What We Support: Principles of Fairness
01 Transferability
Once a fan has purchased a ticket, they should be able to give it to someone else or sell it. Too often, Ticketmaster is able to block this transaction, particularly when their platform is needed to facilitate electronic transactions. Season ticket holders have particular difficulties with this. Open transferability is critical to ensuring prices are not kept artificially high. .
02 It's About Fans’ Rights
CTF Supports Anti-Bot Legislation that prohibits Bots from buying tickets. When discussing artists' rights, they often hide behind them. They cleverly appeal to artists by offering enticing practices like dynamic pricing and enforced resale through Ticketmaster. These tactics benefit both parties, as they allow artists to establish a minimum price for reselling tickets. Let's say you adore Taylor Swift and purchase a concert ticket for $500. As a fan, you should have the freedom to give that ticket to someone else. Similarly, if your plans change and you're unable to attend, you should have the right to sell the ticket for its original value, more, or even less. In the Taylor Swift controversy, Ticketmaster attempted to attribute the issue to 'scalpers,' but it wasn't the cause.
03 Disclosure
Prior to a ticket sale, they should state how many tickets will be sold, and at what price points. They should also disclose how many will be priced “dynamically”, as well as how many are being held back or presold for certain categories of people. Frequently, there are holdbacks for the family and friends of the artist, sponsors of the venue, luxury suite holders, the promoter, radio stations, American Express card members, fan club members and for pre-sale. This can add up to a large percentage of the tickets being held back, and those that aren’t taken can then be released at the end. There should be transparency as to whether 90% of the tickets in a venue are going on sale or if it is more like 40%.
04 Speculative Ticketing is Not Nefarious
When you plan a trip, do you use Expedia? It is the essentially the same thing. Tickets to the Super Bowl are made available ten days before the game, for example. But if you are planning to attend, you are likely booking in advance of the ticket sale. The problems that arise with speculative ticketing come when there are people selling tickets to events without safeguards and guarantees in place to protect the buyer against the seller not fulfilling their commitment.
05 Elimination of Exclusive Contracts
Ticketmaster entices venues with tempting incentives to secure exclusive contracts lasting several years, effectively blocking other ticketing platforms from participating. This lack of competition results in inflated ticket prices, and Ticketmaster is progressively exploiting these contracts to govern ticket resale within the venue. In such scenarios, they frequently establish both an upper limit and a minimum threshold for the ticket's resale value. Consider purchasing a different product, like a car, and subsequently deciding to sell it, only to be informed that you must exclusively approach the dealer, who will dictate the permissible resale price.
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