Ticketmaster creates online auction for tickets

Long-established ticket seller Ticketmaster has set up an auction site to compete with online competitors who resell tickets.

It plans to auction off tickets to some of the summer's hottest Canadian concerts, including Madonna, Bon Jovi, Roger Waters and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Similar to auctionson eBayor classifieds sites craigslist or Kijiji, the Ticketmaster auction will have buyers bidding up the price of attractive seats to sellout shows.

But unlike the private scalpers, who book blocks of tickets online and enrich themselves with the markup, Ticketmaster says it will split the proceeds with the artists themselves.

Scalping has come a long way from the enterprising high school kid and back alley deals just before a concert, the company says, estimating that billions of dollars are earned on black market ticket sales.

"We felt that it was very important for us to build out an industry solution to an industry problem," Ticketmaster president Sean Moriartytold CBC Radio.

Arthur Fogel, tour producer for Madonna, says the singer decided to experiment with the auction for her summer tour.

"There's a tremendous amount of revenue changing hands that the producer and the artist aren't sharing," he said.

For the Madonna show, the top face-value ticket price was $350, but auctioned tickets sold for $200 to $300more, according to Fogel. The highest winning bid for a single ticket was $3,200.

Many concerts sell out in minutes online, and there is no recourse but scalpers for fans who want a seat.

The Ticketmaster auction allows anyone to bid for a seat in a block set aside for auction. The auction is open forseven to 10 days.

Moriarty said a portion of the money goes to the artists.

"The folks who are putting all of the blood, sweat and tears into creating such great products and experiences are the ones who are compensated for their efforts," he said.

Poison fan Jay Matthews, who has stood in line at Ticketmaster for concerts from Alice Cooper to Judas Priest, sees it differently.

"That's scalping to my eyes. That's scalping. That's not right," he said, as he waited in line for yet another concert.

Matthews didn't need an online auction to score tickets to Poison, who he plans to see in Toronto in August. Lining up the old-fashioned way got him a pair of third-row floor tickets.