Battle Over the Box Office

Back in 1994, when grunge was king and flannel was flying off the shelves, a young Eddie Vedder spearheaded a battle on behalf of his fans. His band Pearl Jam sued and boycotted Ticketmaster, the company that sells access to most of America’s concerts. Pearl Jam said the company charged too much for tickets, that it tacked-on unfair fees, and that it had a monopolistic stranglehold on the industry.

The band eventually lost its lawsuit and gave up on its boycott, and now those 1994 prices seem like a bargain. In 2008, a concertgoer should be prepared to pay convenience fees, ordering fees, facility fees, and printing fees, just to name a few. By some counts those extra charges can make-up 75% percent of the ticket price. Many fans are outraged, and some hope that new competition coming down the pipeline could change the game a bit. Soon, the giant concert promotion company Live Nation will end its partnership with Ticketmaster and start selling its own tickets. Plus, the Web is creating a secondary marketplace for sports and concert tickets.

Word of Mouth commentator Garen Daly joins us Monday to give us the lowdown. Garen runs FrugalYankee.com and is a writes for the Monadnock Review.

(Photo by midnightglory)