This month, pop star Rihanna postponed six dates on her Last Girl on Earth tour (fortunately not her shows at Staples Center with opener Ke$ha). The Lilith Tour had to cancel 10 concerts, and even Christina Aguilera axed her 20-date mini-tour because of "prior commitments" in June. Not to be left out The Eagles, the Jonas Brothers canceled shows and "American Idol" producers canceled eight engagements and rescheduled other dates on the "Idols Live!" tour.
"It's brutal out there," Jordan Kurland, manager of duo She&Him told The Times' Chris Lee recently. "The economy is still not great, and there's a lot of distractions people can choose from. Going to big rock concerts is not one of them."
Paul Tollett, president of Los Angeles-based concert promotion firm Goldenvoice, agreed, telling The Times that the company chose to "not be aggressive in buying a lot of shows" for 2010. "You go back 25 years, the big shows were on the weekends," Tollett, the creator of the Coachella festival, said . "Now you could have three shows on a Monday that are good. That's hard for the consumer. There's just so much to choose from."
Readers of the article were not so sure that the problem is too many choices. See some of their reactions after the jump:
ruskinite said: Slow ticket sales due to a "glut" of artists on tour? Oh pleeze. I used to attend FAR more concerts years ago when not only were ticket prices reasonable and affordable, but the QUALITY and quantity were much better. The last concert I attended was a way-overpriced Eagles concert earlier this year and only because the tickets were a birthday gift. The problem is that the ticket agencies (TicketMaster, LiveNation, etc.) have a near monopoly and can charge whatever they please using Mafia-styled intimidation tactics on venues and artists.
Bottom line....40% of tickets that sell in the secondary market (through brokers) sell for below FACE VALUE!
Musical Chairs Tickets is ticket brokerage firm supplying tickets to the best concerts, sporting events, and other special events around the world. Our tickets are 100% percent guaranteed!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Craigslist Ticket Scams
You’ve all heard it a million times… someone buys tickets second-hand and ends up the victim of fraud, holding tickets that are either fake or invalid. It’s a sad story, that we see all the time. They call us in a panic to get real tickets. The guy on Craigslist or the girl standing outside the theater *looked* trustworthy, didn’t they? Problem is, there’s no accountability. Once you pay for the tickets, that person’s gone forever. Can’t report them, can’t reverse credit card charges, nothing!
That story is one of the reasons we exist. We’re accountable for every sale we make. By choosing tickets from us, you’re buying not only tickets, but peace of mind. We guarantee every sale. You’ll get what you ordered, in time for the event, and the tickets will be good! If there is a problem you have my personal cell phone number and I will get you in – unlike that guy on Craigslist, you know where to find us. We are celebrating our 20th year here in Brentwood.
We stand behind every sale we make, and that’s definitely not something you’ll get buying tickets last-minute on the street. Bookmark us and let us take care of your tickets next time you have a big night planned! Remember - you get what you pay for.
Brad Schy
That story is one of the reasons we exist. We’re accountable for every sale we make. By choosing tickets from us, you’re buying not only tickets, but peace of mind. We guarantee every sale. You’ll get what you ordered, in time for the event, and the tickets will be good! If there is a problem you have my personal cell phone number and I will get you in – unlike that guy on Craigslist, you know where to find us. We are celebrating our 20th year here in Brentwood.
We stand behind every sale we make, and that’s definitely not something you’ll get buying tickets last-minute on the street. Bookmark us and let us take care of your tickets next time you have a big night planned! Remember - you get what you pay for.
Brad Schy
Monday, April 26, 2010
Roger Waters The Wall Concert Tour
This is the music event of a lifetime! Roger Waters will be re-creating the legendary album The Wall this fall as he tours across America! I will be sending out concert schedules and ticketing information as it become available.
Rock On,
Brad Schy
Rock On,
Brad Schy
Thursday, April 22, 2010
10 Things the Ticket Industry Doesn't Want You To Know
The Wall Street Journal wrote an article two years ago titled “10 THINGS TICKET BROKERS WON’T TELL YOU” (talk about calling the kettle black. How about 10 things Wall Street won’t tell you…um make it a 1000!). Anyhow, we plan to tell all and answer questions you might ask in our Musical Chairs blog. We will address the “10 Things” over the next few weeks.
“We Thrive On Your Confusion”
In recent years you may have noticed the options for buying event tickets have been expanding. It is not very confusing (leave that to Wall Street) if you break it into two markets: The Primary market & the Secondary Market. The Primary market is the buyers and sellers tickets (think ITO-Initial Ticket Offering) issued for the FIRST time. This includes venue box offices, fan clubs, event promoters, teams selling season and individual game tickets, Telecharge (mostly plays) and the 1000 pound gorilla in the industry-Ticketmaster/Live Nation (Now known as Live Nation Entertainment “LNE”). Today, due to their control of most venues, LNE has acquired a virtual monopoly on primary ticketing.
The Secondary market refers to the re-selling of tickets that have already been sold on the Primary market. Historically, it has been cheaper to buy tickets from the PRIMARY market if they were available, but these days almost 50% of tickets are sold for less than face value on the secondary market. For Example, Dodger Dugout Club seats have a $600 face Value and are generally sold in the secondary market for approximately $300-$350 per ticket (When the Dodgers are winning!!). There are three main segments of the secondary market: Consolidators, ticket brokers and eBay/craigslist. Consolidators are the mass marketers of tickets, the majority of which are owned by Ticket Brokers with a minority of tickets owned by individuals. These include StubHub (which is promoted as a fan-fan exchange, but in reality is actually a broker to fan exchange), TicketsNow (Owned by TicketMaster), Ticket Liquidator (Part of something called Ticket Network), and RazorGator as well as Team Websites. Aside from RazorGator, which is somewhat of a hybrid, the KEY attribute of a consolidator is they do NOT own/speculate on tickets. One of the problems of buying fan to fan, especially from Stub Hub, is the following: I apologize for the delay in the confirmation of your order 32107252. When you buy tickets at StubHub, you are buying from other fans that have chosen to sell their tickets. We do everything we can to ensure that sellers honor all sales. Unfortunately, in this case, the seller is unable to confirm your ticket order. While they often try to replace the tickets, when a good deal does occur they often can’t replace the tickets nor will they spend the market price to do so.
The problem for a seller going to a consolidator is that they will never buy them from you outright. As a seller you can sometimes make more money this way, but it is often more time consuming than selling the tickets to a broker and puts you in the role of broker. Most importantly, you are putting yourself at risk for the tickets not selling. One of the psychological problems of Sellers is they tend to over-value their personal assets (we rarely see that in the Real Estate market). Thus, some good advice for those of you who want to play the role of speculator/broker: If you put tickets up on one of these sites, you are best to monitor them frequently and adjust to market fluctuations as the prices change-sometimes rapidly and generally downward. Call a knowledgeable broker or two to see what they would pay. Put it slightly (10-30%) above that price as opposed to competing with other often overpriced tickets and riding the market down. The market one sees on the internet is often inaccurate and overpriced.
If you do get someone to help you at a consolidator such as Stub Hub, TicketsNow or Ticket Network they generally know little if anything about helping someone get value. The employees engaged with the public are low paid and know little about the events. The main skill of these companies are mass marketing and internet search Optimization. For example, call Stub Hub sometime and ask about the seat numbers in section D or E at the Hollywood Bowl. I believe that they could not tell you that seats 5-7 are substantially different than seats 33-35 (neither are great, but the view is substantially better from 5-7 than 33-35). In fact, Stub hub often cannot even tell you which seat numbers you are getting. At TicketsNow many employees are former TicketMaster operators. Have any of you enjoyed that ordeal? It would be surprising if they could even count to 35 and may think seat 34 is between 33 & 35 (the seats are numbered odd or one side of the bowl and even on the other).
Part 2 next week...
Rock On,
Brad Schy, The Ticket Maestro of Musical Chairs
“We Thrive On Your Confusion”
In recent years you may have noticed the options for buying event tickets have been expanding. It is not very confusing (leave that to Wall Street) if you break it into two markets: The Primary market & the Secondary Market. The Primary market is the buyers and sellers tickets (think ITO-Initial Ticket Offering) issued for the FIRST time. This includes venue box offices, fan clubs, event promoters, teams selling season and individual game tickets, Telecharge (mostly plays) and the 1000 pound gorilla in the industry-Ticketmaster/Live Nation (Now known as Live Nation Entertainment “LNE”). Today, due to their control of most venues, LNE has acquired a virtual monopoly on primary ticketing.
The Secondary market refers to the re-selling of tickets that have already been sold on the Primary market. Historically, it has been cheaper to buy tickets from the PRIMARY market if they were available, but these days almost 50% of tickets are sold for less than face value on the secondary market. For Example, Dodger Dugout Club seats have a $600 face Value and are generally sold in the secondary market for approximately $300-$350 per ticket (When the Dodgers are winning!!). There are three main segments of the secondary market: Consolidators, ticket brokers and eBay/craigslist. Consolidators are the mass marketers of tickets, the majority of which are owned by Ticket Brokers with a minority of tickets owned by individuals. These include StubHub (which is promoted as a fan-fan exchange, but in reality is actually a broker to fan exchange), TicketsNow (Owned by TicketMaster), Ticket Liquidator (Part of something called Ticket Network), and RazorGator as well as Team Websites. Aside from RazorGator, which is somewhat of a hybrid, the KEY attribute of a consolidator is they do NOT own/speculate on tickets. One of the problems of buying fan to fan, especially from Stub Hub, is the following: I apologize for the delay in the confirmation of your order 32107252. When you buy tickets at StubHub, you are buying from other fans that have chosen to sell their tickets. We do everything we can to ensure that sellers honor all sales. Unfortunately, in this case, the seller is unable to confirm your ticket order. While they often try to replace the tickets, when a good deal does occur they often can’t replace the tickets nor will they spend the market price to do so.
The problem for a seller going to a consolidator is that they will never buy them from you outright. As a seller you can sometimes make more money this way, but it is often more time consuming than selling the tickets to a broker and puts you in the role of broker. Most importantly, you are putting yourself at risk for the tickets not selling. One of the psychological problems of Sellers is they tend to over-value their personal assets (we rarely see that in the Real Estate market). Thus, some good advice for those of you who want to play the role of speculator/broker: If you put tickets up on one of these sites, you are best to monitor them frequently and adjust to market fluctuations as the prices change-sometimes rapidly and generally downward. Call a knowledgeable broker or two to see what they would pay. Put it slightly (10-30%) above that price as opposed to competing with other often overpriced tickets and riding the market down. The market one sees on the internet is often inaccurate and overpriced.
If you do get someone to help you at a consolidator such as Stub Hub, TicketsNow or Ticket Network they generally know little if anything about helping someone get value. The employees engaged with the public are low paid and know little about the events. The main skill of these companies are mass marketing and internet search Optimization. For example, call Stub Hub sometime and ask about the seat numbers in section D or E at the Hollywood Bowl. I believe that they could not tell you that seats 5-7 are substantially different than seats 33-35 (neither are great, but the view is substantially better from 5-7 than 33-35). In fact, Stub hub often cannot even tell you which seat numbers you are getting. At TicketsNow many employees are former TicketMaster operators. Have any of you enjoyed that ordeal? It would be surprising if they could even count to 35 and may think seat 34 is between 33 & 35 (the seats are numbered odd or one side of the bowl and even on the other).
Part 2 next week...
Rock On,
Brad Schy, The Ticket Maestro of Musical Chairs
Friday, September 25, 2009
Musical Chairs Tickets Donates Tickets to Ronald McDonald House
I am so proud to announce our involvement with such a wonderful charity! Musical Chairs Tickets has always been involved in our community. I have served on the Board of Directors to UCLA's Unicamp Chairty for years and I am so glad that the ticket industry as a whole has come up with a way for our industry to give back as well.
Musical Chairs Tickets Gives Back
NATB Announces Partnership with Ronald McDonald House Charities®
Members to Support Families in Need with Ticket Donations and Volunteering
OAK BROOK, Ill. (August 7, 2009) - Today, Ronald McDonald House Charities® (RMHC®) announced a multi-year parternship with the National Association of Ticket Brokers (NATB) that includes ticket donations to select Ronald McDonald Houses Charities in the United States and volunteerism by members of the NATB family. As of August 1, 2009, NATB members across the country have donated of 2,000 tickets to their local RMHC Chapters.
"We are proud to be associated with the NATB, which has approximately 175 member ticket brokers in the United States," said Marty Coyne, president and CEO of RMHC. "RMHC and our local Chapters rely on the generous donations of our corporate partners and NATB is providing valuable contributions in terms of volunteers and entertainment for our families. Our families are going through difficult medical situations with their child, and NATB is giving them a chance to relax and take their mind of their worries - if only for a few moments. This partnership is a natural extension of our mission to support families - both financially and emotionally - during a very difficult time in their lives."
In August 2009, NATB will commence their partnership by launching their "32 for 32" program. This three year initiative will donate 32 tickets for every NFL preseason game in each of the 32 NFL markets. Additionally, NATB members will donate 32 hours of volunteerism in each of those 32 NFL markets. And this is just the beginning, as other initiatives will be announced in the coming months. NATB also hopes to establish a unique ticket donation and volunteer program that encourages its members to get involved with local Ronald McDonald Houses and RMHC events in their community.
"The NATB is proud to partner with such an incredible organization. Several of our members have worked with Houses on a local level by donating tickets and volunteering to cook a meal. Now, we get to take it National and give back in a big way," said Tom Patania, NATB President. "When we first brought this opportunity to our board, the vote was unanimous. Our membership is completely dedicated to helping these kids and their families in any way we can."
About the Ronald McDonald House Program:The Ronald McDonald House program provides families with a "home away from home" while their children receive treatment in a nearby hospital or medical facility. Here, family members can sleep, eat, relax and find support from other families in similar situations. The House program allows families to stay together, which helps aid in the healing process. There are more than 287 Ronald McDonald Houses open in 30 countries and regions worldwide.
About RMHC Ronald McDonald House Charities, a non-profit 501 (c) (3) corporation, creates, finds and supports programs that directly improve the health and well being of children. Its programs are grassroots-driven to enable the Charity to offer help where children need it most - right in their own communities. RMHC makes an immediate, positive impact on children's lives through its global network of local Chapters in more than 52 countries and regions and its three core programs: Ronald McDonald House®, Ronald McDonald Family Room® and Ronald McDonald Care Mobile®. RMHC and its global network of local Chapters have awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in grants and program services to children's programs around the world. For more information, visit www.rmhc.org.
About National Association of Ticket Brokers
The NATB was formed in 1994 by a group of concerned ticket brokers who desired to establish an industry-wide standard of conduct and to create ethical rules and procedures to protect the public and foster a positive perception of the industry. While the goals of the NATB are many, our primary goal is to represent the interests of legitimate ticket brokers by promoting consumer protection and educating the public about our industry. This is done by assuring the public that when dealing with an NATB member, they are working with an honest, reliable broker that will deliver what is promised. In addition, the NATB has created a platform that allows the public to report unethical conduct by ticket brokers.
About NATB Gives Back
NATB Gives Back was formed by the NATB Board of Directors with the mission of making a positive impact in the communities which support its member businesses. NATB Gives Back endeavors to do this by providing leadership, programs, and education to the NATB members and by forging partnerships with charitable and community organizations.
Additional information is available at http://www.natb.org/
Members to Support Families in Need with Ticket Donations and Volunteering
OAK BROOK, Ill. (August 7, 2009) - Today, Ronald McDonald House Charities® (RMHC®) announced a multi-year parternship with the National Association of Ticket Brokers (NATB) that includes ticket donations to select Ronald McDonald Houses Charities in the United States and volunteerism by members of the NATB family. As of August 1, 2009, NATB members across the country have donated of 2,000 tickets to their local RMHC Chapters.
"We are proud to be associated with the NATB, which has approximately 175 member ticket brokers in the United States," said Marty Coyne, president and CEO of RMHC. "RMHC and our local Chapters rely on the generous donations of our corporate partners and NATB is providing valuable contributions in terms of volunteers and entertainment for our families. Our families are going through difficult medical situations with their child, and NATB is giving them a chance to relax and take their mind of their worries - if only for a few moments. This partnership is a natural extension of our mission to support families - both financially and emotionally - during a very difficult time in their lives."
In August 2009, NATB will commence their partnership by launching their "32 for 32" program. This three year initiative will donate 32 tickets for every NFL preseason game in each of the 32 NFL markets. Additionally, NATB members will donate 32 hours of volunteerism in each of those 32 NFL markets. And this is just the beginning, as other initiatives will be announced in the coming months. NATB also hopes to establish a unique ticket donation and volunteer program that encourages its members to get involved with local Ronald McDonald Houses and RMHC events in their community.
"The NATB is proud to partner with such an incredible organization. Several of our members have worked with Houses on a local level by donating tickets and volunteering to cook a meal. Now, we get to take it National and give back in a big way," said Tom Patania, NATB President. "When we first brought this opportunity to our board, the vote was unanimous. Our membership is completely dedicated to helping these kids and their families in any way we can."
About the Ronald McDonald House Program:The Ronald McDonald House program provides families with a "home away from home" while their children receive treatment in a nearby hospital or medical facility. Here, family members can sleep, eat, relax and find support from other families in similar situations. The House program allows families to stay together, which helps aid in the healing process. There are more than 287 Ronald McDonald Houses open in 30 countries and regions worldwide.
About RMHC Ronald McDonald House Charities, a non-profit 501 (c) (3) corporation, creates, finds and supports programs that directly improve the health and well being of children. Its programs are grassroots-driven to enable the Charity to offer help where children need it most - right in their own communities. RMHC makes an immediate, positive impact on children's lives through its global network of local Chapters in more than 52 countries and regions and its three core programs: Ronald McDonald House®, Ronald McDonald Family Room® and Ronald McDonald Care Mobile®. RMHC and its global network of local Chapters have awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in grants and program services to children's programs around the world. For more information, visit www.rmhc.org.
About National Association of Ticket Brokers
The NATB was formed in 1994 by a group of concerned ticket brokers who desired to establish an industry-wide standard of conduct and to create ethical rules and procedures to protect the public and foster a positive perception of the industry. While the goals of the NATB are many, our primary goal is to represent the interests of legitimate ticket brokers by promoting consumer protection and educating the public about our industry. This is done by assuring the public that when dealing with an NATB member, they are working with an honest, reliable broker that will deliver what is promised. In addition, the NATB has created a platform that allows the public to report unethical conduct by ticket brokers.
About NATB Gives Back
NATB Gives Back was formed by the NATB Board of Directors with the mission of making a positive impact in the communities which support its member businesses. NATB Gives Back endeavors to do this by providing leadership, programs, and education to the NATB members and by forging partnerships with charitable and community organizations.
Additional information is available at http://www.natb.org/
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