Ticketmaster's fee places curse on many concert fans

"We're a Ticketmaster Ticket Center," a sign in the Michigan Union Ticket office proudly proclaims. One might feel reassured upon reading these words. After all, Ticketmaster is a name everyone knows.

Or perhaps one might feel liberated by the number of ticket-buying opportunities implied by the sign. Indeed, in the expensive arena of entertainment ticket purchasing, all roads lead to Ticketmaster.

As its name implies, Ticketmaster is a godlike force in the ticket-selling business. It is omniscient and omnipotent. It knows the time and location of nearly every mainstream event in the country, as well as many non-mainstream productions, and it has the power to price them as the Master wishes.

The Web page for Ticketmaster (http://www.ticketmaster.com) warns, "Each ticket purchased through ticket centers, over the telephone, or on Ticketmaster Online is subject to a per ticket convenience charge." The simple statement implies that the charge is really no big deal, and to many people, it isn't.

Tony Scalia, a Kinesiology senior, said, "I don't know enough about what it costs to put on a show, but I'm sure it's expensive. So I don't think the service charge is too much."

But to many concertgoers, the service charge is a big deal, and its presence has created a love/hate relationship between Ticketmaster and ticket buyers.

"The service charge is outrageous," said Leah Sneider, an LSA senior, who, while waiting in a long line for tickets to the upcoming Indigo Girls concert, seemed to be fuming. "The tickets are already expensive, and there are up to three service charges for one ticket, if you add the call-in and credit card charges," she said.

Expressing a similar contempt for the dreaded fee, Gretchen Mergentime, an Engineering junior, added, "They shouldn't have extra fees because there's no fee when you buy tickets straight from Hill Auditorium."

According to Union Ticket Office employee Harmony Tahy, an LSA first-year student, the service charge varies with tickets, and it usually ranges from $2-$5.

"The service charge is Ticketmaster's fee for running things," said Sam Kirk, also a Ticket Office employee and an LSA sophomore. "It goes straight to Ticketmaster and no one else."

A $2-$5 charge may not seem too steep, or at least not steep enough to generate the nationwide frustration with Ticketmaster that has recently manifested itself in several national boycotts of the company.

But, those people with a thirst for culture, but without easy access to a Ticketmaster ticket outlet, must resort to telephone ticket ordering. The fee for this is closer to $6-$8, though in more extreme cases, such as with several Barbra Streisand concerts across the country, the charge can reach $18, reports Chuck Phillips in a Los Angeles Times article that appears on Pearl Jam's informational Web page "Garden of Stone" (http://pearljam.caltech.edu/gos.htm).

The question on ticket buyers' lips is often, "What is this (expletive) service charge used for?" The answer is rather abstract, as most customers do not generally see the benefit individually from the charge. The answer to this question also makes it difficult for Ticketmaster to refute charges that it has a monopoly on the ticket-selling business.

Phillips' article states that part of Ticketmaster's service charge is for "processing." Another portion goes toward paying fees to concert venues to ensure a good relationship with them.

Ticketmaster pays the venues; the venues choose Ticketmaster to sell the tickets. With this practice, in addition to Ticketmaster's 2,900 ticket outlets offering the "best" seats, 25 telephone ticket-ordering centers and its new Website, it is obvious why Ticketmaster is virtually the only name in the business.

"They pretty much have a monopoly," said Matthew Messana, a University alumnus. "You have to buy from Ticketmaster."

Rackam student Alisa Stetzer agreed."There's nowhere else to buy them. Tickets wouldn't be so expensive, though, if they were spread out among sellers."

Kirk agrees that Ticketmaster has most control in ticket sales, but he feels that the company is not really to blame.

"Ticketmaster sells tickets for anyone who wants a middleman," said Kirk. "I don't think Ticketmaster has any real advantage over anyone else."

Ticketmaster's service charges and the fact that the company basically dominates the ticket-selling business have led aggravated consumers to take action against them. The best-known instance was Pearl Jam's 1994 boycott of Ticketmaster, instigated by the band's dislike of Ticketmaster's excessive service charges.

The "Garden of Stone" Web page reports that Ticketmaster retaliated, Pearl Jam believes, by using its immense control to dissuade promoters and venues to book the band. As a result, the band's summer tour for that year was canceled.

Ticketmaster chief executive Fred Rosen explained his actions to Phillips. "(Ticketmaster) will use all available remedies to protect itself from outside third parties that attempt to interfere with ... existing contracts," Rosen said.

Locally, there is one major alternative to Ticketmaster. Schoolkids' Records, on East Liberty, sells tickets to many local events, including the upcoming They Might Be Giants and Penn & Teller shows.

Sean Westergaard, store manager at Schoolkids', said, "We always come up cheaper than Ticketmaster." While Ticketmaster charges $2-$5, and even up to $8 in some instances, Schoolkids' charges no more than a $3.50 service charge in almost all cases, Westergaard said. This includes the credit card fee.

University theater Prof. A. Masson buys tickets at Schoolkids' when she can. "I like not having to deal with Ticketmaster and their extra charge," she said.

Jane Irwin, a graduate of Eastern Michigan University, feels that when people buy tickets from Schoolkids', they are helping a cause of sorts. "If you buy them through Schoolkids', you're supporting local (groups and stores), and you're supporting people other than Ticketmaster," Irwin said.

The shows for which Schoolkids' sells tickets, however, and the locations of the seats depend, once again, on Ticketmaster. Whichever company presents the show decides if Ticketmaster or another ticket outlet will sell the tickets. If the company decides to split the tickets between the two outlets, the prime seats, according to Phillips, often go to Ticketmaster outlets, who distribute them to the frenzy of ticket buyers lined up waiting for them.

"We always get a couple blocks of really good seats," Westergaard said. "But if the show is selling well through Ticketmaster, there's a chance we won't get the good tickets."

Complaints, grievances and even boycotts have been unable to shake Ticketmaster from its monopoly on ticket selling control. Outlets like Schoolkids' may offer hope to buyers who feel disillusioned and broke, but, for now, the cultured masses are powerless before the commanding authority over ticket distribution. For now, it looks as though in the corporate world of ticket sales, the godlike Ticketmaster prevails.

10-16-97