Organization Seeks Answers From Ticketmaster, TicketsNow
The National Association of Ticket Brokers (NATB), in a "strongly worded letter" from attorney Gary Adler, has asked Ticketmaster and TicketsNow to "fully describe the relationship between the two, their business practices and motives, and their relationship to the secondary ticket market," according to Alfred Branch of TICKETNEWS.com. The "unprecedented" letter to TicketsNow President & CEO Cheryl Rosner and Ticketmaster President & CEO Sean Moriarty, who this year is keynoting the NATB’s annual conference, was written on behalf of "several NATB members who have expressed concern over" the business practices of the two companies. Ticketmaster in January completed a $265M acquisition of TicketsNow, and several ticket brokers prior to the closing "logged complaints with the U.S. Justice Department concerning the takeover and what it could mean to competition" in the ticket market. The letter, which "stops short of threatening any legal action," outlines 10 questions NATB members would like answered, including whether Ticketmaster will "guarantee that it will protect its ticket broker clients' best interest the same way it protects its primary market clients' best interest." The letter also "seeks to understand the basis of some litigation Ticketmaster has waged against secondary ticket brokers that allegedly use 'automated devices' to obtain tickets," devices that Ticketmaster "does not fully describe." Adler Wednesday said that the "impetus for the letter was some 'recent events' where brokers believed they were shut out from obtaining tickets to some shows." Branch notes Radiohead fans last week were "being directed from Ticketmaster to TicketsNow to buy tickets for sold-out shows." Adler did not elaborate on "which shows or events were in question." Adler: "Tickets were appearing that may not have been made available to the public, but that were turning up on their secondary sites" (TICKETNEWS.com, 4/23). View the letter in full.
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