Secret investigation reveals Ticketmaster secretly encourages Scalpers and Bots: Gothamist

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ticketmaster091918.jpg "src =" http://gothamist.com/attachments/nyc_clampen/ticketmaster091918.jpg "width =" 640 "height =" 427 "/> <br /> <i> (Paul Sakuma / AP / Shutterstock)</i></div> <p> </span></p> <p>Spectators are too familiar with the awful futility that accompanies Ticketmaster's bid to win a hot ticket. No matter how quickly you click on "best available" and select the captcha images to prove that you are not a bot, the bots beat you, the most requested events selling instantly – with tickets appearing later on Stubhub and other secondary market scalping sites. </p> <p>Trying to buy tickets for face value (plus obscene service fees) is a very frustrating business, and it seems Ticketmaster wants it that way because it means more profits for the company largely despised, which holds a virtual monopoly on the ticket counters. According to a covert survey conducted by CBC and the Toronto Star, the ticket retailer basically managed a professional scalping racket and reduced its profits. </p> <p>The media sent two journalists to the July 2018 Ticket Summit in Las Vegas, where they introduced themselves as scalpers and grabbed Ticketmaster employees, trying to enlist them as resellers. The system would involve deploying bots to collect large batches of tickets from the site and then resending them for more money via a special scalping platform developed and owned by Ticketmaster: TradeDesk, described as "the most powerful tool ticket sales. </p> <p>According to CBC, scalpers can upload their batches to TradeDesk for quick resale, easily adjusting prices according to demand. Although Ticketmaster's policy caps ticket purchases based on the popularity of an event, TradeDesk representatives have repeatedly assured reporters that no one would look for suspicious buyers who appeared to be using robots.</p> <p>"We do not share reports, we do not share names, we do not share account information with the main site." Period, "said one of them. "We have spent millions of dollars for this tool.The last thing we would like to do is catch up with the brokers where they can not sell their stocks with us."</p> <p><center></p> <blockquote class=

Fuuuuuuck Ticketmaster https://t.co/UhMPJUoPER pic.twitter.com/LPdcueA9NT

– Barry Petchesky (@barry) September 19, 2018

When the scalpers make a successful sale, Ticketmaster makes double fees: the percentage they perceive at the initial purchase and the percentage they recover upon resale. CBC offers this example: "If Ticketmaster receives $ 25.75 on a $ 209.50 note on the initial sale, when the owner has sent it for resale at $ 400 on the site, the company will receive $ 76.50. $ extra on the same ticket. Considering that the company has initial ticket sales estimated at $ 1.6 billion in 2016 and resale revenues of more than $ 200 million, it is not small potatoes.

Addressing one of the undercover reporters, a Ticketmaster representative reportedly said: "I have brokers who literally have a few hundred accounts." This is not something we look at. or report. " If these discoveries materialize, the company could even benefit: Apparently, in addition to its TradeDesk program, Ticketmaster produces an "Official Reseller Manual" detailing the hierarchy of discounts for high-volume scalpers.

Ticketmaster did not immediately respond to our request for comment. In a statement to CBC, a spokesman said: "As the world's leading ticketing platform, representing thousands of teams, artists and venues, we believe it is our duty , buy and sell notes on the primary and secondary markets. "

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Ticketmaster, part of Live Nation, a live entertainment conglomerate, has already sued other brokerages for deploying robots to buy and resell them. Hamilton tickets at very high prices. These brokers then came back with counterclaims accusing Ticketmaster of using his own scalping systems to "double the commissions". Based on the survey conducted by CBC / Toronto Star, its TradeDesk platform seems to do just that.

In any case, New York law prohibits the use of robots that scalpers use to recover nanoseconds before fans can click on the purchase. In addition, it is also "unlawful for any person, firm, corporation or other entity to knowingly resell or offer a note that such person, firm, corporation or other entity knows to have been obtained with the assistance of # 39; a ticket purchase software. " We will update if and when we receive news from Ticketmaster.

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