Man is Mikey Rapino one greasy motherfucker. You could ring out his hair to lube your engine.
I have season tickets to a Ticketmaster amphitheater. This season has been way undersold compared in comparison to years past. Many shows have been 40% to 60% capacity, some even less.
People have started to say no to the insane prices. Tickets obviously but also parking, drinks, food. It's off the charts in this middling economy.
The classic rock and baby boomer acts are also fading away and there aren't enough new bands to pack sheds in the same way.
Normally i would say TM is in trouble but with their grip on the market, they will just continue the algorithmic machinations and gouging. it may even get worse.
I've met Rapino a couple of times and know people who know him and work with him. He's basically what you'd expect of any major cooperate executive, but he's also a decent person who has done some very solid and generous things for individuals who work for LN that people don't know about. He's a rich corporate executive, he's not my kind of guy, but he's not a monster either.
And I don't give my money to TM, I give it to the artist and promoters who work the massive, incredibly expensive machine that is putting on major events in the 21st Century. TM is just a part of that machine, and when Rapino says, "They beat me up if we charge $800 for Beyoncé", the "we" he's talking about is Live Nation (and Beyoncé) not TM, because despite what everyone loves to think, TM just sells the tickets.
If any nefarious under the table activity is going on then TM is just the tool being used by the owners of the tickets, i.e. the promoters and the talent, and if it wasn't TM or if it were five or ten competing ticket seller companies nothing of substance would change, until scalping is made illegal.
Because despite what most people think, including our moronic government, it is the independent billion dollar scalping network that is to blame for the vast majority of what everyone whines about, especially the scarcity and ridiculously high prices for the best seats.
It's the scalpers folks. Create a truly enforceable federal law that prohibits all reselling of tickets for profit and things would change significantly. Prices to the most popular events would still be high because that's what they're worth and because the cost of putting on large scale events and tours is astronomical. I'm sure most people would still desperately look to blame anyone other than the artist/their heroes (the ones who ultimately ALWAYS set the face ticket prices), but then the only real thing people could honestly complain about TicketMaster would be their fees, which are gougy and annoying but a very minor aspect to all this.
You know what areas the professional scalpers have recently been found to be controlling? Golf tee-times and restaurant reservations. They're hoarding those now and they're making millions from that alone.
100% agree that it isn't TM's fault that people will pay thousands to go to shows now. That I blame fully on the Eagles.
Do you not think that TM has side deals with all the scalping sites. I mean everyone sort of assumes that is the case and I certainly do but I have never seen anything definitive.
Finally there is one area where TM is just committing fraud and that is with dynamic pricing. They hold their hands up and say it isn't our fault if there is more demand the dynamic price just reflects that, but they manipulate demand like they did with Dead & Co last tour shows in SF where they added the Sunday show after reaping the inflated dynamic price on the other shows. That is nothing but straight up fraud.
"The Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation, on Thursday, alleging that the company willingly misleads consumers about ticket prices and cooperates with scalpers to markup resale prices — all at the expense of artists and music fans. Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Nebraska, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia are all plaintiffs in the FTC's complaints."
Live Nation's model of signing exclusive contracts that bind artists and venues also contributes, as it offers TM leverage to perform it's ticket chicanery. Basically it's a racketeering organization, not only with tickets but also things like merchandise and vendor contracts. It's clearly a RICO case.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Mice elf
Keep giving your money to
Keep giving your money to Ticketmaster
you know you want to
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: JP (J Bomb)
Man is Mikey Rapino one
Man is Mikey Rapino one greasy motherfucker. You could ring out his hair to lube your engine.
I have season tickets to a Ticketmaster amphitheater. This season has been way undersold compared in comparison to years past. Many shows have been 40% to 60% capacity, some even less.
People have started to say no to the insane prices. Tickets obviously but also parking, drinks, food. It's off the charts in this middling economy.
The classic rock and baby boomer acts are also fading away and there aren't enough new bands to pack sheds in the same way.
Normally i would say TM is in trouble but with their grip on the market, they will just continue the algorithmic machinations and gouging. it may even get worse.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: El Nino
I love that his example is
I love that his example is court side at MSG, because those are the only people he knows.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Lance just me Newberry
I've met Rapino a couple of
I've met Rapino a couple of times and know people who know him and work with him. He's basically what you'd expect of any major cooperate executive, but he's also a decent person who has done some very solid and generous things for individuals who work for LN that people don't know about. He's a rich corporate executive, he's not my kind of guy, but he's not a monster either.
And I don't give my money to TM, I give it to the artist and promoters who work the massive, incredibly expensive machine that is putting on major events in the 21st Century. TM is just a part of that machine, and when Rapino says, "They beat me up if we charge $800 for Beyoncé", the "we" he's talking about is Live Nation (and Beyoncé) not TM, because despite what everyone loves to think, TM just sells the tickets.
If any nefarious under the table activity is going on then TM is just the tool being used by the owners of the tickets, i.e. the promoters and the talent, and if it wasn't TM or if it were five or ten competing ticket seller companies nothing of substance would change, until scalping is made illegal.
Because despite what most people think, including our moronic government, it is the independent billion dollar scalping network that is to blame for the vast majority of what everyone whines about, especially the scarcity and ridiculously high prices for the best seats.
It's the scalpers folks. Create a truly enforceable federal law that prohibits all reselling of tickets for profit and things would change significantly. Prices to the most popular events would still be high because that's what they're worth and because the cost of putting on large scale events and tours is astronomical. I'm sure most people would still desperately look to blame anyone other than the artist/their heroes (the ones who ultimately ALWAYS set the face ticket prices), but then the only real thing people could honestly complain about TicketMaster would be their fees, which are gougy and annoying but a very minor aspect to all this.
You know what areas the professional scalpers have recently been found to be controlling? Golf tee-times and restaurant reservations. They're hoarding those now and they're making millions from that alone.
I guess TicketMaster is to blame for that too.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: El Nino
100% agree that it isn't TM's
100% agree that it isn't TM's fault that people will pay thousands to go to shows now. That I blame fully on the Eagles.
Do you not think that TM has side deals with all the scalping sites. I mean everyone sort of assumes that is the case and I certainly do but I have never seen anything definitive.
Finally there is one area where TM is just committing fraud and that is with dynamic pricing. They hold their hands up and say it isn't our fault if there is more demand the dynamic price just reflects that, but they manipulate demand like they did with Dead & Co last tour shows in SF where they added the Sunday show after reaping the inflated dynamic price on the other shows. That is nothing but straight up fraud.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Lord Kalvert
I'm pretty much done with the
I'm pretty much done with the concert scene - have been for years.
Support local music.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Mice elf
"The Federal Trade Commission
"The Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation, on Thursday, alleging that the company willingly misleads consumers about ticket prices and cooperates with scalpers to markup resale prices — all at the expense of artists and music fans. Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Nebraska, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia are all plaintiffs in the FTC's complaints."
https://www.npr.org/2025/09/18/g-s1-89496/ftc-live-nation-ticketmaster-l...
keep giving your money to Ticketmaster
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: An organ grinder’s tune
10/3: The Thrird Mind -
10/3: The Thrird Mind - Troubadour $35 + fees = $44.84.
liquid light show included
super bargain.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: JP (J Bomb)
Live Nation's model of
Live Nation's model of signing exclusive contracts that bind artists and venues also contributes, as it offers TM leverage to perform it's ticket chicanery. Basically it's a racketeering organization, not only with tickets but also things like merchandise and vendor contracts. It's clearly a RICO case.