How much do we hate TicketMaster?  Or, as it’s commonly called, TICKETBASTARD?

Actually, I know the guys over there, so I can’t say they’re idiots, but how can they continually be so STUPID!

What people hate about TicketMaster is the extra CHARGES!  The only way to get some love is to eliminate them.  FROM THE CUSTOMER’S PERCEPTION!

Oh, we know, TicketMaster and the promoter are afraid that then the act will want to commission the revenue.

So let me get this straight.  In a business that depends on the customer, FOR EVERYTHING, the old wave arrogant players continue to act to the customer’s DETRIMENT?  They think what happened to the labels can’t happen to them.  Well, you can’t steal concert seats, but unless an act is promoted and marketed heavily, NO ONE WANTS TO SEE THEM, not in VOLUME!

Oh, there are some burgeoning scenes, some acts developing via word of mouth on the Net.  But the day when one of these acts can sell out an arena, never mind a stadium, are not just around the corner.  But the inevitable ongoing decline in mass/high revenue gigs, we don’t hear about it from the concert industry players.  Ever think that the only way out is to gain the customer’s trust, and try to build something OUTSIDE the label system?

But NO!  The usual suspects are just gonna continue to argue over the dollars that are left, they’d rather destroy than build.

I was positively SHOCKED when I read the details of this TM/Bon Jovi deal.  It seemed clear on the surface, buy a Bon Jovi ticket and then get the new ALBUM!  FREE!

But NO!  IF you’ve got an Amex Card, you’ve got the privilege of participating in the presale, and paying $9.99 EXTRA for the album!  How is this good for the customer?  Is this the convenience a fan is looking for?  Wow, I’m in front of the computer, buying tickets, but you know it’s just too much of a pain in the ass to load iTunes and buy the band’s new album, I’d better have TicketMaster do it.  Shit, I’m stunned they don’t charge a CONVENIENCE FEE!  What’s next, a FACILITY FEE?

Ticketmaster.com and the iTunes Store are right next to each other on the Net.  And, you get to decide IF you want the new album!  Maybe you want to wait for it to come out first, so you can hear it.  Maybe you want to experience the songs live before you make a decision.  But no, if you want in on the presale, a prerequisite is BUYING THE ALBUM!

Oh, TicketMaster says that there will be good seats left for those not participating in the Amex presale and then the general presale including the album thereafter.  Yeah, right. And bots don’t own ticketmaster.com and venues don’t hold back the best seats.  Yup, WAIT TO BUY THE BEST SEATS!  That goes against EVERY lesson of concert attendance EVER!  It goes against INSTINCT!  First come, first served, isn’t that what they say?  Yup, if I want to see Bon Jovi at the ticket price (plus TM extras, of course), why don’t I wait until the night of the show!  I’ll probably get tickets in the FIRST ROW!

But the album sales will count in SoundScan.  THANK GOD!  Let’s make sure Bon Jovi debuts high on the chart.  Like the dyed-in-the-wool oldsters going to this show are even AWARE of the chart!

How many ways can TicketBastard screw us.  Yup, let’s play the game.  What’s next, you’ve got to buy parking with your concert ticket?  And food?  And albums of OTHER acts?

We want to go to the show.  We’re willing to pay a fair price.  A HIGH price in the case of a superstar.  Just quote us a final price, sans extras.

I thought buying tickets was like shopping at the 7-11, one simple established price.  But NO, it’s more like buying a car.  A daunting experience everyone loathes.

But isn’t it funny that so many people buy cars on the Net today, to avoid salesmen/the dealership experience.  They just want a final price.

What’s the final price of a concert ticket?  WHO THE FUCK KNOWS!

And that’s TicketMaster’s problem.

And what’s TicketMaster’s problem is the concert industry’s problem.

And what’s the concert industry’s problem is the ACT’S problem.

Yup, it’s the acts that suffer.

God, when I go to the movies do I have to buy a DVD to get a good seat?

Utterly fucking ridiculous.