Mistakes from building a model to scalp concert tickets

> Artists pretend their tickets are affordable, Ticketmaster pretends they're fighting scalpers while giving kickbacks to artists, and fans pretend they won't pay whatever it takes to get in.

this is very well put

scalping at scale is objectively evil. the scalper's bread and butter is exploiting the buyer's noble desire to support their favorite artist, make memories with friends, meet strangers, or have a transformative experience -- all for the sole purpose of financial profit.

people will never stop wanting these things, so scalpers will never stop making money. it's just a deeply gross thing to do

Sorry for the off topic, but the first image in the linked article has a crazy long and surprisingly descriptive alt and title tag. Is this some weird\new SEO practice?

>alt="A wide image divided into two contrasting halves by a large barrier. On the left, a group of young fan girls, wearing pop star t-shirts and accessories, stand outside the stadium with dejected expressions, some leaning against the barrier while others look desperately toward the stadium. On the right, inside the stadium, an enthusiastic crowd dances and cheers under colorful lights. At the center of the stage, a blonde female singer-songwriter in a sparkling outfit performs energetically, holding a microphone as the audience celebrates the moment. In between the fan girls and the concert crowd, ticket scalpers aggressively wave tickets and cash, some holding signs with inflated prices, greedily capitalizing on the situation. The contrast between the fans' frustration and the joyful concert scene emphasizes the emotional divide."

I'm surprised "entering a business where you know customers hate you and where any of your friends who you explain your job to will hate you" wasn't on the list.

The more scalpers suffer, the better. May they suffer infinite pain.

Ticketmaster now offers both dynamic pricing, as a response to the complaints that artists don’t get a cut of the price of scalped tickets, and Verified Fan pre-sales as a response to fan clubs.

I kinda gave up on it all, and go to see shows at a small venue near me. I can buy tickets in person and skip the BS most of the time. I won’t see big acts but these days that’s not what I’m into anyways.

Such a great read. It'd be fascinating to know more about the secret relationships between artists and scalpers.

> Those $100 face-value tickets were selling for 10 to 50x their price on secondary markets. Either she truly believed her tickets were only worth $100 (unlikely), or she was deliberately underpricing to maintain her image as an artist who cares about fan access.

No, those $100 tickets are mostly worth $100. There are a lot of reasons why someone will overpay to get a ticket; but don't delude yourself: If Taylor Swift decided to charge $1000 for each ticket, many less people would go. She might sell 1/10th of the tickets, and it would be a wash, she might sell 1/3rd of the tickets, and make more money, or she might sell 1/20th of the tickets, and make less money.

What drives the price of the tickets up is scarcity: Once the venue is sold out (or close to sold out,) it's useful to only sell the tickets to people who really, really want to pay.

Edit: I should add that, unless I really want to see an artist, I tend to buy my tickets shortly before the show, and only if they are a reasonable price.

For example, last summer Green Day & Smashing Pumpkins was $200 / ticket. I kinda wanted to go, but I didn't want to pay that much.

In contrast, Weezer was $70 a ticket and playing around the corner from my office. I went to Weezer. (And wished I bought a floor ticket sooner because the Flaming Lips were the opening band.)

Had Weezer charged $200, I never would have gone.

I had no idea scalping was so complicated.