Seatwave Closing Down

Esel

"Ticketmaster Platinum Tickets: a ticket only option for the best areas and views in the house, available at market driven prices."

FFS. Shouldn't be allowed, imo.

Suckit

Toast wrote: »

Boycott them. It's real simple because they are too goddamn expensive. TM are stuck then. It is lost revenue if they don't sell them at all.

Boycott is only effective if many do it, and better with most. I can't imagine that happening here at the moment or ever, unless ticketmaster release a photo of them after shooting a Lion during a hunting trip in Africa or something else that causes equal outrage for a few days.

Toast

Suckit wrote: »

Boycott is only effective if many do it, and better with most. I can't imagine that happening here at the moment or ever, unless ticketmaster release a photo of them after shooting a Lion during a hunting trip in Africa or something else that causes equal outrage for a few days.

I meant just don't buy Platinum tickets. Pearl Jam tried the boycott Ticketmaster thing... it didn't pan out.

Suckit

Toast wrote: »

I meant just don't buy Platinum tickets. Pearl Jam tried the boycott Ticketmaster thing... it didn't pan out.

I know, and I'm agreeing. I just can't see enough people doing it.
They'd probably just make the platinum area bigger for the next gig, and wait people out. Gig approaching half the boycotters already bought their platinum ticket.

I remember Pearl Jam trying it, pity more didn't. I also remember the massive unsuccesful anti-live nation (under the original name and then newer name) internet campaign in the early 2000's. Possibly one of the first Internet campaigns that big. That was just steamrolled over. Swatted aside without any effort.

Exclamation Marc

I legitimately don't know anyone who's ever bought platinum tickets and they always end up on sale a few weeks before the gig.

I've only ever seen seriously good seats on it and for stupid prices but never that many. It's certainly never that many on sale either.

phunkadelic

I admire the optimism Toast, but I don't see cause for it.
Mass boycott of platinum won't happen. If it was that simple to get people together for a boycott, the masses would have boycotted seatwave and viagogo.
The same fools that paid double face value on those sites will now pay 4 times FV on platinum.

phunkadelic

Exclamation Marc wrote: »

I legitimately don't know anyone who's ever bought platinum tickets and they always end up on sale a few weeks before the gig.

I've only ever seen seriously good seats on it and for stupid prices but never that many. It's certainly never that many on sale either.

That will change, I guarantee it. They will keep more aside for it from now on

Exclamation Marc

phunkadelic wrote: »

That will change, I guarantee it. They will keep more aside for it from now on

Pure unfounded speculation. Not even worth arguing with.

phunkadelic

Exclamation Marc wrote: »

Pure unfounded speculation. Not even worth arguing with.

Come on now, a big monopolistic corporation like Ticketmaster. Why are you trusting them to not gouge you? Their bonuses depend on these profits.
Platinum is already here on the ticketmaster Ireland site, you can see it on the Elton John listing. In the last year they have had lots of VIP/Platinum/Ultimate upgrade/Hot Ticket/Early Entry. Just different names to justify charging extra for the same seats.
https://www.ticketmaster.ie/Britney-Spears-tickets/artist/945152

They have already implemented dynamic pricing in the US. If that works out, you can be sure they will bring it in here too.

Suckit

Live Nation just bought 50% stake in MCD

https://www.breakingnews.ie/business/live-nation-buys-50-stake-in-concert-promoter-mcd-862528.html

Exclamation Marc

phunkadelic wrote: »

Come on now, a big monopolistic corporation like Ticketmaster. Why are you trusting them to not gouge you? Their bonuses depend on these profits.
Platinum is already here on the ticketmaster Ireland site, you can see it on the Elton John listing. In the last year they have had lots of VIP/Platinum/Ultimate upgrade/Hot Ticket/Early Entry. Just different names to justify charging extra for the same seats.
https://www.ticketmaster.ie/Britney-Spears-tickets/artist/945152

They have already implemented dynamic pricing in the US. If that works out, you can be sure they will bring it in here too.

Again, speculation. A small amount of seats are available on platinum and have been for years. Nothing new. There is no evidence that Seatwave closing will hugely impact the numbers on sale.

Zardoz

Suckit wrote: »

Live Nation just bought 50% stake in MCD

https://www.breakingnews.ie/business/live-nation-buys-50-stake-in-concert-promoter-mcd-862528.html

Not surprising as Denis Desmond has been Head of Live Nation UK and Ireland for the last few years and Live Nation have been managing the Olympia and Gaeity for the last few years.
Livenation are a monopoly now ,a money hungry behemoth .

phunkadelic

Exclamation Marc wrote: »

Again, speculation. A small amount of seats are available on platinum and have been for years. Nothing new. There is no evidence that Seatwave closing will hugely impact the numbers on sale.

'A small amount of seats are available on platinum'. Any stats to back that up?
We can check back in on it in about a year. And you can eat your words.

ghostdancer

phunkadelic wrote: »

'A small amount of seats are available on platinum'. Any stats to back that up?
We can check back in on it in about a year. And you can eat your words.

there's 6 for the Elton John link you posted yesterday (in one group of 4, and one group of 2).

out of 13,000.

so that's 0.04%

Exclamation Marc

phunkadelic wrote: »

'A small amount of seats are available on platinum'. Any stats to back that up?
We can check back in on it in about a year. And you can eat your words.

Yep I do. I can check now and see a tiny percentage of tickets that are in the platinum category for a few gigs.

It's not about eating words, it's just that you're speculating that's what will happen out of ticketmaster paranoia rather than having any evidence to justify it.

I'm not saying it absolutely won't happen but there's no guarantee it will like you and others are pointing out.

And I really can't see an artist or more so a promoter letting ticketmaster take massive chunks of their sales for reserved seats and risk less sales.

Zardoz

phunkadelic wrote: »

They have already implemented dynamic pricing in the US. If that works out, you can be sure they will bring it in here too.

Dynamic Pricing has been in the US for over 7 years ,its not a new thing .
http://theticketinginstitute.com/ticketmaster-adopts-dynamic-pricing/

U2 had it on their tours last year and this year .
In some venues tickets that were $325 dollars were slashed to $65 closer to the gig.
It was also used for U2's Milan gigs this Oct ,tickets were halved in price less than a week after going on sale .
Thats some kick in the face for people who bought early.

I dont like it ,its a manipulative practice ,designed to extract as much money from the fans as possible.
Livenations thinking is if Mr Scalper is getting $325 for that seat ,why cant we get the same amount .
Well Mr Scalper isnt selling the whole building and artists have to draw a line between charging what the market will bear and what is deemed fair to loyal fans.

Everything about how Livenation sell tickets is manipulation .
Create demand and hype by labelling an event a sell out when its not.
Have presales first,put the worst seats on offer in it , shift any old crap out ,the big fans will buy anything .
If they cant get any normal priced tickets ,they might panic and but the VIP junk or Platinum junk.
We can always sell off the better seats closer to the event ,is their mantra.

Patience is the key to getting into a popular gig ,hardly any are ever truly sold out .

Zardoz

Exclamation Marc wrote: »

Yep I do. I can check now and see a tiny percentage of tickets that are in the platinum category for a few gigs.

They drip feed the Platinum tickets ,to drive demand
https://www.vibetickets.co.uk/blog/articles/ticketmasters-official-platinum-seats-program-enables

Again, speculation. A small amount of seats are available on platinum and have been for years. Nothing new. There is no evidence that Seatwave closing will hugely impact the numbers on sale.

Well the founder of Seatwave has said he expects ticket prices to rise considerably

The avg price fans pay will be up double-digits in the coming months. Merging primary and secondary makes sense on a number of fronts, but it's not because ticket sellers and promoters are going to make less. This is a shift in value from brokers2 agents/rightsholders

Industry insider and consultant Tim Chambers took to Twitter to similarly predict that the Platinum tickets will grow in popularity within the sector.

He said: “Another Expected Outcome Will Be The Expansion by @Ticketmaster Of The Artist & Promoter Endorsed ‘Platinum’ #Tickets Market-Driven Pricing & Other Revenue Management Policies: Timing, Location, Bundling, Packaging, Membership & Premium Services.”

phunkadelic

ghostdancer wrote: »

there's 6 for the Elton John link you posted yesterday (in one group of 4, and one group of 2).

out of 13,000.

so that's 0.04%

4 left, god knows how many sold

phunkadelic

Exclamation Marc wrote: »

And I really can't see an artist or more so a promoter letting ticketmaster take massive chunks of their sales for reserved seats and risk less sales.

It doesn't risk sales, they just put them into general sales allocation if they don't sell as platinum

Exclamation Marc

phunkadelic wrote: »

It doesn't risk sales, they just put them into general sales allocation if they don't sell as platinum

Of course it risks sales. If you have 100 tickets at platinum left that are platinum and 200 people want them, by the time that allocation goes back to general sale prices, those 200 people might be down to 50 or 75 given the proximity to the gig.

Also, those platinum tickets are nearly only ever tickets in the front rows of seating. They're not general standing or bang average seats.

Zardoz

Exclamation Marc wrote: »

Also, those platinum tickets are nearly only ever tickets in the front rows of seating. They're not general standing or bang average seats.

That's not correct .
Have a look at the Platinum seats for U2 in Dublin ,they are upper tier in the corners .
They have standing too ,in a VIP pack for 775 euro .:eek:
The VIP escorted walk looks very good.

U2 VIP Party Pkg: (max purchase allowed: 4 per order) · ONE General Admission standing ticket to see U2 live at 3Arena, Dublin · VIP Escorted walk from off-site party space to U2 show · Pre-show reception with hors d'oeuvres & bar (beer & wine)*food offerings may vary. · Exclusive U2 VIP Package gift, not available to general public · VIP entrance into the concert · Official U2 laminate · Entry into a drawing for a pre show backstage tour · Limited availability

phunkadelic

Another way they will offset loss of Seatwave profits is graduated pricing for better rows. I have seen this already with events in the Olympia, like Paramore. First few rows they charge about 50% extra.
This is different from platinum, they are not marked as anything different from the normal tickets.
So instead of all the Olympia circle costing €30 plus fees, it'll be €45 for the front 3 rows, €35 for most of the rest and €30 for limited visibility.

.......

phunkadelic wrote: »

Another way they will offset loss of Seatwave profits is graduated pricing for better rows. I have seen this already with events in the Olympia, like Paramore. First few rows they charge about 50% extra.
This is different from platinum, they are not marked as anything different from the normal tickets.
So instead of all the Olympia circle costing €30 plus fees, it'll be €45 for the front 3 rows, €35 for most of the rest and €30 for limited visibility.

Theatres have always priced this way.

Actually the first 3 rows are not usually considered great seats because theyre too close to the stage (with a raised stage).

But all theatres have always priced seats in accordance with how good the seats are.

Zardoz

phunkadelic wrote: »

Another way they will offset loss of Seatwave profits is graduated pricing for better rows.

But Seatwave wasnt profit making ,thats the whole point.

Kind of strange that they couldn't make a profit considering the dog on the street believed that Ticketmaster directly put thousands of tickets for each sold out event on there immediately after 9am.
Oh wait ...

https://twitter.com/ChloeKeedyITV/status/1030119579287269376

phunkadelic

....... wrote: »

Theatres have always priced this way.

Actually the first 3 rows are not usually considered great seats because theyre too close to the stage (with a raised stage).

But all theatres have always priced seats in accordance with how good the seats are.

Theatres like BGE and NCH yes, but the Olympia never did. It had one price for the whole circle, except for the restricted view ones, which were about 10% less

cruhoortwunk

Zardoz wrote: »

But Seatwave wasnt profit making ,thats the whole point.

Kind of strange that they couldn't make a profit considering the dog on the street believed that Ticketmaster directly put thousands of tickets for each sold out event on there immediately after 9am.
Oh wait ...

https://twitter.com/ChloeKeedyITV/status/1030119579287269376

They have been losing out to Viagogo in a big way of late. Since they stopped linking from TM sold out listings to their Seatwave listings.
But they know that there is a lot of money being made in resale (mostly by Viagogo with their google search engine optimisation).

Exclamation Marc

So surely if they've been losing out to Viagogo for a long time, this extra platinum seating paranoid theory should already be in place...?

So then closing Seatwave is a good thing, with hopefully Viagogo to follow when legislation is in force.

Zardoz

cruhoortwunk wrote: »

They have been losing out to Viagogo in a big way of late. Since they stopped linking from TM sold out listings to their Seatwave listings.
But they know that there is a lot of money being made in resale (mostly by Viagogo with their google search engine optimisation).

Have they stopped linking from TM to Seatwave , I don't think they have ?
I've seen Seatwave links on Ticketmaster for sold out events recently.

Google must be making an absolute fortune from Viagogo ,there really is no other explanation as to why Viagogo have such a large section of the market as they are a truly vile company that treat their customers like dirt .
Its a pity that its not them instead of Seatwave closing down.

Former Former

Zardoz wrote: »

But Seatwave wasnt profit making ,thats the whole point.

Kind of strange that they couldn't make a profit considering the dog on the street believed that Ticketmaster directly put thousands of tickets for each sold out event on there immediately after 9am.
Oh wait ...

I have no inside info on Ticketmaster or Seatwave, but when a company is a wholly owned subsidiary of another company, it's very, very easy to make it look like the subsidiary is losing money (or making money) if it suits the parent company to do so, regardless of the reality of it.

Suckit

Former Former wrote: »

I have no inside info on Ticketmaster or Seatwave, but when a company is a wholly owned subsidiary of another company, it's very, very easy to make it look like the subsidiary is losing money (or making money) if it suits the parent company to do so, regardless of the reality of it.

It is, but...
They make money from the sales on both sides. (So it would apparently show up :rolleyes:)
So *if* TM were throwing 120 tickets up for a gig for example @ €100 per ticket, then they would appear on SW @ €140 (for example). The buyer is also charged a fee (€10 for example). That would mean that SW could have made a potential €6000 for that gig alone, from having nothing.
And TM would have to tell everyone that they did that, so that the people would know. But are TM and SW two separate companies, or are they just supposed to act like two separate companies?
Or maybe some nasty person that works in TM and has help in SW could buy a load of tickets and put them on SW and hide their true identity..

I don't believe there is that much smoke without so much as a spark.


The example prices were to make the maths easier..