I'm siding with Ticketmaster - just this once.

[C DUB YA]

In a victory for IAC/InterActiveCorp's Ticketmaster, a federal court ordered a maker of software used by ticket brokers to pay more than $18 million to the world's dominant ticket seller.

Last year, Ticketmaster sued Pittsburgh-based RMG Technologies Inc. for creating software that allowed its users to gain access to tickets via the Internet much more quickly than average customers of Ticketmaster.com.

Ticketmaster said the RMG software violated its terms of service and other rights by automatically circumventing controls designed to verify that a given user was a real person. That allowed brokers to inundate Ticketmaster's system with thousands of requests for seats when popular events went on sale, "in effect allowing them to cut in line," according to Ticketmaster. [Wall Street Journal]

Seriously, WTF! Scalpers!

[menikmati]

The internets should never of been invented, and people should have to line up physically in a line to buy tickets one per person!

[SFChrissy]

The internets should never of been invented, and people should have to line up physically in a line to buy tickets one per person!

Those were the goood old days!!!

And maybe with that 18 mill settlement to ticketbastard...we'll have a reduction in service fee's...I'm not holding my breath though...but it would be nice!!!

[C DUB YA]

Yeah, no holding of breath.

I do miss lining up - it weeded out a lot of riff raff that really didn't want to go anyways.

[Newro7ic]

Yeah, no holding of breath.

I do miss lining up - it weeded out a lot of riff raff that really didn't want to go anyways.

I lined up once. It was for Pearl Jam when they were touring for Yield. After that I had a friend with a family member who worked at a Ticketmaster location. They have first dibs on all tickets. I had floor to everything back then...

... I miss those days.

[RotationSlimWang]

Wait, why are we siding for Ticketmaster? Why the fuck should they possibly be getting a settlement out of this? I fail to see how any damage was done to them, financially or otherwise.

[JustSteve]

my first line-up was for weenie roast in '92, i think. there had to be close to a thousand people waiting for bracelets and the random number announcement. they called the number and my friend's bracelet was 1 NUMBER below the number they called! we were so bummed...until we went across the street to the auto parts store and borrowed a pen and changed the 3 on the bracelet to an 8...and it worked! my friend was suddenly 4th in line and begging the person who had the actual bracelet to keep their mouth shut! got seats and enjoyed that show so much...

my other big memory was trying to get metallica tickets. they were my favorite band back in '94 and i woke up at 6am so my dad could drive me over to the wherehouse nearby. i was first in line and right when tickets went on sale i was so excited, got 13th row seats. the show was great, made eye contact with kirk(my guitar god back then, the reason i started playing) numerous times and at the end even caught one of his picks...that was the night i became a concert junkie. a few years later i was fortunate enough to get a job in the biz and haven't really had to deal with ticketmaster too often since then.

[shakermaker113]

hmm. now if we actually see it get easier to purchase concert tickets to high-profile events (like Radiohead), then this is a big deal.

on the other hand -- this just requires the software MAKER to pay. it doesn't effectively stop the scalpers using the software. it might, however, discourage people making such software in the future -- which means when ticketmaster changes their security so that the current available software doesn't work, we might be in business.

we can hope.

[Hopeless Semantic]

Man, aint nothing like sharing a few bowls and lining up outside the local Blockbuster Music stores. Remember those? I remember making close to a grand one weekend being the first in line to by Garth Brooks tickets. Got 3rd row tickets for a broker (a pair) and he sold them for close to 2,500 and I got $800 for basically doing what I would've been doing for free. That was alot of money for a high school junior back then. I also made some crazy money the year Jordan came back. Tickets for his visit to the Forum were going for a grand a piece.

[BlackSwan]

Wait, why are we siding for Ticketmaster? Why the fuck should they possibly be getting a settlement out of this? I fail to see how any damage was done to them, financially or otherwise.

the real damage is that a lot of people got cheated out of tickets. Fuck Ticketmaster. Fuck RMG Technologies Inc..

With that said... where can i get this software?

[Sexecutioner]

Man, aint nothing like sharing a few bowls and lining up outside the local Blockbuster Music stores. Remember those? I remember making close to a grand one weekend being the first in line to by Garth Brooks tickets. Got 3rd row tickets for a broker (a pair) and he sold them for close to 2,500 and I got $800 for basically doing what I would've been doing for free. That was alot of money for a high school junior back then. I also made some crazy money the year Jordan came back. Tickets for his visit to the Forum were going for a grand a piece.

congratulations, asshole.

[Hopeless Semantic]

congratulations, asshole.

eat a dick, whore.

[shakermaker113]

Wait, why are we siding for Ticketmaster? Why the fuck should they possibly be getting a settlement out of this? I fail to see how any damage was done to them, financially or otherwise.

nope. damage is done to us. they're fighting for their customers? I guess once in a while they have to show some compassion.

[RotationSlimWang]

They're fighting for their customers by taking the money and continuing to overcharge us? Gee, thanks Ticketmaster. Also, fuck you, Ticketmaster.

[Sexecutioner]

eat a dick, whore.

i hope you die, scalper.

[RotationSlimWang]

i hope you die, scalper.

HEY, FUCK YOU BUDDY.

[Sexecutioner]

HEY, FUCK YOU BUDDY.

yea, you can die too, while we're at it.

[canexplain]

when i was a kid, we used to wait in line overnight just to buy the new LP of xxxxx we were so excited ... then it went on to getting in line for the tickets ... then the scalpers put the homeless in the lines, then they went and did their internet bs ... fans get fucked again in the end ...x****

[MarkO]

hmm. now if we actually see it get easier to purchase concert tickets to high-profile events (like Radiohead), then this is a big deal........

It won't because they don't put on enough shows. Full stop.

[psychic friend]

And maybe with that 18 mill settlement to ticketbastard...we'll have a reduction in service fee's...I'm not holding my breath though...but it would be nice!!!

fyi....

The ticketing giant Ticketmaster is getting ready to be spun off from its parent company InterActiveCorp, or IAC, in August and become a stand alone company. When they do, Ticketmaster will start with a debt of $750 million, a result of having to borrow money to pay a dividend to IAC.

http://www.ticketnews.com/Ticketmast...eality06827994

[Sushov23]

fuck, higher service fees!

[Hopeless Semantic]

i hope you die, scalper.

What a bitter person you are. I don't do it anymore, so you, your terms, and your hopes mean little to me. If you want to untie your ovaries, take up your beef with the ticket brokers, they're the ones who paid us back then.

[canexplain]

fyi....

http://www.ticketnews.com/Ticketmast...eality06827994

woot woot, dani is still alive ... have a great weekend ...x****

[212margarita]

I worked at a record store with a ticketmaster system during college, and we had a scalper that would pay homeless people or day laborers to stand in line...scalpers will always get over on the system.

[instinct]

congratulations, asshole.

What's so wrong about what he did? He bought something that was low in price, and he knew he could resell it at a higher value? If you could have got your hands on a ps3 for $20 when they first came out, would you have not bought one and sold it on ebay?? Is everyone on these boards communists or what? If some schmuk wants to buy tickets for much higher than face value, then he should be allowed to. You guys do realize there wouldn't be scalpers if people didn't pay the high prices?

[bmack86]

Do you have to fellate scalpers every time they're discussed on the board? They aren't the last bastions of Capitalism.

[BlackSwan]

If some schmuk wants to buy tickets for much higher than face value, then he should be allowed to. You guys do realize there wouldn't be scalpers if people didn't pay the high prices?

true story.

[psychic friend]

[bmack86]

That cat's nose has character

[bmack86]

true story.

They don't WANT to pay the high prices. They pay them because that's all that is available and they really want to go to the show.