It’s no secret that seeing your favorite band perform live is an exhilarating experience. Many fans will do whatever they can to obtain concert tickets. We may have done one of these, or know someone who has either sold their car, worked multiple jobs, applied for a new credit card, etc. We just discussed how momentous an Iron Maiden show could be, as these are the events we treasure for the rest of our lives. However, one can have an overwhelming feeling of disappointment knowing that some of these shows have allegedly held a dark, deceptive secret against the devoted fanbase.
Earlier this month, Billboard issued an extensive report on how Metallica were apparently engaged in the ticket resale market. This allegation is based off of an audio of a secretly recorded phone call from February 2017, just days before Metallica announced their WorldWired North American stadium tour. The conversation was between Live Nation president of U.S concerts Bob Roux and event promoter Vaughn Millette who had been tasked by an associate of the band to sell 88,000 tickets directly on resale sites.
While we do not have any proof that this is ongoing, we did notice strange activity for the initial ticket sales for night one of Metallica’s S&M2 event at the Chase Center on September 6th, in San Francisco, CA. As countless of fans waited, many noticed thousands of tickets instantly available on sites such as Stub Hub before having a chance to obtain their own at face value. Looking at Stub Hub now, these tickets are still available ranging from $494- $12,473.50 for night one and $408.50- $14,249.99 for night two on September 8th.
Bands such as Iron Maiden have issued policies against this greedy scheme while Metallica has yet to respond to the recent alleged exposure. And now, a U.S congressman has recently spoken against Metallica and the exposed ticket scam. On Thursday (25th), New Jersey congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr. discussed the news in a testimony before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Pascrell said the following:
“Unbeknownst to fans, apparently Ticketmaster and Live Nation were working with [Metallica’s] management to hold back 88,000 tickets, and post them directly on resale sites.”
Pascrell then made a Metallica reference using the song “Sad But True” taken from the 1991 black album, stating:
“That’s sad, but it is true.”
He continued:
“Live Nation admitted to the scheme last week and about a dozen artists between 2016 and 2017 could still be doing the same. This is wrong.”
It’s been reported that Pascrell has been pushing for ticketing reform since he introduced the BOSS act (Better Oversight of Secondary Sales and Accountability in Concert Ticketing Act – H.R. 3248) in response to similar allegations against Bruce Springsteen roughly twelve years ago (we see what you did there).
Pascrell explained:
“I first introduced the bill twelve years ago, when there was a major issue with the Bruce Springsteen tour. And these problems are not going away.”
The congressman has previously attempted to force ticketing legislation nearly a decade ago as he’s been critical of Live Nation and Ticketmaster:
“The combined behemoth dominates a combined $9 billion per year industry, and holds over 80% of market share.”
While it’s presumed that major companies believe this will blow over, there has been no further updates nor announced changes since the initial shadiness was exposed.
[via DigitalMusicNews]
