Tickets: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

[@GoErikTheRed]

Compared to the usual show topic, this almost felt like a feel-good story

[@kalbininkas]

It's unusual to see him not punching down.

[@user-en7dx1qp3k]

The first part of the show was about Ukraine and the Don't say gay bill so definitely not a feel good episode but this one story was unusually light-hearted

[@ilsedevries2529]

Probably preparing us for a horror story next week

[@alexirios420]

Yea

[@FelisImpurrator]

@@kalbininkas Bawww, poor little victim.

[@duchesnejennifer]

Pearl Jam didn't just try to tour without Ticketmaster, they tried to stop it from becoming the monopoly that it is. They even testified in front of Congress, trying to get ticket prices down to a level their fans could afford. No one backed them up, so here we are. But at least they're still trying to keep their concerts affordable and inclusive.

[@battlescorn]

Factual. No one backed them up. Perhaps if social media was around they might have had more support.

[@F1Fanatic76]

I saw that ticketmaster-less tour that Pearl Jam had in the mid-90s at Soldier Field

[@zweigackroyd7301]

@@PartlySunny74 Because governments need to intervene when fans are too unwilling to exercise market power? Nonsense. This isn't some necessity of life, and if people are unwilling to miss a concert to send a message, that's their problem. Save tax dollars and political capital for things that matter.

[@danilooliveira6580]

@@zweigackroyd7301 because people are stupid and they don't know they can fight for their rights and just assume that is just how things are. all those people complaining about expensive ticket prices probably still bought a ticket and watched the show, because they are not going to look for a cheaper show when they really want to watch their favorite artists. so the companies know that they can charge as much as they want. its still a company exploiting people ignorance and its the government job to protect people from their own ignorance. its just like the right to repair, people could just buy android instead, but a lot of people want to buy Iphones, and a lot of people want those Iphone buyers to be able to repair their phones, or they want to buy Iphones (because its still a amazing hardware), but want to be able to repair them, but they know they will never be able to talk with their wallets because Apple is huge, full of mindless minions, and don't give a fuck.

[@lazypops3117]

@@zweigackroyd7301 because monopolizing a market is bad practice and betrays trust in market economics. Regulation is the least a government can do, no one is asking to nationalize the industry.

[@raymoreclef]

So let me get this straight. I stand outside the venue and sell my ticket did $5 above market value, it's illegal. When the company itself holds tickets and then upcharges them by 100% or more... its a fine buisness practice. Man I hate how this world works.

[@julierogers1155]

You got it.

[@robertrivera3025]

Become a LLC and resale them yourself for a lower price then the "man" and boom ruin their business plan

[@fcos9704]

capitalism at its finest, look at oil companies rn and there's a perfect example for u

[@monicarodriguez9797]

Let's stop spending our money in unless things like concerts

[@apruebadeidiotas]

* I hate how America works In many other places that's illegal. In my country Uruguay almost all tickets are untransferable and reselling of any kind in forbidden.

[@thestonedabbot9551]

Arresting ticket scalpers who physically stand outside concerts with tickets to sell but then allowing corporations to do the same on an industrial basis is class warfare

[@ribbonsofnight]

If you regard corporations as a class then it's harder to identify things that are not class warfare.

[@jimmyjames8141]

@@ribbonsofnight what’s even worse is that corporations are considered “people” which John Oliver also did a segment on loooool

[@projectpitchfork860]

@@ribbonsofnight Well they are. At least the capitalists running them, who take almost all of the profit.

[@vxxiii4160]

Hold on, that happens in the USA too? I thought only in countries like mine, Mexico, that was the usual on the outside of big events.

[@stinkinlincoln926]

But that's technically free market

[@kylemckinnon8468]

Every time John does a story, I feel like it should be followed by monumental change even when he reminds me of the crushing reality that nothing ever changes.

[@rapunzaln1]

Same!

[@GabrielPettier]

yeah, thinking about the one from last week now…

[@Beckimudd]

Oh god yes, this.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

It's sad knowing the biggest change that's happened as a result of this show was the change of the name of a sewage treatment plant in Danbury, Connecticut.

[@davidknightx]

One of these days, people will stop pointing fingers at this person or that company and ask themselves the question no one is asking...how and why is this happening? Stop looking at the trees and start looking at the forest.

[@KnitterX]

It's so refreshing that you're, for once, doing a topic that only infuriates me mildly.

[@tori9972]

Right lol it can be so exhausting loving John’s work

[@omegaRST]

Yes I was thinking about that too, it gets exhausting to look at horrible news even if in a comedy show

[@dauramarzuq7095]

Last week’s was pretty grim. I’m not even a US citizen but it was pretty heartbreaking, especially at the end with the lady and her wrongful conviction. This one is almost sunshine and rainbows lmao

[@Laremy]

Infuriates me to the point I wrote to Congress Oversight Committee 5 years ago about exactly this.

[@siscoismyhomey]

While the impacts are less damaging than most issues he covers here, this still infuriates me to the nth degree as an avid concert go-er. Just another example of greed on a mass scale.

[@romulusnr]

The CEO of Ticketmaster in 2009 advocated itemizing all tickets and a union for musicians. He was out in a year.

[@thomasedwardharrison2879]

Ouch

[@Bloodlyshiva]

I presume it was the board who threw him out rather than customer backlash? Tell me more.

[@Kas_Styles]

Who? Name?

[@jefflabbecomedy]

Just musicians, or all types of performers? This matters immensely. What was his name?

[@whoisxandra]

@@Kas_Styles probably Sean Moriarty. He was the CEO until 2009.

[@eddiereekie2403]

HBO needs to open a virtual museum of all the unnecessary things John made them buy

[@souviendra]

there was an empty room at the Met last time I visited, let's have a Last Week Tonight exhibition there

[@MermaidKerri]

YES

[@mho...]

cant wait to see the ticket prices for that exhibition 😅

[@brianwarner2171]

Virtual? I’d make a cross-country trek to see those wax presidents 😂

[@MrTerrakotta]

How do they keep Micky the Potato? It probably already spoiled since then... or ended as Micky the Meal.

[@truneilson]

I loved the Garth Brooks tour he did about 5 years ago... he flat out told scalpers to buy what they wanted and every time he sold out a show he would just add another and another. All tickets were $75 bucks to all shows... and he did like 11 shows in my city. This caused all the scalpers to get stuck holding all their tickets or to only be able to sell them for what they paid for them.

[@cchoi108]

Okay that's genius.

[@ChengJiaStat]

This is simply increasing the supply to a point that there is no difference between the face value of the tickets and the actual value of the tickets. Most artists can’t do this though. IDK how Garth did it, but it’s exhausting to put on a show night after night, and it certainly is not a sustainable solution to the problem even for Garth. That’s why the supply is always limited in this market. Non-transferable tickets are a great idea, but Ticketmaster will not allow that to become common practice cuz it hurts their bottom line as a multi billion dollar company and the fans don’t have a billion dollars lol

[@truneilson]

@@ChengJiaStat The other option is move, set up and break down the sets in a new city every day to do a single concert... seems like Garth got more money, was able to stay in one place for 2 weeks, only had to set up the stage once for a ton more money and less work, less miles less gas. It's a win for him, for the venue, for his crew and for his fans.

[@Tupiaz]

@@ChengJiaStat Funny that is the law in Europe and Ticketmaster does exist here. It is possible to make legislation which protects consumers.

[@ShaqPlaque]

I've worked for a resale company for seven years. In my honest, and knowledgeable opinion, Garth Brooks's choice to do this is the single most effective choice a performer has ever made at combating high ticket prices. It's supply and demand as John Oliver concedes. The performer can manage the supply side of the equation by adding shows.

[@jpegstripes]

As a musician, I love that John Oliver is bringing more attention to the fact that Ticketmaster is one of the most-hated companies ever. Thank you! Hopefully this catalyzes some sort of change!

[@nickc247]

Just don't go through Ticketmaster.

[@kempolar9768]

@@nickc247 Did...did you watch the episode? If you want to perform at the majority of larger venues then you don't have a choice.

[@nickc247]

@@kempolar9768 Except that's not true. Look it up.

[@jeffsmith9351]

@@nickc247 youre an incredible simple mind

[@nickc247]

@@jeffsmith9351 Incredibly simple because I suggested someone look stuff up instead of blindly believing the entire episode? If you say so.

[@jocylinbinkier4607]

i remember back in 2014 there was a "FREE" concert in LA but you had to get the tickets on ticketmaster... they charged like $16 for taxes and fees ON A FREE TICKET

[@SiRenfield]

I mean that’s still one hell of a deal if you think about it but still VERY misleading

[@joaogalante7712]

They did provided a service. The artist may work for free, but they decided that they would not.

[@Twentydragon]

Must've been a typo. They meant FEE ticket.

[@Dottie1039]

@@ichijofestival2576 Ticket Master needs a class action lawsuit to set them straight! The ballz to charge fees on a "FREE" concert!

[@coolioso808]

In a profit-based system, nothing much is ever actually free and if we keep using this messed up system, the profiteers are going to try to sell us fresh air.

[@janinebean4276]

I don’t understand how they can justify calling them “service fees” when you’re LITERALLY PRINTING THE TICKETS YOURSELF

[@poisonedkilljoy9304]

exactly! i can understand a £5 delivery fee for physical tickets (since a lot of the time they want to make sure the post is protected so you don’t get mad at them for a postal fuck up) but i still don’t understand where most of the fees come from!

[@JosephKano]

Cinema tickets... That are on your phone using your power and display. How do they justify that? Adding $3 on top of the ticket price.

[@quirkyblackenby]

I had to pay extra for a ticket for them to overnight the ticket to me. The best part is I bought the tickets months before the show so if they would’ve sent the ticket when I bought it they could’ve charged less for shipping but since they wanted to wait to send my ticket the day before I needed it I had to pay extra. Delightful. A $20 ticket ended up being $50.

[@jjgalletta66]

Ummm…the printing is the lowest cost part of the transaction. The website. The inventory management. Payment processing. Electronic content delivery. Digital rights management. The infrastructure to support all of the above are where the costs are. And, as someone who sells these solutions, I can tell you they aren’t cheap. Ticketmaster is a FOR PROFIT company - not a public trust or a charity. Hence, they are passing the costs onto YOU! If you don’t like it, DON’T use it.

[@janinebean4276]

@@jjgalletta66 they should just put that in the price of the ticket. And they don’t give you a choice to use something different because they created a monopoly basically. It’s shady business.

[@PinkiePi]

I feel like a lot of John's shows could be summarized as "money runs the world, you poor chumps are being exploited, and people are fucked up". One of my favorite shows though. He is just delightful and hilarious.

[@AbsentWithoutLeaving]

The problem with that attitude, though, is that WE have the money that they want. It's up to us whether to give it to them or not. We need to rediscover the power of the union - joining together to just say "Oh HELL no." When did we all turn into such wimps? Oh, yeah, I forgot - we're FREEEEEEE and we don't have to work with anyone else. smh

[@mleko23]

I'd rather say "greed is terrible, abuse reaching celling, and you poore fuckers can only watch"

[@maargenbx1454]

Documenting the many, many ways people are being exploited is a valuable service.

[@jschuler53]

@@AbsentWithoutLeaving I agree. Bring back the unions, they don't put up with this shit. Free-smh

[@spongeintheshoe]

He's drawing attention to these issues in a way that makes them palatable.

[@MsSissiePooh]

This is the reason why Ticketmaster is frequently called “TicketBastard”. The fees that they slap on concert tickets are simply insane.

[@0Wayland]

Yet people keep buying.

[@saml302]

Burns: And to think, Smithers. You laughed when I bought TicketMaster. "Nobody's going to pay a 100% service charge." Smithers: Well, it's a policy that ensures a healthy mix of the rich and the ignorant, sir.

[@textschmied]

Insane but calculatedly brutal. Look at the careers of their bosses, e.g. Eric Baker (CEO of Viagogo). He graduated from Harvard, worked for McKinsey and Bain Capital. Those people find their ways of robbery in great manner without ever being charged. And they think of their customers as pittyful lowlifes.

[@kevinmunger1842]

So you and a million or so fans buy your next ticket and spend the time at the corporate offices and homes of ticket scalpers.

[@elbozo5723]

…the whole point of this was that it’s not totally their fault

[@jasonblalock4429]

I have to admit, at the end, I halfway expected him to announce that they'd made their own ticket-trading platform.

[@Nalahmad1]

It wouldn't matter ticketmaster has contractual monopoly on venues

[@thenation1575]

Like the church thing lol

[@ZarkowsWorld]

@@Nalahmad1 It is amazing that this is a thing and allowed.

[@bikeny]

I was kinda expecting Drew to walk onto the stage and start her show.

[@ankyfire]

@@Nalahmad1 aren’t monopolies illegal?

[@Prifly70]

This article aged VERY well considering what just happened with Ticketmaster and Taylor Swift...well done.

[@sytherwusky]

what happened?

[@jakec9522]

I know. Re-watching this video almost felt like a warning. But if Pearl Jam couldn't beat Ticketmaster in the 90s, what hope does Taylor Swift have?

[@JC20XX]

@@sytherwusky same thing but taylor fans are louder

[@Rowsy91]

What article ? lol

[@Katkayz]

Jon is a prophet

[@joropi]

I'm so glad someone is finally talking about this. Ticketmaster and Live Nation have been committing highway robbery for decades.

[@kkcamp02]

People have been talking about this for decades.

[@hectorcornejo1468]

Pretty much why I havent seen a concert for decades; im just not willing to pay those bastards a dime again.

[@snowburnd]

Pearl jam?

[@kkcamp02]

@@hectorcornejo1468I attended a concert last year that had floor seats reselling for over $50,000. If you included fees the price came to $62,000. I couldn't believe it. I kept checking to see if someone bought them. Two days before the show the seats were gone. I had to buy nosebleeds becuz of some shady stuff that happened with TM and presales (that's a whole other story). I paid $75 for each tix. People were reselling the tix in my section for $800 - $1000. Crazy.

[@hectorcornejo1468]

@@kkcamp02 I want to be surprised that anyone would pay something like that and be willing to be extorted....but honestly, nowadays I just cant anymore lol.

[@peterbyrne7348]

I remember that commercial. He was basically like "I'm'a get a credit card and buy myself a personality." Because a personality is really just a collection of consumer choices, apparently.

[@JosephDavies]

For a credit card company, seeing a personality as a collection of consumer choices is absolutely on-brand.

[@acetrigger1337]

you would be shocked at the amount of people that make the media they consume their personality. the shallowness of people knows no bounds.

[@justadad6677]

And what does that tell you about the artists that allow themselves to be the "spokesperson" for such commercials?

[@Ronaldo-eu1nz]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/qoWcdYuAqdyWhdk

[@ashtonhoward5582]

@@justadad6677 most probably that they don't give a shit and just want the quick money

[@JeighNeither]

I'm old enough to remember the reason given for Ticketmaster's existence, was to protect us from scalpers.

[@FakingANerve]

Those were the days... * _Le sigh_ *

[@nancymesek]

When I started going to concerts in the 70’s, $25 was high for a ticket. That’s what I paid for one of the World Series of Rock in Cleveland.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

And Ticketmaster BECAME the scalpers. Nice job putting the wolves in charge of lamb protection.

[@dannydaw59]

The wolf is guarding the henhouse. The ticket buyers are the hens.

[@6thgenmew514]

Right ?!? But you really pay for ease of mind . There was a time where fake tickets were way more prevalent and easier to pass off

[@101m4n]

"this whole ecosystem enriches a lot of people who do not contribute anything" This statement applies to far too many things.

[@chadhindsley5431]

Homeless Relief programs in a nutshell. $7.8 billion in California alone to companies who just pay themselves

[@tairneanaich]

Capitalism

[@Darca1n]

"Professional ticket brokers" are just scalpers. That's literally what they are. Buy up tickets, sell for an inflated price for profit.

[@RickKasten]

Just another corporate industry doing what would land any private citizen in jail

[@Demmrir]

Scalper isn't a bad word any more though. I remember reading a WSJ article breathlessly praising the business acumen of an upper class 16 year old making millions scalping PS5's.

[@nathangrimonprez8734]

In France, it is illegal to sell a ticket to more than the face value. Of course you can still do it on "black market", but on marketplace or others classified sites, these listings are deleted, because they are illegal. It highly reduces the speculation on high demand tickets.

[@apg8396]

That's called capitalism.

[@kaltaron1284]

@Danger Disgusto Nice sentiment but difficult to put into law.

[@hood3243]

With the recent BTS concert, Whole rows were available for resale on Ticketmaster before the reselling option was even available on people's accounts. How is that even possible? Only option is it's Ticketmaster themselves or a partner.

[@lunacouer]

That's the first thing I thought of watching this, how the Vegas show didn't even have General Admission tickets. It's pretty low to let people assume it was those with ARMY memberships and pre-sale codes who caused that to happen.

[@bedshann1893]

@@lunacouer As someone who has purchased face value tickets to BTS concerts both before and after the pandemic, including Los Angeles and Las Vegas shows, I fully believe that only ARMY membership holders could easily sell out (at 4 tickets per account) four shows in Las Vegas. I mean, I wouldn't rule out Ticketmaster shenanigans completely, but I was not expecting tickets to be available for general admission. Not even every ARMY membership holder received a pre-sale code because of such high demand and the fact that - at least as of yet - BTS has not announced an actual tour, only single dates.

[@TamesisShamlyn]

this was my first thought as well, surprised BTS was never mentioned in this piece considering the amount of shady shit ticketmaster has pulled with them recently

[@hood3243]

@@bedshann1893 i definitely agree army's can and do sell out. (I luckily received a code and bought tickets). But there's just no explanation for 2nd market tickets on Ticketmaster before I and everyone else had the option to sell our tickets on our account.

[@bedshann1893]

@@hood3243 Actually, because a friend and I ended up double-booking a few dates, she was able to sell (and transfer) tickets almost immediately (to a friend at cost, no profit) despite instructions that you wouldn't be able to transfer until the end of the week. It's definitely a loophole/work-around but I think compared to other tours - like Adele and Bieber, or and I completely agree with the Only Fans foot lady here, Bad Bunny, whose ticket mark-ups were the worst I've ever seen personally - I think there are far fewer true scalpers purchasing tickets those days. I have no idea what the solution is, and Ticketmaster should be categorized as a monopoly and broken up accordingly either way, but I think in the realm of shadiness BTS has a fraction of the issues that other major artists have. I just wish everything were more transparent. I'd like to know who I'm paying, but then again, I never buy second-hand tickets from anyone I don't know personally.

[@baktru]

Now here's a thing... In Belgium where I live it's illegal to resell tickets to anything for more than you bought them. It's not even just fines it's jailtime.

[@aireverdemar]

And if it is a company such as Viagogo, StubHub or Mywayticket? It is also banned with jail time or just applied to individuals if it is at individual level such a stupid approach

[@markeastlack4180]

Same in America for an individual but corporations are allowed bc you know, capitalism smh

[@alexbloom2444]

Where I live it’s illegal to sell it for more than 10% above the original price, so crazy that these laws are not standard

[@l-b284]

@@markeastlack4180 Except college sports - students resell their college student football (sports in general) season tickets to certain games at extraordinary prices, no one is watching...as long as you are a student you can use the ticket. Big game tickets can go for $500-800 a pop, when the season ticket bundles go for $120-150...you can post the "for sale" on bulletin boards, or apps, with anonymity.

[@joekovach5789]

This is especially relevant after Robert Smith from the Cure managed to get Ticketmaster to refund people who bought Cure tickets for their upcoming US tour because the facility charges and all the other stuff was more expensive than the tickets themselves. More music artists need to take a stand against Ticketmaster.

[@stoneman28]

John was right when he said Ticketmaster and Live Nation merger should have never been allowed to happen but as we know there's no one to stop that type of thing anymore.

[@baronvonlimbourgh1716]

The eu often steps in. It over the last decade has prevented over 25 mergers between american companies after american authorities gave the go ahead. Even though they don't even have any jurisdiction over those companies at all. But just because the new merged company would be excluded from eu markets completely if it went trough the companies decided to not do it afteral because the cost of losing access would be to high. So somewhere there are still people looking out for you, even if it is only inderectly.

[@7Rendar]

@@baronvonlimbourgh1716 There's lots to dislike about the EU (swede so I know) but at least it tries to protect its citizens from greedy companies, shady drugs, chemicals and pollutants. Which I'm very thankful for.

[@nomore6167]

It reminds me of when Sirius and XM merged. They actually had the audacity to claim that merging the only two satellite radio companies into a single company would INCREASE competition rather than decrease it. It also reminds me of the DOJ antitrust case against Microsoft. If I recall correctly, the "punishment" was that Microsoft had to offer discount vouchers for their own products, effectively guaranteeing additional sales, thereby increasing their power and profit rather than punishing them.

[@baronvonlimbourgh1716]

@@7Rendar yeah, but it is in bed and totally currupted by multinationals, and it's only goal is to make everyone poor by driving down wages because it is a hyper neoliberal communist institution. And it is a dictatorship because the only ones who can suggest legislation are appointed by the elected governments of member nations and the ones who make them are actually elected by the general public of all things. all designed to turn member states into vassal states under the dictatorship of the eu who have so much power that they can only process legislative proposals from it's subjects. Imagine having to live under such oppression, having someone actually looking out for your rights and preventing the powerfull from taking advantage of you. It's disgusting something like this is allowed to exist this day in age.

[@baronvonlimbourgh1716]

@@7Rendar and yes ofcourse, That was obvious sarcasm. As a reaction to your statement about there being a lot to dislike about the eu. 9 out 10 people can't answer the question if you ask them what they dislike specificly that has a negative impact in their lives. Their response eventually ends up sounding very much exactly like my previous post. Nothing personal, just a habbit that formed after so many years lol.

[@johnchessant3012]

We desperately need a new Teddy Roosevelt who's willing to enforce antitrust laws to break up these oligopolies, not allow them to merge further.

[@Brian-tn4cd]

Well the miraculous moment you get a Roosevelt (won't happen, the US' politicians pockets are too tied with corporations, and even in event of that sort of victory no law will pass through Congress) as soon as his time is up a Reagan will just ruin everything again

[@mori1bund]

@@Brian-tn4cd Only if people are stupid enough to vote for another Reagan... oh, wait... we're fucked!

[@unluckygamer692]

@@Brian-tn4cd From what I hear from the US Reagan is still considered one of the most popular presidents, but at the same time his decisions were terrible for basically every normal person. Why is he so popular, just because of his charisma?

[@MynameIsnotforsell]

They wouldn't exist in the first place if the public actually understand the purpose of regulations, and what happens in a pure capitalism system.

[@SatanasExMachina]

@@unluckygamer692 because for too long the American public has honestly picked their presidents on superficial minutiae, having been successfully brainwashed to believe in the red vs blue dichotomy as if those superficial differences aren't a ruse to cover the vast similarities between candidates we are forced to select from. I actually had someone tell me the other day "these gas prices are absolutely out of control. Thanks alot Joe. Where's Trump when you need him?", as if Trump being in office would have actually made any POSITIVE difference. Long story short, people like Reagan because they don't truly understand economics or politics, they bought the lie that "reaganomics" isn't simply the obliteration of corporate security checks and balances, and he was an actor. In truth, his entire career being based on playing characters before he took his new "role" as president has alot to do with it. You could probably say it comes down to charisma, and the wilful ignorance of the voting populace. It's really a travesty.

[@shortstuff780]

This was such a peak Oliver show. Perfect disses, perfect information, and great att hate. And not morbid.

[@kwadwothestan]

Petition for John and the Last Week Tonight team to do a follow up episode focusing on Ticketmaster and their whole debacle with Taylor Swift’s 2023 tour

[@amberpetersen1516]

Yesss!!

[@Unknown-ov2kz]

What happened?

[@GarnetReign]

❤❤❤

[@norcalgirl9247]

Yes plz!

[@RevolverOcelot2008]

There is no "debacle" Morons keep paying the prices so they'll keep making them that expensive

[@ninab9607]

As a fan of kpop, I have SO many grudges with Ticketmaster... It's a regular thing to try to buy tickets on multiple devices just because of how much the website crashes. The fees are insane, and the resale prices are even crazier. I've seen whole empty sections at concerts before because they were all resale tickets that never got sold.

[@DelinquentJoy]

112% this!! The latest BTS shit is fucking absurd.... That is genuinely something I have been trying to collect info and screen shots on.

[@lilactthew]

i paid $380 for a $250 seat because of ticketmasters fees for twice

[@MayTheSchwartzBeWithYou]

Stop wasting money on overpaid "musicians". Problem solved.

[@DelinquentJoy]

@@MayTheSchwartzBeWithYou Such fascinating and impartial insight.

[@MayTheSchwartzBeWithYou]

@@DelinquentJoy Thanks. It comes naturally.

[@prebenlm]

In Norway we actually have a law that prohibits reselling event tickets at a higher price than you bought it.

[@stoneman28]

Used to be that way here too. I actually saw a family of 4 from out of town detained by a FL state trooper for paying $15 for a $10 ticket to a Yankees exhibition game. The kids were around ten years old, wife crying and husband stunned at the events unfolding. They let them go with a stern warning back around 2000. BTW the cops took the tickets from them also.

[@nomore6167]

We have similar laws in the U.S. (though I'm not sure if it's at the federal/national level or individual state level). The problem is that the laws aren't enforced because reselling/scalping tickets at far more than face value has become a hugely profitable industry which is now run mainly by big businesses. In a similarly way, we have laws against gambling, including online gambling, but companies like Draft King (with which people gamble on "fantasy sports" leagues) are allowed to exist and, of course, state-sponsored gambling (state lotteries) are allowed). It seems to boil down to this -- if an individual does it, he'll be arrested., but if a big company does it, then law enforcement will ignore it.

[@erikahahn5823]

We have that law too but it's not enforced.

[@rolfs2165]

@@stoneman28 Wait, shouldn't the _seller_ have been arrested?

[@stoneman28]

@@rolfs2165 He was arrested but they didn't come down hard on the vacationing family.

[@notwestman]

I just want to give credit to artists who make their tickets easily accessible through fan clubs and things of that sort. I bought Tyler, the Creator tickets in presale recently through his fan service and it was really easy, not to mention free, and he made it easily accessible to all of his fans. More artists need to operate in that manner.

[@scottbatley1983]

Except those are tickets that didn’t get sold to the general public, meaning fewer tickets for the gp, meaning more scalpers/ticket brokers get tickets through bots before fans, and then resell them super high. John even mentions fan club and credit card promotions being part of the problem.

[@cmyk8964]

If I were a touring artist, I would protest it by naming my next tour “If You Paid More Than $30 for This You’ve Been Scammed Tour” then release official tickets for exactly $29.99.

[@tingleehoong5797]

LOL "30 bucks or you've been scammed"

[@domenkac9664]

Didn't metallica do something like that with one of their EPs? "The 6 dollar EP - If they try to charge more, steal it!" 😃

[@nowandaround312]

So you'd make your own fans feel ashamed for buying tickets to see you perform. Instead of being upset at the industry that forced some people to pay unreasonable prices for tickets, you'd rather make the victims of that industry feel like it's their fault. Nice.

[@Jellybeansatdusk]

That works if you’re a small artist, but bigger artists need the bigger venues and the majority of them are owned by LiveNation

[@markeastlack4180]

That works if less than 5k people wanna see you perform. For bigger performers they need bigger venues which Ticketmaster owns a large number of and has strong armed the rest

[@tomshaw6373]

I saw The Police in 1984. Second row center on the floor. Sting and the band were right in front of me. They were one of the biggest acts in the world at the time. I was 18 years old and I spent $22 I had earned working in a grocery store on the ticket. That's about $60 in today's money. 60 bucks won't get you in to the concession stand for the big acts these days.

[@esvete844]

i am extremely jealous :(

[@derektalasek795]

That's reasonable. I paid $50 per ticket for U2's 360 Tour mid level in the Reliant Center (Houston), and with the size of that production, the largest ever up to that point, it was both the best seat in the house, and a reasonable price. I doubt you can find a deal like that just 13 years later.

[@seththomas9105]

Friday, Feb.14, 1986. ZZ TOP Afterburner tour. Row 15, center stage on the floor. Sold out. I was 16 and spent a whopping $13 bucks at the box office two months prior to get my ticket that I had worked washing dishes at a pizza joint and working on a farm to afford. ZZ was a hot act in the mid 80's too and the price would be about $36 USD today. Fuck Ticketmaster.

[@ldbarthel]

I hadn't used Ticketmaster in years when I was "forced" to use them for a show I wanted to see in 2020. Never again. Outrageous fees and not even a "print your own" option - you had to use their app at the venue. (Not that there could possibly be any problems with that!) When the pandemic "postponed" the show, my tickets were rescheduled for a night I couldn't attend, but there was no feasible way for me to sell my tickets. (Maybe if I were a big name scalper???) About the only good thing that came out of the pandemic was that the show was eventually cancelled and I got a full refund.

[@toriless]

Yep, TM is a joke, I start with with resellers for decades, TM offers for Z or row JJ at the same time a reseller offers row G, it is not worth been looking.

[@JM-fc9gm]

You actually got a refund? Shocking,

[@gusstavv]

But in the meanwhile, they profited from using the money you had paid and was in their account before the refund.

[@mantisbog]

You weren't forced. A concert is a complete luxury. You 100% chose to see it.

[@brycemcdermaid7995]

@@mantisbog Is that not obvious enough without you saying so?

[@auser9791]

I really like what Wacken does. Every Ticket has a name on it, and tickets can only be resold through them/with their blessing, since only they can change it. Upselling them on other websites risks lawsuits and voiding the tickets. No scalpers possible

[@sadlaw2799]

Go Wacken Festival 🤘

[@cracknigr6065]

Really cool. Never had heard of another festival besides the Fusion that does this.

[@nellies-taekook-journals]

Who's Wacken?

[@jasonfraser7536]

@@nellies-taekook-journals IIRC, Wacken is a multiple-day, outdoor metal festival in German.

[@aperfecttool257]

Scalping still happens. Also, how? Also, Ticketmaster and the Bands both suck. Especially legacy acts.

[@DrThic]

This video is really coming in handy to explain this whole Taylor Swift situation happening right now haha

[@deggy42]

This could be extended to scalping in general. Try to buy a game console, GPU, sneakers, etc, and you find a lot of people who think they've found a "hustle" when they're just botting inventory and reselling at a markup. We're at a point where legislation is needed to deal with bot purchasing.

[@lpk6372]

Keep electing Republicans and that legislation will never come cause you know capitalism good and corruption and greed good

[@grindcoreninja6527]

I've pretty much given up on rebuilding my PC due to scalpers.

[@DarthRaptor22]

@@grindcoreninja6527 yeah I bit the bullet and bought a gpu at like 200% Msrp. Because it's not gonna end anytime soon

[@michaeltaylor8698]

100%. Getting a PS5 or a new GPU is damn near impossible nowadays because of bots scooping them up the second stock goes live.

[@alexmathias4235]

@@grindcoreninja6527 same, still rocking a Nvidia 970 GPU... Have the money to upgrade right this second and can't.

[@FoxMacLeod2501]

You know that if, say, the stagehands' union wanted to add $10 per ticket for anything that might benefit the people _actually making the creative ideas of the artists into a physical show..._ healthcare, cost of living wage increase, parental leave; Ticketmaster would spend a fortune on what would surely be a wildly successful public relations campaign to make sure every concertgoer feels outrage over that ten bucks. It's insane the lengths to which the wealthy will go, just to avoid responsibility... or, really, to escape acting good or decent towards any non-wealthy people.

[@steveconrad1525]

I do so like the local chapter of IATSE (worked at an arena and got to know some of them). That said even if you work for the venue the event is held at you have to but tickets to see the show and there is no discount for you. Also, rules forbid you speaking to the performer unless spoken to first (so much for being polite unless they speak to you first).

[@dannydaw59]

Did that $10 surcharge idea happen?

[@Firstthunder]

And believe they have the God-given right based on their “higher station” in life.

[@firstlast8258]

@Plooky Tooth 🤡

[@24fretsoffury]

Those who have money, have power when the majority do not have it. Eat the rich.

[@TheAmyOrtiz]

The best concert of my life was part of a free Jimmy Kimmel taping. Sure, I had to sit through an interview with the Kardashians, but then I was treated to 8 or 9 songs by The Killers in a smaller venue than I'd ever otherwise get to see them in. One of the most fun nights of my life.

[@jakeowens1770]

wow KIller

[@midnightrambler8866]

That sounds cool. Except for the Kardashians.

[@ThatPianoNoob]

@@midnightrambler8866 and Jimmy Kimmel

[@keanureeves6257]

Hope you've all been vaccinated. With this medium, I pray we get along well at our convenience, as I don't want to be seen as a superstar but as a commoner in the society.

[@zimtastic1171]

​@@keanureeves6257whut? Are you actually trying to pretend you are Keanu Reeves? 😂 It's not working, buddy.

[@sisvc]

I worked for TicketMaster in their IT department. Do you know where the tickets go? Employees get to purchase before they go on sale to the public for an additional X percent above face value. Not just secondary market, (which many employees got in the business of reselling tickets on the side).

[@zimtastic1171]

Wow. That's nuts. And fucked up.

[@GhostHelwig]

At least Pearl Jam is trying to cut costs for their fans, even if they had to work with Ticketmaster to do it. Kudos to them. I hope more artists follow their example. It seems like the only way to fix things, because given the current state of affairs in America, Congress is more likely to try to get a cut of the profits themselves than actually put in restrictions.

[@thisisntsergio1352]

Without ticketmaster, you mean?

[@GhostHelwig]

@@thisisntsergio1352 Unless I misunderstood, I thought John said Pearl Jam worked with Ticketmaster to create an online marketplace where fans could resell tickets with no profit/fees. Although I’d love it if artists could cut Ticketmaster out. They have a monopoly on live events at the moment, and them being hated by everyone is richly deserved.

[@KaladinVegapunk]

I guess I'm lucky as a metal fan..? Concerts have just been 20/30/40 since I was in high school haha..for like 20 years. not just lesser known local bands but even the best acts like Watain, Amon Amarth, Behemoth.. actual talented bands way better than paying half a grand to go see Justin Bieber's douchey show haha

[@morganthem]

Can't even get congress people to ban themselves from directly trading stocks, pretty sure concert tickets are f*****d

[@LJCyrus1]

Actually, it wouldn't surprise me if Ticketmaster already donates to various politicians.

[@vegastravelnews]

One thing he did not mention is because Ticketmaster runs its own resale program, it then profits twice on sales of those tickets. Great video, John!

[@MysteryMii]

He literally mentioned Ticketmaster as a resale platform at 10:37.

[@shadowboy813]

Ticketmaster is why I feel glad I'm a fan of extreme metal, where the venues are small, tickets are sometimes available at the door, and they're inexpensive. The last show I went to was $35 and I bought my ticket day-of.

[@joedivita7469]

that's just one of the many benefits of being able to think for yourself and develop your own unique tastes! Cheers!

[@jakeowens1770]

Ef mainstream indeed

[@davebeach2343]

Fortunately some of the artists playing the Blues are in the same situation. Thank god that one can hear the Blues to make certain that's how I'm feeling. Lol

[@JM-vq5jz]

And even then the fees are somewhat small since they can't get away with a lot. I saw Mayhem for $35 plus $13 in fees which is still BS but it's a lot lower than the numbers John showed in this segment

[@sylviatamieanan4088]

I've bought Ticketmaster tickets once or twice, but the most musicians I like are local ones who only play on small night clubs. And the experience is so much better than that giant stadiums concerts.

[@DoubleGees]

My friend works at a ticketing company in Singapore and employees always get first priority to buy tickets to events. The ticketing company pays them a very low salary and the only way he can make good money is to buy tickets at cost price and resell them for 5 -10 times the original price. This is common practice at his workplace and lots of his colleagues make $1000's/month from doing this.

[@RisticXMMII]

Thank you for talking about this. It's evil and heartless. I recently paid an astronomical amount (for nosebleed seats) just for my brother and I to go a show that we've been waiting literal years to see. What's sad is that as a consumer, you have no choice but to deal with these crooks.There's no protection and no limit to the insane mark-up prices. Let's just say, no more shows for me for a while after this one.

[@manhattanprojekt1275]

Well shit, what was the show?

[@valkolakk]

Vote for people who will regulate businesses and then you'll have a choice.

[@oc7219]

150 bucks in service fees for 2 Rams tickets here in LA at checkout. Each ticket was 260. I did not buy them after seeing the service fee.

[@marigeobrien]

So, basically, "re-sellers" are scalpers, except they're not staying outside the venue. That makes them "legal?" Or, put another way: So, now scalping is legal as long as you don't do it on the street, for cash...?

[@RobertBarton86]

You can do it on the street too in Florida. That's what happened with the Miami GP for F1. Besides the normal online scalping shenanigans, there are large sophisticated scalping networks that buy/sell at the venue.

[@nomore6167]

I believe it would be more accurate to say "scalping is legal as long as it's done by the wealthy, powerful, or connected".

[@flip_moto]

@@RobertBarton86 those miami gp ticket prices were outrageous before the scalpers... I can't even. If I were spending that much for the F1 circus, it would be Japan, Belgium or Italy.

[@carschmn]

Scalping in the street is legal many places too.

[@fly89]

@@RobertBarton86 when i got the ticket for Belgian GP few years ago, they put my name on it and they checked my ID when o get in. Then i got the tag with my name on it. so selling Formula 1 Ticket outside the gate won’t happen in Europe.

[@xtscarfacem8255]

This is why i love John Oliver, he tells us about things many of us notice and wonder about but that no one is really bringing out to spotlight.

[@Rattus-Norvegicus]

I never noticed any Mickey shaped potatoes before in my entire life.

[@bobblankenship3649]

This is what blew my mind. I looked up how much Eagle tickets went for in 1977 after Hotel California came out. Tickets were 10 dollars a piece, I made only 5 dollars a hour then and it took me 4 hours of work to buy 2 tickets. The average price to see them now is around 200 dollars a ticket so I would have to make 100 dollars a hour to be able to buy 2 tickets for 4 hours work, in 77 a person could get as close to the front of the stage as they cared too thanks to Festival Seating. This is insane. I would NOT pay 200 dollars for a Eagles ticket if they were playing in my back yard. UN-FN-REAL. 🤯

[@tcfencing9772]

Peter frampton july 6 1976. 8$

[@seththomas9105]

@@tcfencing9772 Motley Crue, August 1985. $8 USD.

[@hollyhansen8428]

I saw the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2002 for $35 at this really cool venue where I live. Front and center. Tickets for that same band at that same venue in the same spot for this tour this year are $700. Each. Imagine the fees on that, too. It’s disgusting.

[@THMILLER]

I am glad that tickets are normal here in Europe. I remember being at the Chicago airport and renting a car from Herz, the rental car was paid for in advance through an agency here in Germany and yet at the counter the teller said that it was an extra 60 dollars and only explained that it was what the computer said even after we showed her the paperwork and confirmation. She even asked if i thought Herz was ripping people off (in front of 5 customers) and i said with a straight face "yes" (i meant to say "yes, but most are unaware") anyhow we paid, called back to Germany and had that refunded before we got to our exit, so this Ticket rip off is not surprising because it happens so often there that i think people expect it but since lock down people have had time to reflect and demand better... Well, except for the republican supporters but there is an old saying for those people "a fool and his money are soon parted". Ticket Master would not work over here, there are to many laws against what they do.

[@Alaurapeterson]

Welcome to America -_- sorry you had to deal with that, but thats the reality here unfortunately. :/

[@jonasjmv]

Not here in Portugal... Most of the festivals are expensive for our wallet (they are aimed at tourists). Yesterday i tried to buy tickets for one show and ticketline was charging me 10% in fees. Noup. Gonna buy it physically and with less fees

[@tgwnn]

@@jonasjmv 90% of the time when someone says "we here in Europe ..." they mean "in the two or three countries in Europe where I've done stuff ..." lol

[@marisahokefazi4735]

The car rental companies are always trying to rip people off by selling them insurance they don't need or some other scam or up selling them. Years ago one of the major car rental companies was convicted of actually having people hit their rental cars just to collect extra money from their clients

[@TibbySparkles]

Hertz is the WORST rental company - you can literally get better service from any of the 'dollar' (cheap, local) rental companies available.

[@joyl7842]

A company so big they basically have a monopoly in their industry overcharging on their product? No way that would happen in the largest capitalist nation on earth, would it?🤣

[@andybaldman]

No shit, right?

[@FakingANerve]

Couldn't happen. Doesn't make sense. 😁

[@gabrielmalaguti5512]

You mean the "FrEe MaRkEt" _isn't_ an effective regulator? I'm shocked, *shocked*.

[@Tenchigumi]

@@gabrielmalaguti5512 you know what they all say: if someone sells more bread than you, then you have to bake better bread at better prices, so that the consumer wins! So, like... Someone needs to... Bake better... Tickets?

[@mikedetroit1949]

@@FakingANerve 0

[@akshayrajaraman2508]

3:30 the pure joy he gets from hating on AT&T is unrivaled.

[@lsmc8909]

You could do another show, if you haven’t already, about making money in the music industry for musicians. I was listening to an interview the other week and I learned that musical acts who get offers to open don’t get their costs paid for, they have to pay logistics out of pocket. There’s a lot of things that are killing the music industry and that’s just one of many.

[@DocSonic]

Essentially buying one ticket to see the artist and one ticket to get into the building and another ticket for permission to buy the ticket

[@dietotaku]

"another ticket for permission to buy the ticket" is what it feels like when i have to pay $22 just to join the BTS fanclub to be allowed to pre-register for ticket sales. it doesn't even guarantee i'll actually get a ticket, much less a good seat (sorry ARMY but yes there ARE bad seats at a BTS show, namely the ones where you can't tell if you're just watching backup dancers on stage while a pre-recorded performance is played on the jumbotron). and some people pay for the fanclub membership and don't even get a code to enter the presale.

[@mims1992-y6c]

​@@dietotaku Now I understand why their Las Vegas show sold out in 4 hours (all four shows!). It's insane, getting tickets for these big artists gets more and more difficult, you have to put away two hours of your time, and all sorts of manoeuvring, wait in line and you don't even know if you'll even get a ticket, plus they don't tell you how much fees will cost upfront so you don't even know if you can get a good seat. It's madness.

[@jschuler53]

Dan Davis. I am an artist and you wouldn't believe what it takes to get your art work shown in a gallery. First they take half or more of any sales. All the freaky art investors have their dirty little hands out so they can hide their money through art. A commodity to them. What I do, what I make means much more to me than to them.

[@SynchroSk8]

I remember grabbing a couple tickets last minute to Earth Wind and Fire for $10 each, the fees were over $11 and I couldn’t stop laughing at the fact the fees were more than a ticket. I wish they would at least go the route air travel has gone… disclosing a bit more up front and less at checkout where you are dealing with a countdown clock.

[@tatil8243]

Those countdowns are the worst... 😑

[@keanureeves6257]

Hope you've all been vaccinated. With this medium, I pray we get along well at our convenience, as I don't want to be seen as a superstar but as a commoner in the society.

[@cassidymalone]

I’m from Seattle and remember when Ben Haggerty got a financial backer so he could buy every ticket to three days in a row at The Showbox Market. He then went and distributed them with his music at High Schools, knowing there aren’t many all ages shows, and the papers read “Macklemore Sells Out The Showbox Three Days In A Row!” Brilliant marketing campaign.

[@SuperHappyNotMerry]

who's back here rewatching this after the taylor swift ticketmaster fiasco?

[@mr559]

I am.

[@cheyboyer]

This is the first episode I've watched in about a year because everything in the world is just too depressing to keep up with. So thanks for this!

[@MichaelTurner856]

Hope you're doing good 👍

[@Helloooooo]

Lol same

[@gusmaiawork]

this is also depressing

[@cheyboyer]

@@gusmaiawork yeah just not AS depressing as the others

[@kensaiix]

18:10 let me specifically point out that in more civilized parts of the world, it is required BY LAW to display the FINAL PRICE before purchase and to DISCLOSE fees. so yes, government regulation DOES work in this context without having overreach and providing a level playing filed as baseline. knowing how much money you will have to part with for a certain good or service IS baseline, it does not get more basic than this.

[@mantaraylover5]

This actually makes me feel a little better about “only” paying $100 a ticket to see MCR in the fall, almost feels like a deal. Also wanted to plug the welsh pop punk band Los Campesinos! who hold back 10% of their tickets to be sold at a discounted price for low-income fans. It’s a system that requires a lot of trust and definitely wouldn’t work for larger acts but I love the sentiment behind it.

[@cailinmoore7744]

only $100?! I looked at tickets within the hour they released for my town and couldn’t find anything under $200. “Good” seats were at least $350

[@kkcamp02]

If you had good seats and only paid $100 for them...that was a deal.

[@kkcamp02]

@@cailinmoore7744 Exactly...I remember several years ago I bought VIP soundcheck tix to a show (not MCR). We got several other perks. I paid about $300 per ticket. These days, that price barely gets you good seats anywhere.

[@thesingerintheshower]

Aw that's nice 💕

[@angelestorres6334]

Who's MCR

[@raed7838]

I really really appreciate that he not only bought the potatoe but got a display case for it

[@col0rlesslife]

I’ll never forget when all of the concerts and events had to be cancelled due to COVID-19 and Ticketmaster basically told people “get fucked.” They refused to refund people. Suddenly people were without jobs and that couple hundred of dollars they spent to go to an event that either was entirely cancelled or rescheduled 80 times to a date two or three years later could make a life-changing difference by helping them put food on the table for their families. It was insane.

[@CsykKrit]

If concert tickets make or break your financial situation, ticketmaster is that last thing in your life to worry about 🤣

[@itsgonnabeanaurfromme]

If you don't have a job and you spend hundreds on a concert ticket, you need to rethink your life. Let's not be morons, people.

[@Acid0Dreamz]

I think y'all missed the point. If I had a job that well afforded said ticket and then suddenly I'm out of a job for 3 months, yeah I might really need that $250 bucks. That's not crazy. Bills tend to be concurrent with pay. If I make $4,500 a month and am paying 2k in credit card bills its not a big deal, it's pretty normal. If I lose my job for 3 months suddenly that's a big fucking deal.

[@dananelson5758]

I had tickets for a Rammstein show in Boston that was rescheduled twice because of COVID. Each time I was given a couple of months to decide whether to keep the tickets or get a full refund, which I thought was more than fair. I took the refund option on the 2nd reschedule and got all of my money back with no hassles.

[@ashablue78]

@@CsykKrit true, but the principle still stands. They aren’t offering a service anymore and people should be refunded for that

[@zwerg4246]

This is why I love being a Phish fan. You can just go to the venue and people are literally standing outside, giving away tickets for free. I've even heard a story of them being strung up in a tree for people to take what they need.

[@Aliceaxxxilla]

Definitely what I'm doing this summer. Usually I try to get something during lottery but prices were crazy + no ticket art 😭

[@NoCatJane33]

You spelled Ween wrong

[@rhettcujo9006]

That’s bc phish sucks

[@jeffmill]

The only downside with that plan is that you end up with a ticket to see phish

[@sarahoshea9603]

Billy breathes was a listenable album

[@michaelj.r457]

You know how shitty the last two years have become when LWT tackling unfair ticket practices could be considered a lighthearted topic.

[@taun96]

I was so excited to go for my first concert as an adult - the Foo Fighters. They were supposed to come to my home city of Sydney, Australia in December 2022. I got my tickets and everything. I had to pay a 15% surcharge on Ticketmaster. But, after Taylor Hawkins passed away, it got cancelled right away, but my refund came almost 3 weeks later.

[@alwaysfallingshort]

The audience cheering while being insulted is one of my favorite feelings as a fellow performer. It's a huge risk to be confrontational with your audience and when they're good sports it's such a delight.

[@FaydOgolon]

One of the problems with this and other left-leaning programs is that the audience always thinks they're talking about Republicans/non-Democrats who do not watch the shows. They refuse to see that the mirror is facing them.

[@alwaysfallingshort]

@@FaydOgolon What the absolute fuck does that have to do with my comment? I'm talking about the relationship between comedians and their audience in performance, start your own thread baiting people to argue if you're lonely.

[@tim3172]

@@FaydOgolon Someone *CLEARLY* didn't get the joke.

[@300IQPrower]

@@FaydOgolon this isn't so much pot to kettle as it is pure projection

[@oilygarch]

"You should be able to recoup your losses" But not by...y'know, getting a refund for your ticket. You have to sell your ticket to a scalper who'll upsell it again, or to the people that hadn't been able to get a ticket originally because of the scalpers your company is festering like a canker.

[@PixelatedH2O]

I know it's primarily a venue issue more than one about tickets, however as I'm in a wheelchair, accessible seating is also a big problem sometimes. Even if I can afford a show, often the seats I need are some of the first to be unavailable.

[@elleciel2358]

I've never tried getting into a concert since becoming physically disabled, but holy shit it's so hard already to get in very much not overcrowded places - like cinemas for example. Even when there is accessible seating available it's often right at the back where I honestly can't see anything. I can't even imagine attending a concert in my wheelchair which really really sucks ;-;

[@KonradTheWizzard]

That's a big problem for venues as well, especially small ones. You have to reserve space for wheelchairs and have to calculate in that wheelchairs are wider than normal chairs. You cannot block those seats for non-handycapped people, because then you would not sell them at all for 90% of all shows. Most shows have a very uneven sales profile - you cannot predict until when you need to reserve those seats before you free them up, so you mostly cannot reserve them. It gets even more chaotic in those many cases in which handycapped people don't let the venue know in advance what their needs are (not that the ticket portals would make that as easy as everybody would wish, so I don't blame the audience on this). Here is one thing that works well: do group booking. Find a group of like-minded wheelchair riders and contact some of the ticket sellers and the venue directly and see whether they are able to accomodate an entire group. Because in many cases it is possible to just remove a few rows of chairs, add ramps and other accomodations if it is worth it. And that's much more likely for a group than it is for one person. From my own experience: when a group books part of an event at the small venue I sometimes work at - the service guys will bend over backwards to make it happen. Groups are good for (repeat) business. Also: contact the venues and discuss with them how they could make it easier for your fellow wheelchair riders. Ask them about ticket rows that usually don't sell out as fast and ask them to provide accomodations there. Selling a ticket to a wheelchair is so rare that for the venue it is not something they think about, which creates this vicious cycle of not selling and it not being available...

[@toriless]

Actually, they are often in either semi prime or leftover locations next to a pole on a extreme angle or way in back. I look at venue maps despite not needing a wheelchair.

[@toriless]

@@KonradTheWizzard 99% are on the end of a center aisle.

[@disabilityadvoc8]

I, too, am a wheelchair user. There's a special place in hell for Ticketmaster, LN, and any artist who can cheat fans with disabilities.

[@peach_total]

this is why going to local shows is the best experience. admission is usually $5 - $20 and “pay what you can”

[@kattodoggo3868]

Nothing will convinced me to spend hundreds of $$ just to not being able to see the artist with my own eyes in front of me. People's are crazy

[@bts_meme_queen]

I'm sure this was already in post production by the time the BTS Las Vegas shows went on sale but they sold out stadium 4 shows in about 5 hours with presale only. Tickets never made it to the general public. BTS' company had to strike a deal to make sure that their fan membership holders had a chance to buy first because that's what was promised for their LA 2021 shows and it didn't actually happen and the ticketing for LA was a nightmare. Idk how HYBE/BH did it but I'm glad they did something so fans had a chance before most scalpers

[@NatalieMarie917]

There was still an alarming number of resale tickets popping up between the time of the presale and the day when fans’ tickets were finally able to be transferred/resold. Those “professional brokers” clearly still had special privileges.

[@Oliver-vx7ls]

I'm glad that, when in the US something is mentioned as "in the world", it mostly means "in the USA".. we might have some ticket reseller issues here in germany too, but by far not as extreme.. and the venues and marketplaces try to counter scalpers as good as possible, even when shooting overboard sometimes. A few years ago, the metal festival Wacken tried named tickets, that lets you enter only if you have the right ID with you .. reselling was only allowed through their own site for the base cost. and also: fees here are usually just that, a fee that represents the few minutes of work, that someone might have to do to get you the ticket, no matter the ticket-price. and also, a fee usually includes shipping and often is not related to the amount of tickets. If i'd like to go to my favorite festival this year, that 65€ for 3 days and a fee of 4,95 .. if i need 2 tickets, that 130 .. and a fee of 4,95. the person who puts 2 tickets in an envelope does not have double the work. if it was digital only, id should be even cheaper

[@robertoayala765]

This happens in Mexico too, also operated by Ticketmaster, so it's "in the world" of Ticketmaster.

[@nuclearferrets]

True, at best Eventim is now trying to make some extra money off actual printed tickets (as contrary to print at home ones), ticket insurances and high shipping costs but it’s nowhere near as bad.

[@ixchelssong]

This is a little bit of a tangent, but once or twice recently I saw some sellers online who listed prices for their products and/or services in person, and a higher price for online transactions. If I remember correctly, one of these was our Post Office (under the fantastic Mr. DeJoy)! I was outraged by this.

[@tyrrany_reigns1]

I've said this for years with video game digital downloads. The game ought to be just a bit cheaper b/c you aren't getting a physical case with a physical disk of a game. Nobody is doing any work to stock that game for you and maintain stock.

[@robertoayala765]

@@nuclearferrets oh, in Mexico Ticketmaster also charges you to print your tickets at home. Ridiculous

[@OrigamiFolder]

I’m going to start putting outrageous auctions on eBay in the hopes John buys one. Not for the money, just for the clout. :D

[@FelisImpurrator]

Make sure they're furry porn if you want to make absolutely sure.

[@rasmusazu]

I'd do it for the money.

[@billymadison8574]

What's wrong w/ clout AND money 🤷‍♂️

[@alexlandherr]

“LWT Phishing”?

[@fireflyfox93]

Would not even judge. It's a brilliant plan.

[@vipbaepsae]

You missed out on talking about their absolutely ridiculous Platinum Tickets. There Ticketmaster ain't even hiding any overpricing. 100 USD Tickets are suddenly priced at multiple thousands BY TICKETMASTER THEMSELVES and I do know of people who accidentally bought these in the panic of getting Tickets at all. For Stray Kids (Kpop) almost all tickets had been bought by bots and even if you had amazing spots in the queue, you couldn't get tickets. Like I got in after 2 min but nope, everything gone already

[@maryjaneboucher77]

John Oliver is absolutely brilliant and continues to delight….totally lifts my Spirit!!!!

[@BrianMakesFilms]

When I worked at the grocery store in customer service a few years back we had a Ticketmaster booth, and in addition to all the shitty stuff John covered here...the interface was awful. It was really hard to even walk a customer through the process of buying a ticket, and half the time when they saw the fees they'd bail after you'd spent 20 minutes trying to make the god damn program work for them. My heart always sank when someone came up to the desk wanting to buy tickets. I knew my day was about to get a lot worse.

[@benmaughan7452]

It’s 9 AM and I just witnessed John Oliver putting on lip gloss while dissing an online ticket buying service. It’s going to be a very, very good day.

[@hetaljs]

When BTS announced tours in LA and Vegas, tickets were bought by scalpers and being sold literally for 20x the price. I saw a floorseat ticket that originally would be $450 for $25,000. Wish I was joking. BTS opened the first day only to their fanclub members and they said 100% of the tickets will be available to them. Even then we couldn't get seats and hundreds of tickets showed up on reseller websites for obnoxious prices within minutes. I really don't know how this is ok and it is so frustrating and clearly something that should be made illegal!!

[@bluerose465]

Same with TXT- the original tickets weren’t that bad but the resellers on Ticketmaster are putting the tickets in the thousands- they haven’t even opened fan resellers- so Ticketmaster probably bought the tickets from the original platforms stealing all the tickets from the fans…

[@TheKirstenUlliel]

When Ed Sheeran was in Czech Republic there was a limit on the number of tickets you could buy and they were under a name as well so you couldn't resell them. They actually checked our IDs when entering the venue. I think there were other artists doing this as well. This seems like a good way forward...

[@alexcarolan8825]

Ticketmaster does this too

[@toriless]

Tori Amos tried it in 1998 but it was poorly implemented. It could have worked if she had ID checks too but her IT was poorly implemented. Checking in took forever. When I go to a beerfest it is done correctly so it could be done if they really wanted.

[@Hermititis]

How do you buy tickets as a gift under that systen? Do you buy it under the intended recipient's name?

[@alexcarolan8825]

@@Hermititis if you know what specific venue it is, sometimes you are better off going to that venue to buy the voucher. Certain venues are like that. If not and you have the time I recommend calling customer service because the answer can depend on the country and venue. I know people who bought ticketmaster vouchers without knowing they could only be used at the venue they got them

[@birdsofafeather8368]

John Oliver really needs to do a story on moving companies. Almost all of them moonlight as actual van lines, but in reality they're all moving brokers and they just have some third party you don't know about come grab your stuff.

[@eyewana]

AND the 3rd party breaks 50% of your property AND when you file a claim, it takes 12 months to find out that it's up to them if they want to pay up, which they don't

[@jenniferburns2530]

Why I hire local guys through word of mouth. Of course for a long distance move, that isn't an option.

[@nadyanathania3847]

Is literally ANYTHING in america working fine??

[@crystalcutie123]

@@nadyanathania3847 nope lol

[@swimsvg1855]

@@nadyanathania3847 i tried for a solid minute to think of a single thing and i couldn't come up with one.

[@kcennet]

Everything he just mentioned happened exactly during BTS concert ticket sale for the Sofi stadium. They went puff in just an hour and when they became available again i saw tickets that were on resale for 50 thousand etc. And membership didnt mean shit.

[@kkcamp02]

Please don't mention buying tix to a BTS concert. A person has not experienced ticket buying hell until they have tried to buy tix to a BTS concert. And let's not even get into the TM shadiness that happened during that 2nd presale for those Sofi shows. I am still suffering from PTSD due to that ordeal.

[@tyrrany_reigns1]

A few years back Tool started touring again and you know how that went. I only know one person in our area that got a ticket. I tried for ages and couldn't get a couple of seats for us to see the band. In Sept. I went to see Alanis Morressette and Garbage. I'm not sure if they were doing anything behind the scenes but it was a very enjoyable experience. The ticket price was pretty much what I had figured it would be.

[@nickc247]

Welcome to every sold out event.

[@idontknowanymore9966]

I actually almost got SCAMMED by a goddamn reseller for the first day of sofi since he sold the SAME ticket to hundreds of people but i got lucky and got in on the second day but I was pissed when I went to look at this persons address and it was a goddamn abandoned house, I knew than and there it was a scam and a friend of mine tested and yup, scam

[@akaLaBrujaRoja]

I was wondering if I’d find a BTS concert comment. I was one of the people holding on to VIP tickets for the MOTS7 tour until it was officially cancelled. I couldn’t go to Sofi or Las Vegas anyway, but I still had second-hand anxiety watching true ARMYs trying to get tickets without getting scammed or totally shut out.

[@Kreiger19]

Waiting for a "Ticketmaster II" episode after Taylor Swift's recent tour debacle

[@TheMulToyVerse]

Of course they bought the potato Also that seller has to be feeling kinda cool right now. Not only did they clear about $40+ after eBay & PayPal fees, but they have been immortalized as having perfect feedback on cable television

[@anoldlady8]

Transactions go directly through eBay now and not PayPal. Just a FYI=)

[@selahanany5645]

Of course they bought the potato should be LWTs slogan ngl

[@TheGennen]

I love the fact that it was completely unnecessary, yet 1 minute of total spectacle. 😂

[@CaTastrophy427]

and because of that fame, internet trolls are gonna tank that seller's rating in about 17 minutes

[@Fritotto]

Wasn't expecting a full segment solely for the inconveniences that come from buying concert tickets. Reminds me of the time before the world started going to shit, where not every story was about how much we're screwing things up.

[@DuranmanX]

Usually when Last Week Tonight is doing a story, the types of tickets they are talking about aren't the ones you would want

[@takakupo]

Not an inconvenience. It's corruption

[@oskrm]

The main story was always about how fucked up a system we have for something, so it's on par.

[@Poldovico]

you were around in the neolithic?

[@mehightmi]

@@takakupo in most EU countries that is illegal, why is it a common practice in the us?

[@Tomas-dw2pm]

I'm so glad John listened to Snowden and shifted his thinking from pass-words to pass-phrases. Way to go, John!

[@ninjabiatch101]

I love the constant insistence by John that he loves boy bands.

[@madguitarist007]

John knew that I was pissed off about tickets after getting screwed by Ticketmaster a couple of times these past few weeks. The biggest bullshit is Ticketmaster’s “Platinum Tickets” where they take a ticket that should have a set price, and vary the price based on demand at the time of buying. I bought a ticket for an artist, only for that exact ticket to be $100 cheaper 20 minutes later because “demand had decreased” Ticketmaster is a fucking scam

[@firstlast8258]

so don't use them

[@allenmobley8444]

@@firstlast8258 have you seen the video?? It’s pretty much impossible to not “use them”.

[@firstlast8258]

@@allenmobley8444 🤡

[@miguel213]

@@allenmobley8444 That will depend on what kind of events people will attend. Personally, I've always prefered going to smaller shows where you can buy from the venue at the ticket counter, avoiding additional service charges and whatnot. Oftentimes the day of. Quality vs quantity.

[@Foolish188]

Blaming Ticketmaster because you paid the most? Lol Poor You.😂. You loved the price twenty minutes earlier. Next time you fly, ask your seat companions what they paid. If you paid the most, I bet you will throw a Karen, if the least, you will be demanding that the airline throw off the Karen sitting next to you who paid the most.

[@MuricanTaC0]

I’d love if you did a whole segment on scalpers in general. GPUs and consoles being scooped up by the thousands and upmarked by several hundred %

[@Whiteythereaper]

@opzz xsin that happens, I met a girl at a concert a few years ago who had tickets to every UK date and hotels each night and it wass cheaper than going to 1 single show in the US on their tour

[@kevint.landry6823]

@opzz xsin well we have the same problem in Canada to be honest

[@ericmatthews9894]

I'm glad he mentioned Pearl Jam, they have been fighting ticket prices for long

[@adamdambrov2308]

More people need to see this. I am still amazed when people are surprised there are no face value tickets available. This scam has been going on for years.

[@nomore6167]

I can remember a time when reselling tickets was called "scalping" and it was illegal to resell a ticket for more than face value (not sure if that was a state law or federal law). As for artists reselling/scalping their own tickets, is anybody really surprised that Metallica or Bieber would do that? Why are people surprised when corporate sellouts behave like corporate sellouts?

[@brianjohnson2409]

so glad we are back to a mundane topic and not something super overwhelming about our collective impending doom

[@autohmae]

The causes are pretty much the same: money in politics in the US.

[@nmgg6928]

I love this show and I love John Oliver and love that they put these segments on KZbin cuz I refuse to pay for cable

[@Kalorag]

Ppl still have cable?!

[@MajorMlgNoob]

It's on HBO not cable

[@PixelatedH2O]

You can 100% just pay for HBO Max on its own

[@nmgg6928]

Right but i personally am not in a position where I want to spend that extra money for assorted streaming services

[@bowtiesarecool9782]

@@nmgg6928 Exactly right! Why should I have to pay for different streaming services if I only watch ONE show on each platform. These companies are getting soooooo greedy its ridiculous -

[@Bloodglas]

18:40 this is exactly how it should be. ticketmaster claimed the point of giving them a place to resell tickets was so fans could "recoup the cost" of the ticket. being allowed to charge 100s or 1000s of % over the original price isn't simply recouping.

[@punkyreggaeparty8786]

I truly enjoy how John Oliver imparts information thoroughly and with humor. 😊

[@firstlast8258]

🤡

[@asterix7842]

I remember in the 90s waiting in line for a long time to get Paul Simon tickets for one of the sports arenas in Philly, only to discover that most of the tickets had already been sold the day before to American Express cardholders. I was third or fourth in line and the only seats left were in the last few rows. It’s been decades since I bought tickets through Ticketmaster. Instead of paying $100 and up to see an artist at one of the big sports arenas I can see artists that are just as good for a fraction of the cost at local theaters or clubs. They might be artists on their way up, before they become famous, or who used to play the big arenas but aren’t as popular now. And the artists often hang around after the show to chat with fans or sign autographs.

[@lostinwonderart]

We used to have a pavilion venue on our river that had great artists at reasonable prices. Saw Jackson Brown and the Goo Goo Dolls there. Sound was great, tickets prices were reasonable, and they had waitresses. The arena owner put an end to that, and tore it down for arena parking.

[@toriless]

I have news for you, it was already fixed, I worked TM IT, systems were in place to keep it fair but management would override them.

[@RM18CPR]

I remember seeing Nine Inch Nails in Atlanta in 2013 -- I bought the tickets directly through the band and managed to score front row seats. The catch was, I didn't get the physical tickets (with my name on them) until I walked inside the venue and showed my ID, and at that point, you had to proceed directly to your seats. Doing this ensured that real, enthusiastic fans like me got the best seats and not bots and flippers.

[@girlmusicians]

That does not really stop anybody. I live in Atlanta too and it is will call and or the paperless ticket. I walked in with a person going to the show. They showed I.D. the tickets came out of a little receipt. Once in the building, the man gave me a receipt, I thank him and sat closed to the stage and he sat somewhere else. I did that for a few concerts. Bought them on Vivid Seats. Glad those paperless tickets are gone now. You could have sold them and did the same thing. Show i.d. and once you are in you could do what ever you wanted.

[@Fuffffuf]

I really appreciate how he actually proposes solutions instead if just saying there's a problem and...

[@sarahware3764]

This is an especially relevant video for me right now. A concert I was going to see last week was rescheduled to a date I couldn't make, and the ticket service the artist used (AXS) didn't provide refunds automatically. After spending $114 on the tickets (with fees and taxes) originally, the only way I could attempt to regain that money was to resell them on the AXS website for $20 over their original values, meaning no one in their right mind would choose to buy them when other tickets were still available. I was eventually able to request a refund, but this seems like a lot of hoops to jump through as a college student who can't afford to lose $114 for no reason!

[@zvendiearschficker6664]

I’m used to paying $150 for tickets. And that’s straight from Ticketmaster, not from a reseller. Metallica’s management has even been caught putting the best seats in blocks to give to scalpers before they even go on sale. They even adjust prices during general sales depending on demand. So you could see your tickets triple in price if its a hot event in the span of 5 minutes. During the pandemic, they would not refund for tickets because the event wasn’t canceled, just rescheduled. They got the music industry by the balls (and the music industry is fine with it)

[@mickcollins1921]

My favorite is that time I was in a hurry to by Jim Gaffigan tickets for the small venue in my little city that doesn't usually get big acts and despite the fact that I went to ticketmaster, never saw a notice that I was switching sites at all or switching to a resale site, I managed to end up buying a resale ticket at more than 2Xs the face value for a show that never actually sold out. I am sure it was some cleverly disguised ad to a site that was designed to look just like the ticketmaster interface, and if I would have been taking my time, I would have noticed and not been victimized, but in my rush to beat the bots that I was sure would sell out this little venue, I ended up walking right into their trap.

[@SnailSlugSlut]

They make money by tricking honest people

[@keyworksurfer]

ticketmaster allowed that ad, helped them to do it to you. think about that for a moment, oof

[@nomore6167]

Another deceptive fee I've seen is "historic fee" (or "restoration fee" or similar wording). For one venue relatively close to me, there is a $10 "historic" or "restoration" fee on every ticket, despite the fact that the owner is a known scumbag who owns at least three venues and never does anything to update or restore any of them, choosing instead to let them fall into disarray.

[@courtneysmith6140]

Watching this while i wait in the Ticketmaster presale queue for the Taylor Swift Eras tour