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Madonna Reinvents Herself As a Ticket-Scalping Profiteer


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Madonna Reinvents Herself As a Ticket-Scalping Profiteer

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In a despicable move likely to disappoint even the crazy fans who didn't hate American Life, Madonna has signed an endorsement deal with StubHub that will make her the first musician to earn a profit on scalped tickets to her concerts. The 49-year-old pop star will reportedly be paid a flat fee, plus a percentage of sales of all tickets purchased by fans who were unable to get them through Ticketmaster (because they were all bought by scalpers planning to sell them online at an exorbitant markup through StubHub). "It's the future of the ticketing business," claims StubHub head of business development Chuck La Vallee — and he's probably right, at least until Madonna, the Rolling Stones, and the other dinosaurs who've been keeping the touring industry afloat this past decade keel over from old age. Anyway, if you've been looking for an excuse not to pay $700 for a balcony seat at one of the shows on her upcoming Sticky and Sweet Tour, we think this is a pretty great one.

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Wall Street Journal

StubHub Enlisted in Resale Of Madonna Concert Tickets

By ETHAN SMITH

May 9, 2008; Page B6

Madonna's coming concert tour is to feature what appears to be a first in the concert business: An official ticket reseller that will peddle seats at marked-up prices to fans who couldn't get them through normal channels.

In the U.S. and Canada, eBay Inc.'s StubHub will serve as the "official fan-to-fan ticket marketplace." In Europe, the role will be filled by Viagogo Ltd., a ticket reseller that also will sell "VIP packages" -- higher-priced tickets that include amenities like backstage passes and meetings with performers.

The endorsements highlight the growing popularity and influence of so-called secondary ticketing companies, which let both fans and brokers sell tickets to others at prices that often far exceed their face values. Concert promoters and artists have long complained that they are locked out of the secondary marketplace, putting money in the pockets of speculators and middlemen who aren't involved in staging or promoting concerts.

Sports teams and leagues have entered partnerships with secondary ticketing companies. But executives at Viagogo and StubHub called this the first time a major music artist has officially embraced the secondary market on this scale.

"It's the future of the ticketing business," said Chuck La Vallee, StubHub's head of business development for music. "Promoters have always complained that we don't have skin in the game."

Terms weren't disclosed, but people close to the deal said Viagogo is paying promoter Live Nation Inc. and Madonna a flat fee, while StubHub is offering a percentage of revenue on top of a fee. Despite the official status of the two companies, fans would still be able to buy and sell tickets on other online marketplaces, such as TicketsNow, RazorGator or Craigslist. But Viagogo and StubHub will be promoted in emails to fans and other marketing materials.

The tour is the first for Madonna since she announced a $120 million partnership with Live Nation in which the promoter is to participate financially in nearly every aspect of the pop star's career. The album she is promoting, "Hard Candy," is the last under her record contract with Warner Music Group Corp. The "Sticky and Sweet" tour is to start in August, with nine dates in Europe, followed by 18 U.S. shows in the fall. There will be several stadium shows in the U.S., including at Los Angeles' Dodger Stadium -- far larger venues than the arenas Madonna has historically performed in. Prices weren't announced.

Live Nation's contract in the U.S. with IAC/InterActiveCorp's Ticketmaster expires at the end of this year. At that point Live Nation will begin selling its own tickets for its concerts. Arrangements like the one with Viagogo -- in which Viagogo handles a portion of the so-called primary ticketing, in addition to resales -- could become more common on Live Nation tours once Ticketmaster is out of the picture.

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what a god damn bitch.

it's amazing the different views artists have on scalping. I'm a fan of NIN and Trent Reznor and his crew are having pre-sales for their fans. Whoever purchases the ticket has to show ID on the day of show to pick up the ticket, and then show their ID again to get into the venue with a pre-sale ticket. Trent is trying to prevent some of tickets from getting scalped.

I didn't have to pay a membership fee or anything to purchase my pre-sale ticket.

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It looks like all the good seats have been reserved for StubHub, Ticketmaster will probably offer the bad seating.

yeah, this is good news for Madonna, but horrible news for fans. Getting a good seat under $500 is going to be very difficult now :confused:

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I dunno about official but if all the New York publications are buzzing about it then I'd take it as something that's pretty close to reality. I don't really get why she'd do something this blatantly greedy and oily, so I hope it gets explained soon.

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Guest boytoyville

Smart buisness move you must admit. Regardless of how one feels about it this is how artist are going to make money in the future because people simply are being cheap asses & downloading music for free! If you ask me this is the result! The music fans brought it on themselves when they stopped PAYING for music! I know it sucks for those of us including myself who don't download free music that is commerically available but thats how I see it.

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Guest boytoyville
I don't get what she's thinking. Instead of trying to secure her legacy, she's getting more and more desperate and greedy.

Get over it. :lame:

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