NEW YORK – Buying concert tickets can feel like a game of chance. But in this game, the outcome is fixed, according to a report issued Thursday by the New York attorney general.
The report alleged that in some cases half of event tickets are reserved for insiders before the public has a chance to buy any. Ticket brokers can scoop up thousands of tickets in a matter of minutes using allegedly illegal software and then sell them with a 1,000 percent markup.
“Whereas in many areas of the economy the arrival of the Internet and online sales has yielded lower prices and greater transparency, event ticketing is the great exception,” the report by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said.
Here are four reasons the report, “Obstructed View: What’s Blocking New Yorkers from Getting Tickets,” alleged that the system is broken:
— The insiders go first. For the most popular concerts, more than half of the tickets are reserved for industry insiders, including promoters, or set aside for “pre-sale” to special groups such as those with a particular credit card, the report found. The public is then left to scramble over the remaining tickets.
— Illegal software. Schneiderman’s office places a lot of the blame on ticket brokers. Some brokers allegedly use Ticket Bots, illegal software that allows them to buy tickets quickly, the report said, then mark up the price an average of 49 percent.
— Licensing issues. Some brokers are also operating without a license, the report suggested. Schneiderman announced settlements with two such companies, MSMSS and Extra Base Tickets, on Thursday and said they would pay penalties of $80,000 and $65,000, respectively. Representatives of the companies could not be immediately be reached for comment.
“My office will continue to crack down on those who break our laws, prey on ordinary consumers, and deny New Yorkers affordable access to the concerts and sporting events they love,” Schneiderman said in a statement. “This investigation is just the beginning of our efforts to create a level playing field in the ticket industry.”
— Then there are the fees. The New York Attorney General’s Office examined the ticket fees of 150 venues and found that convenience charges and service and processing fees could add an average of 21 percent to the cost of a ticket. In some extreme cases, the fees amounted to more than the cost of the ticket, the report said.