http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace - video at link
tonight on CBC they explained how tickets to concerts disappear so fast.
Hackers have computer software 'robots' that grab up prime tix before the ordinary person can even press 'enter' on their keyboard..
The show this week
How does a stadium concert sell out in seven minutes?
If you've tried to buy tickets for a big show recently, you've probably encountered the mystery of the vanishing tickets. Somehow, a concert booked for an arena with thousands of seats will sell out in just minutes.
Then, only moments later, tickets for the same concert will show up for sale on "ticket broker" websites, priced much higher than their face value.
All this begs two questions: How does this happen? And why? Erica Johnson investigates.
February 27, 2008
Tips
How to improve your shot at seats
(These tips are adapted from a list at the East Bay Express.)
1. Register with the fan club. Some big bands want true fans to get first crack at tickets, and will offer pre-sales to registered members of their fan clubs.
2. Plan ahead. “Scalpers make money off the laziness of concertgoers, so know the ins and outs of the three main ticket-dispersal systems: online, phone, and in person. Bookmark the web page and familiarize yourself with its structure. Enter payment information ahead of time. Put the hotline on speed dial. Know where tickets are going on sale, and at what time. Know your payment options. The buyer's name, shipping address, and billing address often have to match.
3. Take multiple routes. Get online at work with six of your friends. Get those same six friends on the phone to the ticket hotline. Recruit siblings and spouses to help.
4. Get e-savvy. When the Web floodgates open at 10:00 a.m. on a ticket sale day, hundreds of thousands of fans (and bots) rush the virtual door. The gatekeeper is a character recognition test designed to keep out automated ticket-buying programs. Problem is, everyone gets stuck in the bottleneck. Hit "refresh" in your browser when the word-test page lags. Enter the new word and hit "enter." When the page freezes again, repeat until you get through.
5. Be patient. Sometimes promoters hold back blocks of tickets until close to the date of the performance. If you miss out during the rush, you may get lucky later.
Bots and CAPTCHAs
How do ticket resellers get their tickets? The answer is not totally clear-cut. Marketplace asked many ticket brokers for interviews, and only one, Mario Livich of Vancouver, would agree to speak on camera. He told us the tickets he sells come from a variety of suppliers, and that “If somebody comes and sells us a ticket, we don’t ask them ‘how did you get that ticket?’ We don’t.”
Still, the sheer speed of event sellouts strongly suggests that buyers are using automated processes (or robots, or “bots” for short) to shop online.
This may surprise you, because most online ticket sale sites have features designed to keep robots out. If you’ve ever placed an order or posted an ad online, chances are good you’ve seen something like this:
The idea is that it’s easy for a person to read the words, but hard for a robot, so typing the words in a box when you place your order is proof that you’re human. One of these graphics-with-distorted words is called a CAPTCHA, which is short for “Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart.” (If you’re curious, you can learn more about CAPTCHAs and Turing Tests at Wikipedia.)
But how good is the technology at keep bots out? For our segment, PhD student Allan Caine demonstrated a piece of software systematically reading and decoding CAPTCHAs. The program took him just a week to write.
Ticketmaster v. RMG
In October 2007, a U.S. judge granted Ticketmaster’s request for an injunction against a company called RMG Technologies, ordering it to stop selling software designed to automate the purchase of tickets through Ticketmaster’s website. The software, called “Ticket Broker Acquisition Tool,” was capable of decoding Ticketmaster’s CAPTCHAs and placing thousands of orders in a very short time.
The full text of the judge’s ruling is available here. The lawsuit that led to the injunction is still proceeding.
At PC Magazine, Lance Ulanoff used the injunction to sound the death knell for CAPTCHAs altogether.
Hannah Montana
Anyone with a pre-teen daughter has heard of Hannah Montana. Her recent concert tour, and the attendant high-speed sellout of tickets, actually prompted investigations by the Attorneys General of Arkansas and Missouri. E! News has a good summary on its site. An article from the Los Angeles Times offers another in-depth look at the tour and the fallout over scarce tickets.
Several current tours are triggering similar fan angst, if not quite at the level the Hannah Montana one did. Try googling for “police tickets” and count the ads for ticket brokers.
The rules in Canada
Ticket re-sales are illegal in three provinces. (Everywhere else, it’s fair game.) Here are the relevant sections of provincial legislation.
Alberta: Amusements Act, Part 4, Section 25. Fine limit up to $200 or in default of payment up to six months in prison. “No person shall sell, barter or exchange a ticket of admission to a place of amusement for a price or consideration greater than that paid or given for it to the owner of the place to which it authorizes admission.”
Manitoba: The Amusements Act, Part X, Section 60. Fines up to $5,000. “No person shall sell, barter or exchange for anything any ticket of admission to a place of amusement for a price or consideration greater than that paid or given therefore to the owner of the place of amusement to which it is an admission.”
Ontario: Ticket Speculation Act. Fines up to $5,000. Exception to “the proprietor of a shop or hotel stand or a servant of the proprietor when such proprietor is an agent of a theatre, opera house, public hall, or grandstand, or of the owner or promoter of a show, game, race meeting, exhibition, or amusement of any kind for the sale of tickets, and where the commission charged upon the sale of each ticket does not exceed the maximum prescribed in the Schedule”
Here is the schedule mentioned in the Ontario act:
Price of Ticket Maximum Commission
Up to $1.99 .25
$2.00 to $2.99 .45
$3.00 to $3.99 .35
$4.00 and up .50
It doesn't seem that these laws are vigorously enforced; prosecutions and fines are rare.
Why concert tix are gone so fast!
I shall be watching. 
