectively with our wide variety of media and entertainment products.
We believe in maximizing our customer's satisfaction, we will deserve and will earn their continued loyalty. Our goal is to have long term, mutually profitable relationships.

We believe in providing superior value to customers through high quality, technologically advanced, fairly priced services designed to meet customer needs better than all the possible alternatives.

We believe Clear Channel's people are our most important asset. Our teams make the critical difference in how we perform and their skills, talents and determination separate us from our competitors. We also believe people can achieve their full potential when they enjoy their work, so it is a priority to provide a workplace where growth, success and fun go hand in hand."
 
I used TM once but I bought it on the place not via USPS because is absolute highway robbery.

If TM is indeed a monopoly cannot be sue?
 
Wyvern said:
I used TM once but I bought it on the place not via USPS because is absolute highway robbery.

If TM is indeed a monopoly cannot be sue?
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Depends on your definition of monopoly.

In and of itself TicketBastard is not a monopolist if other companies are free to enter their market.

What TM has is a so called "natural" monopoly and not an "enforced" monopoly like the post office, ie protected by the government. You can not enter the market and start you own post office in the US, or so I am told. So the post office is protected/shielded by the government against any competition.

You can think of a natural monopoly as say, a baker in a small village. He is the only baker around and his customers are satisfied enough not to go to the baker in the other village.

Thats why I asked if they ever had any competition.

Its a big market and it should be very lucrative for any competitors to enter.

I believe however that the very fact no one has entered the market as a competitor of TM yet, is a sign that the entree costs are high and that
there are not yet enough signs of customer dissatisfaction.
IOW, would be competitors, would need a strong signal from the market,
that means YOU ALL, that there would be room for an competitor.

Btw, did not the Black Crows had a dispute with TM a few years ago?

Sorry about the long winded story. I seem to be in a somewhat philosophical mood. Those that know me a bit longer have seen that happen before :)
now and then I have to get it out of my system ;)

It will get better. I promise :D
 
I stuck them on my door..
deur.jpg
 
SavaRon said:
This is something we did with some of our tickets. We put them in a frame and hung it on a wall. It actually turned out pretty good. I just wish I didn't lose alot of mine from the late eighties. There are quite a few old school bands represented! What ya think?
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"Turned out pretty good" is an understatement. That kicks ass! :headbang:

Mine are scattered a bit. The Broncos ticket stubs now outnumber the concert ticket stubs by a lot. Don't know what that means other than I go to 10 games a year and significantly fewer than 10 concerts a year. A big part of the reason I go to so few concerts is the price of admission.
 
kittybeast said:
They (CC Entertainment) has had disputed with a few bands as well. The band is coming to town and they are not playing at a Clear Ch. venue..so what happens....the CC owned radio station pulls their music from the play list. Something like you play my venue and I'll play your music. Complete B.S. and it sure sounds illegal!!! you can go to www.clearchannel.com to see just how huge this company is!!
Click to expand...

CC is huge in Colorado too and what you describe is pretty much how it is here. If a band wants to play a CC venue then they have to bow to CC's wishes.

There are some smaller ticket agents here. They handle the smaller halls, bars really. I paid less than $20 to see Symphony X a coupla years ago and just over $20 to see Iced Earth last year. The ticket charges were about $2 - $3 each. And there was no "venue fee" or "convenience" charge. Of course niether band is played on any local CC station.

How does the consumer get a message across that they're tired of CC's and TM's practices? Refuse to attend their events? There would have to be a lot of other like-minded ticket buyers do that for exactly the same show. And for many shows after that. Write letters to my government representatives? Mine are more interested in banning gay marriage than any real issues. I wouldn't hold out much hope.

<sigh> It is what it is. We need some headbangers in government. The world would be a much better place.
 
Wheezer said:
How does the consumer get a message across that they're tired of CC's and TM's practices? Refuse to attend their events? There would have to be a lot of other like-minded ticket buyers do that for exactly the same show.
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I think that you would have people refuse to go to event organized by TM. It would have to be a nationwide signal.

I guess if people were really, really mad they would have a website and organize a boycott! That would be the end for MT, believe me. If nobody buys your product you go broke. And strangely enough, *because* they are so huge it would be fairly easy to run them in to the ground.

When a company is that huge they need an enormous cash flow to keep functioning. All their employees, buildings, capital goods and bills they have to pay to third parties they work with.

If someone would be dedicated enough to really start this he would have a good chance to succeed. And no, I am neither navieve nor a dreamer.

The only way to hit a company like this, is strike them were it really hurts; in their wallet! I heard so many horror stories about this company that I am positive that if someone would get this ball rolling the effects could be huge! There is a lot of nation wide resentment you only would have to use it.

I also would ask you to consider this: you could ask the government to enact new legislation. But the effect would be that the new legislation would stand *after* the Ticket Master case. Ready to be used against any other company that would even be remotely be in the same position. And would not even use the kind of dirty practices that TM uses.

Ask yourself if your want the government from there on to be so powerful that it could break companies like Microsoft or McDonalds at will. After all, both companies also hold a natural monopoly, ie. a huge part of the market. Legislation like that could mean the end of thousands of jobs and million of dollars of lost money that would go to the government. Sounds like a very dangerous precedent to me.
 
The problem with trying to compete with TM/CC is they own alot of radio stations, they own many venues. They control much of what people listen to, where they are going to hear it and how much they are going to pay to see it played live. The bands can't do anything because they get shut out of the venues and/or get thier music pulled off the air. Ask Pearl Jam how well it went when they tried to get away from TM. That was 10 years ago and this company has gotten much bigger and much worse since then.

Normally I don't like to see government involvment, but in this case I think it's warranted. They are controlling to much and the prices are insane. I am going to Gigantour in Orlando and the tickets were $54. I bought four of them and I think it ended up being around $265 (I don't have the tickets in front of me). Almost $60 to print out 4 tickets? Give me a fucking break! I knew it was going to be high so I paid it. I want to see this tour at Hard Rock Live, so what am I going to do? Anyway, Tampa tickets went on sale and I wasn't sure if I was going to go because it's on a Monday. I look up tickets and they start at $19. Shit, I'll pay that even if I leave early. Pull up front row balcony tickets, and then the service charges came up. Almost $15 per ticket!!!!! Screw that! $15 on a $19 ticket??? How the hell can they justify that? So I did my consumer duty and hit cancel order! I will get them at the box office if I go.

I didn't realize this thread would turn into a TM/CC bashing! Something does need to be done though!
 
SavaRon said:
I didn't realize this thread would turn into a TM/CC bashing! Something does need to be done though!
Click to expand...

I can understand your anger and agree that something must be done. We seem to disagree however *what* should be done. Thats ok though. I don't feel the need to convince you or anyone else. After all, this is a music forum and I think that politics tends to alienate people from each other.

I really hope TM will lose its market share to a few aggressive competitors. That would solve a lot of problems.
 
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