It's fu*king rich, isn't it? Ticketbast*ard getting all upset about us poor fans being ripped off.

On a related note, I see that for this year's Glastonbury they're putting a scheme in place whereby you have to supply a photograph when applying for your ticket. The photo will then be scanned onto the ticket. Fuc*ing great idea I think, especially if you're a handsome bas*ard like me.

All the more galling when you hear it being discussed by music journos and radio presenters who are too afraid of losing their guest passes to speak the truth. I felt distinctly queasy listening to Ticketb*****d spouting the party line on the Last Word as Matt Cooper and Stuart Clarke got comfy on the fence. Clarke did whisper quietly that he thought commission should be charged per transaction and not per ticket, but the TicketB*****d rep had upped and left by then. It's ok Stuart, I don't think he heard you....

I was actually thinking about this whole touting-tickets-on-eBay lark this morning over my cornflakes (literally). What if someone - hypothetically speaking of course - did the following:

-> Set up a new eBay account
-> Went and identified the eBay user id of people whose eBay profile shows they could well be serial ticket touts
-> Then, using their new eBay user id, put massive bids on all tickets the 'tout' is selling so that you win the auction.
-> The bidder doesn't pay for the tickets but once they have won the auction they have the possiblity to leave feedback on the seller. They take this opportunity to leave v. strong negative feedback on the seller's profile.
-> Done enough times for any individual tout could this visibly reduce the tout's eBay seller rating enough to discourage any future eBayer thinking of bidding on any item they are selling? (well, at least discourage potential bidders who do their due diligence and don't just go bidding on any ould auction).

I am of course absolutely not advocating that anyone does this, it being against the spirit (if not the letter) of eBay T&Cs. But if someone (or some people) did could it have an impact? Thoughts out there?

eoghan

For me, TM create the situation themselves.

If I can't go to a gig next week, for whatever genuine reason, What other choice do TM leave me with ?

They wash their hands of you as soon as they recieve payment. Tickets on the system are just 1s & 0s ... I should be able to but that ticket back into the sytem, & rip up my ticket.

Also, I was in Australia for a weeks recently, caught CSS in Sydney (sounds like a disease !) ... Anyway, Tickets bought beforehand, Sold Out eventually. The 'ticket' I got, was actually a creditcard called a 'moshcard'.

http://www.moshtix.com.au/Faq/Faq.asp

So, if I buy a ticket for another gig, I don't recieve a paper ticket, my account is 'charged' up with the ticket & my card is swiped at the venue to allow me entrance.

Now, we had a few people who couldn't make it. Selling them outside was PURELY on a trust vibe, as there was nothing on the card to saw what tickets are validated on it.

The reason why most of the hacks are keeping quiet is because most of them didn't manage to get tickets for Arcade Fire and are thus looking for some from mcd.

MCD currently ban several Irish newspapers from their events because of negative articles written about them.

***dons Moderator hat***
Seeping statements there Nerraw. Are you speculating on both counts or can you refer to some credible source that confirms these are indeed the case? "Several" Irish newspapers are "banned"? Right. Personally, don't believe it for a second. Some specific journos for some specific papers may have a tougher time than others securing press passes, that I could maybe believe. But entire newspapers banned!?

Cough up some sources that back up these claims or I'll have to censor them before certain lawyers take an interest in these boards and any unsubstantiated claims being flung around them.
***removes Moderator hat***

It's well known that several papers are banned.

I'm not about to start posting sources on the interweb so feel free to delete it but as I said, it's hardly a secret.

But its 100% true that entire papers are banned from passes.