Icepicks and Nukes

Go Schumer…

Schumer Calls for Ticketmaster Probe Over Suspicious Springsteen Sales
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., call for an investigation into Ticketmaster, after Bruce Springsteen fans complain about being ripped off.

Sen. Charles Schumer wants to show Ticketmaster who’s boss, after hundreds of Bruce Springsteen fans complained they were ripped off by the ticket seller’s Web site.

Fans reported that when they tried to buy tickets for Springsteen’s upcoming tour last Monday, they were redirected from the Ticketmaster site to a subsidiary, TicketsNow, which specializes in reselling tickets above face value.

Schumer, D-N.Y., on Sunday joined Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., in calling for the Federal Trade Commission to investigate.

“It was a classic bait-and-switch,” Schumer said. “‘We don’t have the tickets at $75, but maybe this site has them at $200.’ Guess what? The same people owned both sites.”

And this angry Canadian customer has my full support too.

Scalping suit filed against Ticketmaster in Canada

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) – Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc was hit with a C$500 million ($410 million) lawsuit in Canada on Monday, alleging the company broke the law by reselling tickets at inflated prices. A Toronto man who tried to buy two tickets to a November 2008 concert by the band Smashing Pumpkins alleges Ticketmaster’s website said none were available, but redirected him to the website of the company’s TicketsNow resale unit.

I’ve loathed Ticketmaster for years. They rip you off on surcharges and it is very difficult for the average fan to get a good seat for a major act like Springsteen because the system is so stacked in favor of scalpers. As if these third party ticketing agencies weren’t bad enough, now Ticketmaster wants a piece of the action by creating their own company?

I hope they get taken out to the woodshed for this, by state and/or federal lawmakers.