It takes a lot of guts to take a stand to a corporate structure that has been in place for many years. Alternative solution to fan and live performance rip-offs is significantly more complex. Several artists have gone a little farther, staying neutral and establishing their own independent music labels, as well as selling $5 tickets to a concert to their supporters. Others, on the other hand, have taken on massive businesses like Ticketmaster in effort to allow shows more affordable to all supporters.
Greta Van Fleet
On social media in 2018, the group expressed their feelings regarding scalpers. “We are actively trying to resolve the troubling issue of scalpers raising ticket prices,” they wrote. “…Bands today are told to raise ticket prices to fight scalpers. This is unacceptable. We want all our fans to be able to see us at a fair price.”
Tom Petty
Tom Petty made waves in 2006 after he revoked 460 tickets in order to deter scalping tickets. The tickets in discussion were initially reserved for his fan club members, but they were resold on third-party ticket-selling platforms for a significant price increase. After Petty’s staff declared the tickets fraudulent, the 460 tickets were put available for purchase on his fan club afterwards, albeit severe safeguards were implemented, such as demanding a picture ID for pickup, eliminating the bulk of scalping.
Bruce Springsteen
When Bruce Springsteen agreed to play 79 live acoustic shows as part of “Springsteen on Broadway,” he realized the outcome would be scooped up by resellers unless he acted.
He used Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan program, which checks ticket holders and offers them a special identifier to use when purchasing a set number of tickets. As per Rolling Stone, just about 3% of concert tickets wound up on third-party ticket resale platforms.
Metallica, AC/DC and Iron Maiden
Metallica, AC/DC, Iron Maiden, and Pearl Jam are among the music legends that have used cashless ticketing systems to offset huge spikes in ticket resale costs.
This approach is intended to prevent resale since fans who buy tickets must present ID/credit card using the digitized tickets, which can only be accessible via their phone/email/app, making it even harder for scalpers to distribute.
Radiohead
Radiohead collaborated with the fan-to-fan group Ticket Trust in 2012, providing artists and supporters with a socially responsible option to secondary or third-party ticket selling platforms. Furthermore, the group stated that any tickets bought via their own merchandise shop may be redeemed for full price via Ticket Trust if necessary.
Ian MacKaye
For nearly four decades, MacKaye has been a co-founder and co-owner of Dischord Records. He and his group, Fugazi, solely promote their songs at low costs and charge only $5 for show tickets. They even rejected off a record deal for $10 million from Atlantic.
Foo Fighters
For their 2014 Sonic Highways Tour, the Foo Fighters launched the #BeatTheBots effort targeting ticket scalpers. The group offered a pre-sale in person at pop-up cinema sites in towns throughout the country where they would be performing. Fans could only purchase tickets in denominations of 1, 2, or 4 in person.
Pearl Jam
Due to an increase in ticket pricing and service costs for their upcoming tour, Pearl Jam chose to take on Ticketmaster in 1995, while launching Vitalogy. Regardless of the fact that Ticketmaster deals with 90% of the country’s stadiums, the group has promised to shun them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q2sIZUSLRA
Rage Against The Machine
Ticket scalpers had a hay day when Rage Against The Machine’s comeback tour hit shelves in 2020. Regrettably, Tom Morello devised a strategy that effectively eliminated around 80 % of the total of the scalping business. The group provided luxury seats for a greater fee, with all proceeds benefiting local charity. They raised nearly $3 million in only 48 hours.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_X35ZBetbA