Sharpe's Opinion
Monday, 16th Mar, 2009
Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails is probably the most switched-on musician in the world today. His thoughts on the ticket reselling problem is one of the more self-aware and reasoned discussions I’ve seen on the subject.
Now we get into the issue of secondary markets for tickets, which is the hot issue here. The ticketing marketplace for rock concerts shows a real lack of sophistication, meaning this: the true market value of some tickets for some concerts is much higher than what the act wants to be perceived as charging. For example, there are some people who would be willing to pay $1,000 and up to be in the best seats for various shows, but MOST acts in the rock / pop world don’t want to come off as greedy pricks asking that much, even though the market says its value is that high. The acts know this, the venue knows this, the promoters know this, the ticketing company knows this and the scalpers really know this. So…
If it was up to me, I would say that the artists should have a greater share of tickets to run promotions for the fans with, and all the other tickets should be auctioned, so that they reach their true market value. Also, the artists should be paid a percentage of the sale price on the ticket, so that the ticket auction benefits the performers as much as the promoters.