Concert Ticket Sales Getting Sleazier

From Scott Maxwell, The Orlando Sentinel:

The story of modern-day ticket sales is murky and complicated. 

It involves many moving parts — from ticket scalpers to insider privileges. 

But all of these parts have a common effect: driving up ticket costs. 

But there are those who believe the public deserves better — especially when it comes to venues such as the Amway Center (in Orlando), which was financed with tax dollars. 

"These public facilities are party to all this," said Dean Budnick, who wrote "Ticket Masters: The Rise of the Concert Industry and How the Public Got Scalped." "And the public has a right to know how it all works." 

So how does it work? 

Well, in Taylor Swift's case, the hot young country star planned two stops in Orlando — something city officials describe as a coup and proof that building the new, $480 million facility was an investment that paid off. 

But 85 percent of the tickets to the April 12 show were gone before the general public ever got a shot. For the April 11 show, 78 percent of the tickets were gone before the public sale. 

So who got the early offers? 

Well, according to the city, 970 of the Orlando Magic's higher-end season-ticket holders got right of first refusal to the Friday-night show. 

Taylor Swift's management company and the promoter got 3,700 — for everything from gifts to pre-sales for members of Swift's fan club. 

Then there are the "insider" deals: more than 5,700 tickets for holders of certain credit cards, such as American Express, and those on the city's arena-insider email list. 

Really, though, many of these early-access deals are snatched up by professional ticket brokers with sophisticated software systems. They snatch up the tickets and then sell them for higher prices — you can find them now for anywhere from $100 to $1,000 on places such as stubhub.com and ticketsnow.com. It's all perfectly legal in most states, including Florida. 

But it gets even sleazier. Some artists are now cutting themselves in on the scalping action — by "holding back" big blocks specifically for the brokers, who then cut the artists in on the markups.

Read More Now