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Ticketmaster is a runaway corrupt monopoly. They forced out or gobbled up every ticketing company, then merged with Live Nation and monopolized both venues and promo, to the vast detriment of fans, artists, and communities.
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Ticketmaster's misconduct is too long to delve into here. Even enumerating RECENT scandals is a heroic chore. Here's a smattering:
The company was caught secretly working with scalpers to drive up prices without having to share the take with artists:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/a-public-relations-nightmare-ticketmaster-recruits-pros-for-secret-scalper-program-1.4828535
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The company was caught secretly working with scalpers to drive up prices without having to share the take with artists:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/a-public-relations-nightmare-ticketmaster-recruits-pros-for-secret-scalper-program-1.4828535
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Ticketmaster also invented an entire (literal) playbook for price-gouging (again, while diverting funds from artists):
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/ticketmaster-prices-scalpers-bruno-mars-1.4826914
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https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/ticketmaster-prices-scalpers-bruno-mars-1.4826914
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They suffered an epic breach, with massive amounts of sensitive ticket-buyers' data in the hands of criminals:
https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2018/06/28/ticketmaster-breach-what-happened-and-what-to-do/
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https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2018/06/28/ticketmaster-breach-what-happened-and-what-to-do/
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Oh, and they're leading the push to put facial recognition into venues, because if they have another breach, you can just ask for a new face to replace the one they leaked. (To opt out, just don't have a face).
https://www.engadget.com/2018-05-06-ticketmaster-hopes-to-speed-up-event-access-by-scanning-your-fac.html
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https://www.engadget.com/2018-05-06-ticketmaster-hopes-to-speed-up-event-access-by-scanning-your-fac.html
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Enter coronavirus. All concerts are cancelled.
And Ticketmaster is not giving out refunds.
https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2020/04/10/ticketmaster-quietly-changes-refund-policy/
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And Ticketmaster is not giving out refunds.
https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2020/04/10/ticketmaster-quietly-changes-refund-policy/
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The company USED to have a policy that tickets to cancelled events were fully refundable. That policy was "subject to change without notice."
They changed it.
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They changed it.
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They're not alone. The $5B/year Stubhub is giving vouchers for future concerts to customers.
Join the class action suit here!
https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2020/04/06/stubhub-faces-lawsuit-for-refusing-refunds/
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Join the class action suit here!
https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2020/04/06/stubhub-faces-lawsuit-for-refusing-refunds/
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Ticketmaster's annual gross was $30B/year. That should get the class-action lawyers' attention. Stay tuned.
Image:
Sharib4rd
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattb4rd/3414550230
CC BY
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
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Image:
Sharib4rd
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattb4rd/3414550230
CC BY
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
eof/
