Ticketmaster's resale division has allegedly been working with scalpers to rip off customers and generate more revenue for the company, according to an investigation by CBC News and the Toronto Star. Undercover journalists from both outlets posed as scalpers at a live entertainment convention where Ticketmaster pitched its professional reseller program, TradeDesk.
TradeDesk representatives told the journalists that the resell division doesn't police those users who have bought tickets in bulk from Ticketmaster's main division using bots and fake identities. When tickets are resold via TradeDesk, Ticketmaster receives a percentage of the sale. “I have brokers that have literally a couple of hundred accounts,” a TradeDesk sales rep said. "It’s not something that we look at or report.”
Ticketmaster's main business has officially been fighting the use of bots, with a "buyer abuse" division whose role is to police suspicious activity. The company also launched its Verified Fan program to reduce mass ticket purchases by resellers and has filed lawsuits against brokers who used bots.
Resellers who buy their tickets via Ticketmaster have a financial incentive to use TradeDesk. They get a 3 percent discount on the 7 percent Ticketmaster selling fee, with additional percentage points taken off when they get to $500,000 and $1 million in sales respectively.
While Ticketmaster didn't directly address the report, the company issued a statement to CBC. "There will inevitably be a secondary market." senior vice president of communications Catherine Martin wrote. "As the world’s leading ticketing platform, representing thousands of teams, artists, and venues, we believe it is our job to offer a marketplace that provides a safe and fair place for fans to shop, buy, and sell tickets in both the primary and secondary markets.”
Ticketmaster has long generated controversy and was at the center of a court case with rock giants Pearl Jam in the ’90s. For more on this story, head to CBC News and the Toronto Star.
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