Yesterday (1/27/11) tickets went on sale for three Bruce Springsteen shows in New York and New Jersey. Ticketmaster was the website to purchase tickets at, but numerous fans received error messages and could not receive tickets. Tickets for these shows can be found on eBay, Stubhub, and other secondary broker sites for hundreds of dollars more than face value. This has resulted in Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D., N.J.) promising to reintroduce the “BOSS Act” (Better Oversight of Secondary Sales and Accountability in Concert Ticketing). Full text of the bill can be viewed HERE. In general, it would prohibit the purchase of tickets by brokers for the first 48 hours of the primary sale, along with requiring more reporting by the ticket seller on how many tickets are available, the distribution of all the tickets, and some additional restrictions on secondary brokers and employees or other “insiders” who may acquire tickets.
The music industry has been slow to adjust to the age of the internet. What could have been a cash cow now and for years to come for the music industry has become it’s biggest fear (as evident by the overwhelming support from music industry executives and the RIAA in the battle for SOPA and PIPA).
While the BOSS Act doesn’t directly address these intellectual property issues, it does address another issue — what exactly is the business acumen of these label executives? These tickets are going for hundreds of dollars more on resell and, most importantly, people are buying them. If the labels are going to make extreme claims of how piracy effects them (I don’t doubt that piracy hurts the artists and labels, but some of the claims made by the RIAA seem far reaching) they should realize the opportunity to make more money on ticket sales when it exists. They are undervaluing their product by hundreds of dollars and that is their prerogative. It’s also their choice to use Ticketmaster as opposed to another ticketing service or another means that assures the tickets end up in the fan’s hands and not a broker.
Sure, the BOSS Act is supposed to be a way to protect the consumers and ensure they get tickets at a fair price but it’s hard for me to feel bad for the fan when it is the label putting them in this situation, and they don’t ever seem to care about the fan. Representative Pascrell’s insistence on reintroducing this Act only goes to show how the music industry, in large part, has failed to adjust from 2009 to now (the bill was originally introduced in 2009, due to another failure by Ticketmaster in selling Springsteen tickets). If the music industry truly cared about the fans this would have been fixed by each individual label, Ticketmaster, and everyone involved in the ticketing process.
There are numerous options that could have led to more fans getting tickets for this show, or any other shows where this has been an issue. First, why not reserve more tickets for a set presale, where the fans provide the label with their e-mail address, and in return get a user specific link to purchase up to 5 or so tickets? The label gets an e-mail to add to their list, and they make sure these particular fans won’t be complaining about not being able to receive a ticket. Second, make the face value of the tickets reflective of what they are actually worth. If fans are going to pay more money than you are charging, it’s time to raise the price. You’re only encouraging these secondary ticket brokers to purchase mass quantities of tickets when you charge under what the customer perceives as the fair market value. These are just a couple of ideas to solve the problem without enacting legislation that shouldn’t be needed in the first place.
I personally would be much more interested in seeing an antitrust investigation launched against Live Nation & Ticketmaster than seeing Congress waste their time on this Act, when there are far more important matters to take up.
Digital Music News (DMN), a popular website for the music industry, was recently served with a subpoena in relation to an ongoing lawsuit against Grooveshark dealing with copyright infringement (they also face a claim of failure to pay royalties). You can read more about the Grooveshark lawsuit via the New York Times HERE. DMN’s response is the linked article at the top of the page, in which they refuse to comply with the subpoena.
This all stems from an anonymous comment that accused Grooveshark employees of uploading music they did not have a license for, to the Grooveshark service. The problem here is two fold… I haven’t read the lawsuit against Grooveshark, but if the main evidence of impropriety is an anonymous comment on a website, then I think anyone that leaves comments on articles they read online needs to be a little concerned. The other side is obviously that if Grooveshark is actually partaking in this practice, using their executives/staff to uploading music they don’t hold a license too, it’s a prime example of why there is a tension between the major record labels and technology — it can be abused far too easily.
It will be interesting to see Grooveshark’s next move and how this gets resolved, as Grooveshark’s livelihood is likely at stake with their infringement and royalty lawsuits. Just recently Grooveshark had to close their German operations due to the high licensing cost GEMA, Germany’s performing rights organization, requested.
More updates as they come. A .pdf of Grooveshark’s subpoena of DMN can be found below in the source article.
Recently on one of my go to sites for music news (absolutepunk.net) a discussion was started regarding people’s favorite EPs (extended play). I thought this was an interesting topic to ponder, as well as a great way to listen to some of my music catalog that I hadn’t in some time. I have decided to post my list of favorite EPs below, in no particular order, for those who would like to try some new bands out. And yes, I did get a little carried away… There are just so many good EPs it turns out. Most of these EPs were released before a full length (LP) and really got me interested in the particular band, others were just a supplement to an already impressive catalog of releases. I’m sure I have left out numerous EPs that I also enjoyed, these are just some of the first that came to mind. (There are links to the EPs on Spotify where available, just click on the album name)
Go Radio - Do Overs and Second Chances
Cartel - The Ransom EP
JamisonParker - Notes & Photographs
Something Corporate - Audioboxer EP
Punchline - The Rewind EP
The Starting Line - Make Yourself At Home EP
Acceptance - Black Lines to Battlefields
Mayday Parade - Tales Told By Dead Friends
Woodale - Finish What You Start
The Morning Light - The Sounds of Love
Yellowcard - Underdog EP
The Early November - For All of This
The Dangerous Summer - If You Could Only Keep Me Alive
The Format - EP
Late Night Habit - The Single Life
Parade The Day - To Keep Us Moving
E For Explosion - Hold Grudges Not Hands
Hit The Lights - Until We Get Caught
Dear You - Journals
Mercy Mercedes - 1.21 Giggawatts
And a special bonus… The Sophomore Attempt - Hallways
