Fans First Coalition | Scalper, Beware

The New Kids on the Block stop at Scottrade was notable beyond the fact that it was a long-awaited and highly anticipated reunion.

 

 

 

 

As a means of rewarding their fans and discouraging ticket scalping, NKOTB used paperless tickets. What does this mean? It means that those wanting to see the show can do so, at the price NKOTB intended. No jacked-up prices on StubHub or Tickets Now, where bot technology has enabled shysters to acquire a vast inventory of tickets and charge three and four times the face value.

Thanks to Michael Marion, president of Fans First Coalition, St. Louis NKOTB fans weren’t shut out or overcharged. FFC’s paperless are linked to the buyer’s credit card and ID, effectively closing the door on rampant scalping.

I asked Marion a few questions about his technology—which is way, way overdue. Concertgoers need to band together and speak out against the current system, which is beyond broken. Hopefully, more bands and venues will embrace paperless tickets—and truly put the fans first.

Did you have personal experience with being shut out/priced out of events due to scalpers?

As a venue manager myself, I handle complaints from fans on a fairly regular basis about not being able to buy tickets at face value. Fans are often fooled by scalpers who don’t explain that the scalper is not affiliated with the box office or don’t state the face value of the ticket. Another problem is a new technology—called “bots”—that scalpers use to search for and scoop up tickets before fans have the chance to. Bots make it extremely difficult for the real fan to purchase face-value tickets. What New Kids on the Block are doing for their show at Scottrade Center is implementing a partial solution. Paperless tickets are linked to the credit card or ID of the ticket holder so they can’t be resold, making them less attractive to scalpers. They also ensure that fans buy a great ticket at face value.

The goal of paperless ticketing—and the Fans First Coalition—is to make sure real fans can see a concert at face value and to keep tickets out of the hands of professional scalpers.

How has the response been from venues and vendors?

At my venue in North Little Rock, Ark., we’ve been doing paperless ticketing for almost four years. I’ve received virtually no complaints from our concertgoers. We recently did a survey following a concert that 9,000 paperless tickets were used: 88 percent of people said they’d go paperless again to get face-value tickets.

We’re in the business of ensuring that visitors have a positive experience. We want fans to come back again and again, so if paperless ticket holders experience a problem before the show, they can contact our box office. We’ll work with them to ensure their satisfaction.

How prevalent is the paperless system today? Where do you expect it will be in a year?

Paperless tickets aren’t right for all venues or all artists. Artists that use them for some seats—from Kid Rock to Selena Gomez and Bruce Springsteen—are recognizing that with paperless tickets, they can restrict scalpers’ ability to purchase large quantities of tickets with the sole intention of reselling them at outrageous prices on the secondary market. But what it really boils down to are the fans and their ability to buy a ticket at the face-value price set by the artist or venue, and paperless is helping make that a reality.

The use of ticketing methods like paperless or ID at will call (another anti-scalping technique) are determined by artists, managers, agents, promoters, and venues. These methods aren’t right for all artists or venues; however, I’d encourage artists—particularly those whose tickets are in high demand—to look into them. They will find fewer of their best seats showing up on StubHub for ridiculous prices, and real appreciation from fans who were able to buy a great ticket at a great price.

Is there an additional cost to the venue or eventgoer for using this system?

The purchase process for fans is the exact same—no additional cost. When fans go to see NKTOB at the Scottrade Center, they’ve already purchased their tickets, so all they have to do is show up, swipe their credit card, and out pops their seat locator. And paperless ticketing infrastructure is provided turn-key to the venue, so all fans have to do is swipe their card.

Scalpers try to make the process sound difficult, but when fans enter the gate it’s no different than having to scan a physical ticket.

Anything else you think concertgoers should know about paperless ticketing?

If fans can get tickets at face value they will return to shows over and over again because they can afford it. This is good for everyone in the concert business, including the fans.

Paperless ticketing was built for the fans’ benefit, but they should know that they’re traditionally used in cases of high-demand shows—like NKTOB—and are only pegged for certain sections or rows: the seats scalpers really want.

If it were my choice, scalping would end tomorrow, but given their massive lobbying machine, I don’t think that’s feasible. In the meantime, it’s up to the artists and venues to find creative ways of making sure fans have access to the tickets they want at their face-value price. | Laura Hamlett