jakncoke
02-09-2009, 04:42 PM
Schumer: Springsteen fans victim of 'bait and switch'
BY JOSEPH MALLIA
joseph.mallia@newsday.com
February 9, 2009
Bruce Springsteen fans were victims of a "classic bait and switch" scam by the nation's largest concert ticket seller, Sen. Charles Schumer said yesterday, as he called for a federal investigation into the company, Ticketmaster.
Schumer (D-N.Y.) wants the Federal Trade Commission to look into whether the Ticketmaster Web site withheld the best tickets from the public, then shuttled fans to TicketsNow, a fully owned subsidiary.
TicketsNow had the best tickets available immediately - at sky-high prices - after the Springsteen tickets went on sale at 10 a.m. on Feb. 2.
A federal investigation would look into whether Ticketmaster was instantly scalping the tickets, never giving fans a chance to buy them at face value, Schumer said. Customers who tried to buy tickets originally priced at $95 on Ticketmaster's Web site were directed to TicketsNow, where they were priced at more than $2,000.
The tickets that went on sale included a May 4 concert at Nassau Coliseum.
"At 10 a.m. on Ticketmaster they were all sold out, then at 10:01 a.m. the same tickets are on TicketsNow for double the price," Schumer said. "We want to find out how did they become available at TicketsNow so fast?"
A Ticketmaster spokesman did not respond to telephone and e-mail requests for comment yesterday. Ticketmaster chief executive Irving Azoff issued an apology after Springsteen denounced the company's actions.
"Fans who thought they were going to 'The Promised Land' of Springsteen found themselves in the 'Badlands' of ticket scalpers," Schumer said. The senator added that he wants to put the brakes on Ticketmaster's proposed merger with Live Nation, the nation's largest concert promoter.
Since buying TicketsNow in February, Ticketmaster has faced similar criticism for its handling of Elton John tickets in Canada and numerous U.S. concert tours, including Radiohead. Law enforcement agencies in Connecticut and New Jersey have also launched investigations.
http://www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/monday/nation/ny-usschu096029865feb09,0,6464886.story
Hopefully they get major fines if it turns to out to be true
BY JOSEPH MALLIA
joseph.mallia@newsday.com
February 9, 2009
Bruce Springsteen fans were victims of a "classic bait and switch" scam by the nation's largest concert ticket seller, Sen. Charles Schumer said yesterday, as he called for a federal investigation into the company, Ticketmaster.
Schumer (D-N.Y.) wants the Federal Trade Commission to look into whether the Ticketmaster Web site withheld the best tickets from the public, then shuttled fans to TicketsNow, a fully owned subsidiary.
TicketsNow had the best tickets available immediately - at sky-high prices - after the Springsteen tickets went on sale at 10 a.m. on Feb. 2.
A federal investigation would look into whether Ticketmaster was instantly scalping the tickets, never giving fans a chance to buy them at face value, Schumer said. Customers who tried to buy tickets originally priced at $95 on Ticketmaster's Web site were directed to TicketsNow, where they were priced at more than $2,000.
The tickets that went on sale included a May 4 concert at Nassau Coliseum.
"At 10 a.m. on Ticketmaster they were all sold out, then at 10:01 a.m. the same tickets are on TicketsNow for double the price," Schumer said. "We want to find out how did they become available at TicketsNow so fast?"
A Ticketmaster spokesman did not respond to telephone and e-mail requests for comment yesterday. Ticketmaster chief executive Irving Azoff issued an apology after Springsteen denounced the company's actions.
"Fans who thought they were going to 'The Promised Land' of Springsteen found themselves in the 'Badlands' of ticket scalpers," Schumer said. The senator added that he wants to put the brakes on Ticketmaster's proposed merger with Live Nation, the nation's largest concert promoter.
Since buying TicketsNow in February, Ticketmaster has faced similar criticism for its handling of Elton John tickets in Canada and numerous U.S. concert tours, including Radiohead. Law enforcement agencies in Connecticut and New Jersey have also launched investigations.
http://www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/monday/nation/ny-usschu096029865feb09,0,6464886.story
Hopefully they get major fines if it turns to out to be true