by CKOM News
Ticketmaster Entertainment, Inc. is a ticket sales and distribution company based in Beverly Hills, California with operations around the world. (Ticketmaster)
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Just as Ticketmaster faces a class-action lawsuit alleging shady business practices, a bombshell investigative report has added allegations that the company actively colludes with scalpers to fleece ticket-buyers.
A joint report published Wednesday by the Toronto Star and the CBC included hidden camera footage purportedly showing a representative from Ticketmaster’s resale division hawking a program that would allow scalpers using bots to sell thousands of tickets.
Toronto Star reporter Marco Oved told Saskatchewan Afternoon with David Kirton that the scheme would allow Ticketmaster to collect fees on both the initial ticket purchase and the resale through its secondary sales platform.
He said it was particularly shocking to see Ticketmaster directly encouraging the use of bots — automated programs that can scoop up tickets far faster than a human at a keyboard, given the company’s long-held public position on the issue.
“Ticketmaster says: ‘We do not support bots. We cancel bots. We are the biggest fighter of bots in the world.’ And yet, here they are with a program that’s specially designed for people who use bots to help them sell their tickets,” Oved said.
In an echo of the lawsuit filed recently by Regina’s Merchant Law Group, Oved said he also learned Ticketmaster inflates ticket prices by deliberately withholding blocks of tickets to create the illusion of scarcity.
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Since 99% of Ticketmaster customers (me included)have overpaid for tickets sold by then, I hope these class action lawsuits will gain traction.
CBC TV did an undercover operation that clearly showed how scalpers use numerous accounts online to sell highly priced tickets to suckers, all with the total knowledge of Ticketmaster…
To some extent, I can agree with you BOHG, however, there is a big part of me that is reluctant to get government involved for something that is non life-critical.
I have explored some concerts and shows that I wanted to go to and decided not to as I did not want to fork over the dough. Not going to those concerts/shows did not have any material effect on my life.
In this regard, it is all the people willing to pay scalper prices that are the problem. If people did not pay those overly high prices, the scalpers would be left holding the bag. That would cure them plenty quick.
George in Richmond. “non life critical”. River Rock Casino money laundering? Allowing 10s of thousands of illegal immigrants to wander across our boarders? Alloing a company to drive its own prices up by selling their product to themselves and then gouging buyers?
Sorry George youve set the bar for crime worth punishing way to high