Fortunately the bulk of bands I like to see

Are pretty unpopular... So it was a bit of a surprise many years ago when I tried to pick up tix for Leonard Cohen's comeback tour to find them sold out within minutes (and then available almost instantly at triple the cost through ticketmaster's own resale site...) (those minutes apparently being long enough for 'fans' to realise that oh, they couldn't make it after all).

Had a similar thing post pandemic trying to get hold of Mitski tickets for the boy... Again the gig was sold out within seconds of the tickets going live.

Mad.

In both instances I go to enough gigs that I knew routes to get genuine tickets at cost price after the fact (blocks that had been held back).

And artists themselves can do a lot to counteract this too. For example I went to St Vincent's Brizzol gig this year, which sold out instantly, but which fans who'd been to her stuff before could buy tickets for in the week before they went on general sale. The gig was full of genuine fans.

The scalping of tickets is an utter disgrace, and that it has been abhetted by the main ticket sellers is scandalous. Dynamic pricing also feels an utter con.

On the one hand I know that laying on gigs is an expensive, risky business and that bands are struggling to make ends meet. But the gigs that this stuff is happening for are established acts and there's no need.

Didn't think much of Oasis before (as people, they did a couple of okay albums), think a fair bit less of them now.

Posted By: Cardiff Canary, Sep 1, 11:51:06