Bands Auctioning Off Tickets- Legalized Scalping ................
Bathgate66
Posts: 15,813
from Independenmt.ie
Independent.ie
U2 takes the ticket as fans pay the pipers
March 2, 2008
AS if we hadn't seen enough ways to make an extra buck from U2, it
seems they've come up with yet another one.
But now they've just been given a hammering for their latest idea --
and "ripping off" fans -- by legendary pop impresario Harvey Goldsmith.
The band, it would seem, have plans to cash in on a new-found way to
soak music fans: "reselling" tickets for gigs by auction to get more
than their face value.
Goldsmith bumped into Paul McGuinness, the "fifth band member" of U2
(and presumably one of the five mystery employees who were each paid
€5m last year by U2's parent company), at a music industry festival in
France last month.
McGuinness had just given a speech lambasting internet service
providers (ISPs) as thieves for allowing music piracy traffic by their
users. With declining album sales internationally, he was doing his
job and protecting his band's revenue stream. Fair enough.
But when Goldsmith -- who is one of the world's most famous promoters
of live music -- met McGuinness for a drink afterwards and discussed
how the internet has effectively legalised ticket touts, he was
shocked at the response. So much so that Goldsmith used the
conversation as an anecdotal intro for a "keynote address" at the
Concert Industry Consortium in Los Angeles.
Speaking about McGuinness, he said: "He accused the heroes of Silicon
Valley of being manufacturers of burglary kits. However, when I later
had a drink with Paul and asked him about the secondary ticket market,
he told me that U2 would run its own auction site.
"So on the one hand he is attacking the internet pirates for stealing
his artist's music, but on the other hand he is quite happy for the
very same fans to be ripped off by the secondary ticket market --
providing the money, of course, goes to him and his artist."
U2's management company didn't immediately respond to a request for
clarification but, given the band's propensity to cash in on every
potential revenue stream, it's an obvious one.
Nearly a third of all tickets worldwide are now resold, said
Goldsmith, and the number is growing.
"In order for the fan to be true to its hero, [he or she] is stealing
music on the one hand," Goldsmith said, "and paying through the nose
for a live experience on the other hand.
"This is a mess! Does anybody seriously think that a fan wakes up in
the morning wanting to go see Bruce Springsteen with the sole thought
of how much more he can pay for the ticket than the price advertised?"
Listen up U2. We like ye, but not that much.
Enda Leahy
©independent.ie
Independent.ie
U2 takes the ticket as fans pay the pipers
March 2, 2008
AS if we hadn't seen enough ways to make an extra buck from U2, it
seems they've come up with yet another one.
But now they've just been given a hammering for their latest idea --
and "ripping off" fans -- by legendary pop impresario Harvey Goldsmith.
The band, it would seem, have plans to cash in on a new-found way to
soak music fans: "reselling" tickets for gigs by auction to get more
than their face value.
Goldsmith bumped into Paul McGuinness, the "fifth band member" of U2
(and presumably one of the five mystery employees who were each paid
€5m last year by U2's parent company), at a music industry festival in
France last month.
McGuinness had just given a speech lambasting internet service
providers (ISPs) as thieves for allowing music piracy traffic by their
users. With declining album sales internationally, he was doing his
job and protecting his band's revenue stream. Fair enough.
But when Goldsmith -- who is one of the world's most famous promoters
of live music -- met McGuinness for a drink afterwards and discussed
how the internet has effectively legalised ticket touts, he was
shocked at the response. So much so that Goldsmith used the
conversation as an anecdotal intro for a "keynote address" at the
Concert Industry Consortium in Los Angeles.
Speaking about McGuinness, he said: "He accused the heroes of Silicon
Valley of being manufacturers of burglary kits. However, when I later
had a drink with Paul and asked him about the secondary ticket market,
he told me that U2 would run its own auction site.
"So on the one hand he is attacking the internet pirates for stealing
his artist's music, but on the other hand he is quite happy for the
very same fans to be ripped off by the secondary ticket market --
providing the money, of course, goes to him and his artist."
U2's management company didn't immediately respond to a request for
clarification but, given the band's propensity to cash in on every
potential revenue stream, it's an obvious one.
Nearly a third of all tickets worldwide are now resold, said
Goldsmith, and the number is growing.
"In order for the fan to be true to its hero, [he or she] is stealing
music on the one hand," Goldsmith said, "and paying through the nose
for a live experience on the other hand.
"This is a mess! Does anybody seriously think that a fan wakes up in
the morning wanting to go see Bruce Springsteen with the sole thought
of how much more he can pay for the ticket than the price advertised?"
Listen up U2. We like ye, but not that much.
Enda Leahy
©independent.ie
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That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
ORGAN DONATION SAVES LIVES
http://www.UNOS.org
Donate Organs and Save a Life
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Comments
Till there aint nothing left worth taking away from me.....