Just Announced Commentary - 2011 Edition

the tickets for the Manics show were available at noon at the box office… glad I didn't  have to wait til 1

what is a shame is it's probably not going to sell out right away
Would have rather spent that $14 on beer/tips at the club than giving it to TicketWhy

hutch wrote:

Sidehatch wrote:

hutch wrote:

StoneTheCrow wrote:
1pm

who is MSP?

Manic Street Preachers

oh yah those guys..

whatever happened to their lead singer? is he back? is that the reason for the big whopdedoo?

the lead singer: James Dean Bradfield never went anywhere… you mean Richey Edwards, the band's lyricist, who knows what happened to him?  

Link:

https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/760507?utm_medium=bks

How unbelievably awesome is this.  I saw two Manics shows on the last US tour and have seen them a couple of times in Europe. 

I.  Can't.  Wait.

Just saw this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T08wc08-cuo&x-yt-cl=84503534&x-yt-ts=1421914688#t=62

I literally got goosebumps. From what I've seen on Facebook looks like the Chicago show is going to be a quick sellout. People flying from Texas and California to go to that one.

bearman wrote:
Just saw this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T08wc08-cuo&x-yt-cl=84503534&x-yt-ts=1421914688#t=62

I literally got goosebumps. From what I've seen on Facebook looks like the Chicago show is going to be a quick sellout. People flying from Texas and California to go to that one.

Chicago is the one I can't justify because it would require too much time off of work but hope to catch NYC and Boston in addition to DC (and fingers crossed they add another show or two on the east coast).

Sidehatch wrote:
what is a shame is it's probably not going to sell out right away
Would have rather spent that $14 on beer/tips at the club than giving it to TicketWhy

are you saying you would have spent $14 more on beer/tips if you had not had to pay to TicketWhy?

TheREALHunter wrote:

bearman wrote:
Just saw this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T08wc08-cuo&x-yt-cl=84503534&x-yt-ts=1421914688#t=62

I literally got goosebumps. From what I've seen on Facebook looks like the Chicago show is going to be a quick sellout. People flying from Texas and California to go to that one.

Chicago is the one I can't justify because it would require too much time off of work but hope to catch NYC and Boston in addition to DC (and fingers crossed they add another show or two on the east coast).

I saw a Travis show at the Metro a number of years back- the venue didn't impress me. 

hutch wrote:

Sidehatch wrote:
what is a shame is it's probably not going to sell out right away
Would have rather spent that $14 on beer/tips at the club than giving it to TicketWhy

are you saying you would have spent $14 more on beer/tips if you had not had to pay to TicketWhy?

It would have gone right in to the club/staff's coffers
which I have less of a problem contributing too…as they provide an awesome service,that with out hesitation I will pay for as it's money well spent IMHO

But, a company that processes my credit card for $16 what I can get at the door for $2…why….Really Seth, you could sell tickets right off the 930 site an not lose a dime (in fact probably make a lot more)
the shows will sell out… as the consumer is savvy and you provide a great product
Not sure why the consumer is still willing to pay these extreme markups (edit…I know why….they have no choice!)
Can't think of a single other product that I would pay that ASTRONOMICAL service fee
I'd like boardies list just a few things that you would pay that premium for?

There is also the reality that I would have easily spent the same amount on on beer/tips regardless of the service charge…let's just ignore that part

Sidehatch wrote:
Really Seth, you could sell tickets right off the 930 site an not lose a dime (in fact probably make a lot more)

i support your sentiment, but selling tickets to in-demand shows isn't like selling crafts on Etsy.  a good ticketing site needs:
- big infrastructure, and one that can't be hacked and can deal with evolving bot threats
- a call center
- varied staff (front-end, back-end, security, management, customer service, marketing, etc.)
- printing
- mailing
- credit card processing
- integration with venues (scanners)
- integration with point of sale
- integration with website (ex: Friends with Benefits program)
- integration with financial/accounting system(s)
- inventory management
etc etc etc.

ticketing is a business on to itself.  seth is in the business of organizing and promoting shows.

i'm no fan of paying those stupid surcharges, but saying that seth should do it himself is silly.  the startup cost would be huge, and a distraction from what he does best.

Sidehatch wrote:
I'd like boardies list just a few things that you would pay that premium for?

given the choice between paying ticketing surcharges, and spending an hour of my time to go to the venue to pick up tickets in person, i'll pay the surcharges.  i would LOVE for there to be an easier and cheaper way for me to get tickets.   

i have no doubt that if there was a way for venue operators to seize that ticket surcharge by offering the services themselves, a lot more venues would be doing it.

Watch this and you'll be happy to pay the fees, this is how the "Grateful Dead" is selling their tickets:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex9dLNaGxHo

sweetcell wrote:

Sidehatch wrote:
Really Seth, you could sell tickets right off the 930 site an not lose a dime (in fact probably make a lot more)

i support your sentiment, but selling tickets to in-demand shows isn't like selling crafts on Etsy.  a good ticketing site needs:
- big infrastructure, and one that can't be hacked and can deal with evolving bot threats
- a call center
- varied staff (front-end, back-end, security, management, customer service, marketing, etc.)
- printing
- mailing
- credit card processing
- integration with venues (scanners)
- integration with point of sale
- integration with website (ex: Friends with Benefits program)
- integration with financial/accounting system(s)
- inventory management
etc etc etc.

ticketing is a business on to itself.  seth is in the business of organizing and promoting shows.

i'm no fan of paying those stupid surcharges, but saying that seth should do it himself is silly.  the startup cost would be huge, and a distraction from what he does best.

Sidehatch wrote:
I'd like boardies list just a few things that you would pay that premium for?

given the choice between paying ticketing surcharges, and spending an hour of my time to go to the venue to pick up tickets in person, i'll pay the surcharges.  i would LOVE for there to be an easier and cheaper way for me to get tickets.   

i have no doubt that if there was a way for venue operators to seize that ticket surcharge by offering the services themselves, a lot more venues would be doing it.

I'm in agreement with you on this with the complexity and initial investment, it would totally be a distraction from the core of what IMP does (and does well)

While a lot of those things are somewhat complex and onerous…their are hundreds of other business that seem to run a very similar type of operation at a fraction of the cost. A lot those systems are already in place too.

- a call center
- printing
- mailing
- credit card processing

these type of things can be done fairly cheaply by 3rd parties (in fact I'm sure that Tickeyfly uses a third party)

I know that their are ton of other details.

The problem would be dealing with the booking companies/band management.  But a brand like IMP in DC, I'm certain that people know how to reach him if they want their band to play in DC. (might not be the same for smaller venues)  


I think with using smart phones and the web as the backbone …you would remove 70% of what you listed
Then charge a premium if you want the tickets printed and mailed (so the charge could be justifiably higher for that service).

I'm sure there are a lot of smarter people than I (OK you can stop chuckling and thinking of a witty retort) that  have thought about this
Probably created business plans and such.
I just have to believe you could use an UBER-like system to manage selling of tickets
I think a system could sell 10,000 tickets in 1 second  and keep track of who has what ticket and that it was paid for, then you just bring your phone (or any device you could log into i.e. tablet )
And my feeling is that type of system could sell tickets for $2 per ticket….and still make a lot of money
at most charge you another $2.50 to print and mail the ticket

eddy vedder you forsake me….

mekmad wrote:
Watch this and you'll be happy to pay the fees, this is how the "Grateful Dead" is selling their tickets:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex9dLNaGxHo

this cracked me up…they certainly know their core audience.
The company who produced that video could probably make a profitable career with instructional videos for kids applying for college (community that is)

What I want to see now is the parody videos of this

this conversation about ticket charges.. we have it every few months…the way I understand it is this:

the reason ticket charges are high is because the venues get some of that money back and they like  that money….  the way some promoters do their accounting that ticket charge can be the difference between profit and loss…. certainly, the promoter I should think considers the money they will get from the ticket charges in factoring whether to put on a show or not or rather in factoring how much to offer the artist….

in a way you might as well think of the ticket charge as part of your ticket price because part of the ticket charge is a part of your ticket price (part does go to the ticket service provider)

i think its very simplistic to believe that the ticket charge is say $12 for a service that costs $1 to provide and the ticket  service agent keeps the $11 for doing nothing.. I don't think it works that way…

why are venues in town switching to ticketfly which as i understand it was created by former ticketmaster executives? probably because ticketfly gives venues more of a cut or more money because they actually charge more for providing the service…

ultimately though its all driven by the artist and how much money they want..but people will continue to say "fuck ticketmaster".. when its really more like fuck the promoter, fuck the artist and fuck ticketmaster….

Sidehatch wrote:

mekmad wrote:
Watch this and you'll be happy to pay the fees, this is how the "Grateful Dead" is selling their tickets:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex9dLNaGxHo

this cracked me up…they certainly know their core audience.
The company who produced that video could probably make a profitable career with instructional videos for kids applying for college (community that is)

What I want to see now is the parody videos of this

Hysterical!

bearman wrote:

Sidehatch wrote:

mekmad wrote:
Watch this and you'll be happy to pay the fees, this is how the "Grateful Dead" is selling their tickets:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex9dLNaGxHo

this cracked me up…they certainly know their core audience.
The company who produced that video could probably make a profitable career with instructional videos for kids applying for college (community that is)

What I want to see now is the parody videos of this

Hysterical!

Oh, to have that video back in the day.  Imagine trying to gather those instructions over the phone via a recorded message…with no visuals…and no rewinding.  Miss that PO box number?  You have to sit through the entire recording again.  How much was that delivery fee?  Listen through the whole thing again.  Long-distance charges apply, too.  Screw up the slightest thing and you get rejected.  I think I have a photo of the answering machine somewhere…

This whole ticket charge discussion is so silly and absurd.  In the words of a certain government official "at this point what difference does it make".  if you pay $75 for a ticket does it really matter if on paper it says "ticket $75" or "ticket $5, fee $70".  You still end up paying $75.  If whining about irrelevant shit were an Olympic event we would have some gold medal candidates right here in this forum.

RatBastard wrote:  If whining about irrelevant shit

practically the reason why they invented the internet

Sidehatch wrote:

RatBastard wrote:  If whining about irrelevant shit

practically the reason why they invented the internet

You win the interwebs for today!