Vancouver’s Maureen McCartney was excited to buy Coldplay tickets for her and her partner until she saw a good $800 seat at Ticketmaster, the world’s largest ticket seller.
The British band will play BC Place in Vancouver on September 22nd and 23rd. It is the only Canadian venue on the world tour.
“Going to concerts is really hard,” McCartney said. “It’s too prohibitively expensive. And even if you could afford to go, you’d probably only go for one.
Tickers are pretty cheap in Seattle, pissing off fans, It highlights Ticketmaster’s dominance in the ticket sales industry.
Experts say different venue sizes and different production costs may have contributed to the price discrepancy, but it also lack of competition Ticketmaster’s dynamic pricing policy automatically increases some ticket prices when demand is high.
As of Tuesday afternoon, floor tickets for the September 23 Vancouver show were selling for around $300. A few of the upper bowl seats, furthest from the stage, sold for about $190 after taxes and other fees. But the majority of Upper Bowl tickets were over $300.
Meanwhile, seats on the 200th floor range from about $300 to about $800, according to Ticketmaster. Prices are similar to his September 22nd concert.
Some Coldplay fans on Reddit and Twitter were outraged by the price, pointing out that tickets to the September 20th concert in Seattle were much cheaper.
Upstairs seats were on sale for $74.50 as of Tuesday afternoon. Some lower level seats are approximately US$224, which is equivalent to approximately $300 CAD. That’s less than half the $800 charged in Vancouver.
The lowest prices for two Coldplay tickets are $1,300 in Vancouver and $450 in Seattle. I literally booked a round trip flight, bought dinner and lodging myself and still saved a ton of money 😆#Coldplay #Coldplaytickets #Ticketmaster
Coldplay tickets are over $500 a nosebleed in Vancouver, but $90 for the same section in Seattle.
Why are Seattle tickets so cheap?
Catherine Moore, an adjunct professor of music technology and digital media at the University of Toronto, said a variety of factors, including varying production costs and venue size, could account for price differences.
Seattle’s Lumenfield has a capacity of about 72,000, while BC Place has a capacity of 54,500, according to its website.
“It’s supply and demand. If there are fewer seats, I think there will be even more scarcity, so we can raise ticket prices,” Moore said.
Moore says it’s also a big factor that Vancouver is the Coldplay Tour’s only Canadian destination.
[Promoters] I have a feeling people may be traveling from other parts of Canada to get to the show in Vancouver. ”
look | | A music technology professor outlines the factors involved in ticket pricing.
Catherine Moore, adjunct professor of music technology and digital media at the University of Toronto, says there are several reasons why tickets to certain shows in Vancouver are particularly expensive.
With Coldplay playing in three U.S. cities, Moore said there wasn’t much demand for a Seattle-focused show.
Ticketmaster’s dynamic pricing model
Ticketmaster’s dynamic pricing model drives prices even higher, according to experts, due to high demand for Coldplay tickets in Vancouver.
For certain shows, the company reserves a number of tickets that allow prices to fluctuate based on demand. As you can see, they aren’t necessarily in the best locations, in fact they can be placed anywhere in the venue.
Pricing models can make tickets hundreds of dollars more expensive.
“It would be great if artists had more power to ask Ticketmaster to stop the practice,” said Bass Bednar, executive director of McMaster University’s master’s degree program in public policy in a digital society.
Ticketmaster did not respond to the CBC’s request for comment, but the company defends its dynamic pricing model.
Ticketmaster’s website describes the practice as “a fair and safe way for fans to get the best tickets, while allowing artists and others involved in staging live events to price tickets closer to actual market value.” provide access,” he said.
US Ticketmaster survey could benefit Canadians: professor
U.S. Senators recently spoke at a hearing about the lack of competition in the ticket industry stemming from the November debacle over ticket sales for Taylor Swift’s upcoming concert tour. He severely criticized the Nation’s executives.
High demand for tickets during presale period overwhelmed the systemthe site crashed, leaving many people waiting in online queues for over eight hours, with tickets fetching more than $40,000 on secondary sales sites such as StubHub.
Bednar said Canadians are likely to benefit if the hearing results in changes such as Ticketmaster adjusting its business structure.
“Hopefully it’s not geographically limited to the United States, and it will spill over and benefit us here. It doesn’t mean you should rely on ,” she said.
See | US Senator Grills Live Nation:
Ticketmaster executives were slammed by U.S. senators at a hearing about lack of competition in the ticket industry after problems with the company controlling ticket sales for Taylor Swift’s upcoming concert tour .
