Could it be that demand just isn’t that great? And rather than seeing a Disney Channel peak we’re seeing a scalper peak?

The Disney Channel is the new MTV. A place where young ‘uns are glued to shows that truly speak to them, that take them seriously, that don’t talk down to them. Whereas MTV is all reality TV, and reality TV is about contempt. If you watch MTV you feel SUPERIOR to the people on the channel, you don’t want to BE ON the channel. It’s Jerry Springerville. Whereas the Disney Channel is the Mickey Mouse Club. Really. A place where you belong.

But is Hannah Montana that big a star?

"High School Musical" has peaked. That’s what happens when you front-load the hype. The original snuck up on us. It was promoted by word of mouth by those twenty and younger. It was THEIR thing. Now it’s our thing, and they don’t give a shit. The first one’s charm was its cheesiness. The second one? With everybody taking themselves so seriously but still junky elements underneath? You wanted to tune in to check it out, but you’re no longer addicted, you’ve moved on.

But that’s television. We learned that with the aforementioned MTV. You’re rocketed into orbit, but you fall back to earth just as quickly. Unless you’re spectacularly good. And almost no one is spectacularly good. You’re grist for the mill. Playing arenas today, doing guest shots on soap operas tomorrow. Hopefully trying to keep yourself from behind the counter at 7-11.

Hannah Montana is not the first Disney built star. We had Hilary Duff, with a big hit album. But there wasn’t HilaryMANIA! It wasn’t like you couldn’t get a ticket.

I believe the reason you can’t get a ticket to Hannah Montana is because of the sophistication of ticket brokers. Along with the very few tickets available for each gig.

Did you check the stats?

According to the "New York Times", in Kansas City, and this is the TicketMaster lawyer speaking, they only had 4,200 of the 11,000 seats available!

In the Race to Buy Concert Tickets, Fans Keep Losing

Oh, the arena holds 11,000, but only 8,400 tickets were for sale. Where the hell did 2,600 seats GO? They’re not holdbacks for staging, they’re insider tickets, held back by the venue, the act, the… The other 4,200 went to the fan club… And, it seems the ticket brokers scarfed up ALL of the available seats.

There’s an artificial shortage here. With incredibly sophisticated software, the brokers with the bots can buy up ALL the seats. They figure it’s gonna sell out anyway, based on the HYPE!

Demand doesn’t justify these prices. It’s just that the audience, and in this case it’s the parents, they’re paying, not the kids, haven’t gone to a concert in recent memory, or, if they have, have paid though the roof to see the stars of THEIR youth, and they think these prices are real. They’re not real. Hannah Montana ain’t THAT big.

This is the brokers’ business. The spread. They’re not amateurs, buying an extra ticket to finance their seats, they’re trying to make a living! They figured this was like shooting fish in a barrel. If they got ALL the tickets, fans would have to come to THEM!

Some parents are going to be stupid enough to pay these inflated prices. But if they can only wait until the time of the gig, prices are going to come WAY down. Ever been to an arena? How many good seats are there? 750? Certainly no more than a couple thousand. The rest give you the privilege of BEING THERE! Inside the building. So you can tell your buddies. Front row seats always go for a premium. But the nosebleeds?

There will be seats available. And the real loser won’t be the ticket brokers, but the concert business itself. The brokers will just take less of the anticipated spread. The industry will have to fight off the law. Yes, attorneys general want to know HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? How did the concert industry get so out of control?

Well, our hands are tied.

Then how did Garth Brooks go out for $25 with a maximum total of $32.50 WITH fees

Garth Brooks Ticket Information

in Kansas City and sell nine dates and there are no complaints? Could it be that they added dates in reverse, foiling the brokers/bots? How come a guy who hasn’t been in the marketplace for years is more sophisticated than those who do it every day? And how can he make money charging so little?

Yup, years later, people still care about Garth. They won’t care about Hannah Montana in just a few. Just like her dad can’t sell a record. This is the concert industry’s worst nightmare, all its dirty laundry aired simultaneously. I foresee black clouds ahead.