ticektmaster

Music News You Can Use: Ticket Broker Woes

Friday, February 6th, 2009

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Big Bruce and big broker mending … Ticketmaster issued a apology to Bruce Springsteen Wednesday after a ticket distribution fiasco for the singer’s Working on a Dream tour was followed by an onslaught of disappointed fans who couldn’t purchase tickets and, well, an unhappy post-Superbowl Springsteen. In an open apology letter sent to Bruce and his tour team, Ticketmaster Entertainment CEO Irving Azoff says that they were trying to “do the right thing for the fans by providing more choices” but “clearly missed the mark.”

Ticketmaster ain’t the only one … Live Nation, Ticketmaster’s potential partner in ticket sales, has issued a pledge of improvements after Phish fans encountered problems while purchasing the long-awaited reunion tour tickets on Live Nation’s new system. In response to the numerous complaints, a less sympathetic CEO, Nathan Hubbard of Live Nation Ticketing said, “When you have 10 million requests from your ticketing system and only 20,000 seats, there’s going to be a line.” Tsk tsk.

Speaking of Phish and Springsteen … They are both headlining this year’s Bonnaroo Music Festival, alongside the E Street Band. The Manchester, Tennessee festival will be held June 11-14, and will also feature appearances from the Beastie Boys, Nine Inch Nails, Snoop Dogg, MGMT and, gasp, guitar phenoms Rodrigo y Gabriela. Tickets go on sale February 7, and will offer a pretty sweet payment plan of five $50 payments.

Not all festivals may be faring well … Miami’s Langerado Music Festival, which features artists Death Cab For Cutie, Snoop Dogg, Dashboard Confessional, and Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, has been cancelled due to “sluggish ticket sales,” according to the festival’s organizers. Though the three day pass costs a relatively decent $150, promoters say that it is the economy that has slowed sales to a meager 30 tickets per day. Tickets will be refunded within the next seven days, they say.