Community Chat

[Mz iMac]

On Wednesday, a federal jury in Manhattan found that Live Nation and its subsidiary, Ticketmaster, operated as a monopoly that harmed consumers and overcharged ticket buyers. The decision came after four days of deliberations.

SOURCE:  Full article (rather long) can be found on CNN Entertainment DOT com.

[Goldengate8361]

Sometimes justice prevails. 

[Venezia]

I remember the class-action lawsuit against Ticketmaster that resulted in customers getting "vouchers" to be used against future concerts.

Yeah, right.  They were useless.  None of my friends or I ever found anything we either could or wanted to attend.  The vouchers were for $25.  Big whoop!

I don't expect anything more from this one.  Just smoke and mirrors.

[Tinkrbl44]

So .... will ticket buyers be getting refunds of any sort? 

[Mz iMac]

@Tinkrbl44  It appears none of that has been worked out or decided **yet.**  There are other facets/pieces of the lawsuit that needs to be worked out according to the article.  In a sense this lawsuit is still active.  

There are many articles that break down this lawsuit & what it means to the public/customers.  Your question may be answered in one of them.

[Shanus]

@Mz iMac   Yes, finally some regulation. The concert and play goers will prosper, but what about the performers? I saw this on the news, but no word on refunds for the hundreds people  paid for Swifty tickets.

[Venezia]

And honestly - what did the regulators expect, when they allowed Live Nation and Ticketmaster to merge in 2010?

That it was going to benefit consumers???  By creating this monopoly?  Or monstrosity?  The "dynamic pricing" that meant you could put tickets in your cart and at checkout the prices had soared "due to demand"?

The add-on fees that were and are outrageous?

I don't have any expectation that this decision will change anything for the better for consumers.  It should never have gone on for over a decade.  IMO, big corporations win every time, regardless of the courts.

DH and I are going to see Andrea Bocelli in December and I paid the cost of the tickets because we decided it will be our "once in a lifetime" chance to see him.  But many other artists we've declined because of the gouging prices.

I have no faith in the agencies meant to protect us from this.  It goes on for years, a "decision" is made, "action" is taken, then it starts all over again.  JMHO.

[ULY]

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@Venezia wrote:

And honestly - what did the regulators expect, when they allowed Live Nation and Ticketmaster to merge in 2010?

That it was going to benefit consumers???  By creating this monopoly?  Or monstrosity?  The "dynamic pricing" that meant you could put tickets in your cart and at checkout the prices had soared "due to demand"?

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Thanks for mentioning 2010 as I was sitting here thinking how, prior to that year, tickets still seemed quite affordable and I was wondering how, why and when it changed. 

There is not one musician, sporting event, comedian, etc..., worth the ridiculous amounts of $$$$$ being charged (regardless of the fee break down) for a ticket. 

[Mz iMac]

I've only used Ticketmaster once in my life because the event & box office was over 1000 miles away. That was over a decade ago.  No issues w/ticketmaster because we ordered months in advance got great seats for tickets under $100.

I always get my tickets directly from the Box Office & as early as possible to avoid "sell outs."