Booking Tickets
Last night Mrs P said apropos of nothing, “shall we go and see John Bishop”? For those who don’t know, John Bishop is an established UK comedian who is currently touring the country. So I went online and checked the details of his tour. We were quite happy to travel to see his show as it would provide an opportunity for a weekend away. Sadly, to cut a long story short we were unable to secure any tickets that suited our needs. From January to April, the tour is mainly using smaller venues such as local theatres and art centres. Later in the year during October and November, the tour moves to arenas, conference centres and stadiums. I find these very impersonal and don’t see any merit in sitting far away from the stage, watching an artist on a giant video screen. We had hoped we could get tickets at one of the smaller theatres but sadly we couldn’t find two seats together.
This anecdote illustrates two issues. The first being what do you need to do to keep up to date with tour information for bands, other musical artists and comedians? The second being the actual acquisition of tickets, which is frequently a far from equitable process. Because in the past and by that I mean the eighties and nineties, buying tickets went something like this. After spotting an advert for a forthcoming tour in the music press, I would either phone or visit the venue where the show was to be held and buy tickets from their box office. Alternatively, I would go to a third party ticket agent in Leicester Square and buy tickets there. Sometimes there would be a queue but if you were shrewd about the timing, there would be no major issues. However, this process was subsequently ruined by the internet and online booking services.
The most egregious problem associated with buying tickets nowadays is the rise of automated bots that buy en masse for touts. Another problem associated with the lottery that is the first come, first served approach, are the virtual queues that occur when tickets go on sale at designated times. I spent exactly 14 minutes in an online queue last year, in a vain attempt to buy two tickets for a popular podcast’s live recording. By the time I finally got to the front of the queue, I was greeted with a message that all tickets were sold out. How is this fair and equitable? Furthermore it is far from good PR for the artists in question. Last year’s sale of Oasis reunion tickets really caught the public's attention due to the poor way the process was handled. The question of regulating ticket sales has now even been raised in parliament.
Another issue that occurs, sometimes with smaller venues, is when there are limited tickets left. Some websites refuse to sell pairs of tickets if that sale leaves a single seat on its own. I noticed this when trying to buy two circle tickets from a local theatre recently. I received a pop up message that would not allow the purchase as it left an isolated seat that the venue would naturally find harder to sell. What I want to know is since when did the venue's business problems become mine? To add insult to injury, the ticket software subsequently encouraged me to purchase a third ticket and “bring a friend”. I was utterly flabbergasted by the hubris of this approach and was tempted to call the theatre in question personally. Upon reflection I decided why harass some minimum wage, box office clerk. It’s not as if they set the sales policy.
With regard to being notified in advance about upcoming tours, the obvious solution is to simply register for email notification from the artists respective website. It is also prudent to do the same with both small and large venues. However, I was told by a friend who works in the marketing industry that this approach isn’t quite as simple and foolproof as it would appear. Although bands and artists will notify fans in advance of tours, there exists within this process a two tier system. Those who have previously bought merchandise above a certain value are given priority and first access to ticket sales. A similar system exists with large venues such as the O2 Arena. “Valued” customers are notified in advance and again given access to priority ticket sales.
There are other issues arising that are worth considering. Third party brokers and their additional charges. Then there are the vagaries of the phrase “restricted view”. Some websites include a photo of the view from your seat. Others seem to go out of their way to be as vague as possible. Overall, it seems that ticket sales is a rather ethically questionable business. It may well serve the needs of the vendors but it doesn’t benefit consumers. Many artists try to distance themselves from this process, blaming the fact that it is run by third parties and thus not their fault. However, it would appear that this issue is getting greater scrutiny by the media and consumer groups. The industry may well be facing greater regulation this year. It certainly needs it. In the meantime I have learned from my experience and am better prepared for next time I wish to book tickets for an event.
