Good but not great documentary on the problem with concert tickets today.
We learn about the monopoly of Ticketmaster, notably from exclusivity contracts with venues. Ticketmaster requires venues to only sell tickets via their platform, and venues therefore feel obligated to use Ticketmaster.
We also learn about the vertical integration of venues and Ticketmaster, which makes this exclusivity clause often moot, given all the profit ends up in the same pocket.
What the docu fails to do is suggest solutions. The problem is evident, benefits Ticketmaster and their venues, but poisons the experience of most music fans & many artists. We also can't ignore the fact that there will always be people willing to pay extra to attend a concert at the last minute.
Economic theory says that there should be competition to balance things out. It's evident that competition doesn't apply here, so you would expect the government to step in, not as a neo-marxist force, but as a force to maintain competition. There's also a real question of where capitalism should stop, because musicians are almost by definition not businessmen at heart, and it is evident that many want to charge the public what they feel is fair, rather than the absolute highest price any concert goer is willing to pay. That spread on most of the tickets sold simply shouldn't be allowed to be captured by parasitic market forces.
You could plausibly think of a stock exchange where at least... 80% (?) of the tickets are sold in the primary market, and like airline tickets, these tickets would be in your name, you can't resell them, maybe except to the platform subject to a sizeable restocking fee (put option)? And allow the last 20% to be traded in the secondary market anonymously? Fans should be able to buy tickets at prices set by the artist with a transparent level of fees. Some people will always pay up to jump the queue. It's about accommodating both. Many venues and artists are also afraid of Ticketmaster, so maybe vertical integration and exclusivity clauses should be banned?
What is clear is that any concert system that is to the detriment of both the artist and the fans is bad. Market good. Monopoly / cartel bad.
