Actually, the promoter is often a party to some of the scalping. Having worked in the concert biz for almost 25 years, I’ve seen almost every trick, even played some of them myself.
The way performance contracts work, the Artist, not only gets a set fee, but often gets a certain % on the back side of the final door, net net profit. A promoter can get more out of the backside if they sell a block, at retail, to an outside “entity(ies),” then that entity can in turn wait until tickets dry up and bam. The promoter can either be a direct shareholder in the “entity,” or they can just get a commission/kickback on the deal. The beauty is that they can pocket a large % without having to cut in the artist.
I used to occasionally game the system at some shows that I provided production at. If I saw that the show was likely to sell out, some of us would pool our money and buy up twenty or so tickets and hire one of the loaders to scalp them in the parking lot for two to four times our cost, depending on the demand. Many promoters do exactly the same thing—I’ve personally witnessed very well and nationally known promoters doing it.
I thought the economy was in shambles? How are parents paying for these tickets? I keep reading stories in the MSM about kids with no insurance, not being able to educate the kids, schools falling apart, but this story is about parents paying $250 for their children to be entertained?
Is this in the same country of the MSM claiming the economy is ready to collapse?
I would seriously laugh if it wasn’t so pathetic.
Some years ago , Alan Jackson appeared in Las Vegas. My wife wanted to see the concert. Upon arrival at the ticket office, I sped-read the prices and asked her if we were going to sit in the $120, $130 or $140 section. She wisely decide she'd watch CMT---
Right. If you show up and there are 10 tickets left and you only needed two, you should buy all 10.
It only takes one couple then coming up to buy tickets (who otherwise would have gotten them at face value), and you can get the concert for free.
The other 6 extra tickets are pure gravy. You could even sell them back at face value once you’ve used the artificial scarcity to take advantage of people.
Of course, the promotees have no voice in this process. Maybe they would WANT to put on their show to the poor rather than to the rich.