It won鈥檛 be high on the priority list, but sa国际传媒鈥檚 new NDP government could win a few friends by following Ontario鈥檚 lead in cracking down on ticket scalpers. Music fans in Victoria, like those across the continent, are sick of trying to buy tickets to popular concerts, only to be shut out by software called 鈥渂ots,鈥� which grab fistfuls of tickets before ordinary folk get a chance.
Ontario Attorney General Yasir Naqvi has promised to bring in legislation this fall to ban the use and sale of bots. The law would also prohibit ticket resellers from marking up their prices by more than 50 per cent.
It could be a hard promise to fulfil, because the bots work on the internet, and scalpers don鈥檛 respect Ontario鈥檚 jurisdiction any more than they respect sa国际传媒鈥檚. However, at least the provincial government is willing to give it a crack.
In sa国际传媒, NDP MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert called for legislation after many people missed out on tickets to a Paul McCartney concert last year. Public Safety Minister Mike Morris pointed out it鈥檚 not easy to stop the scalpers.
鈥淲hen you are dealing over the internet with multiple jurisdictions, multiple laws in place 鈥� it makes it a nightmare at the legislative level,鈥� he told the CBC.
Even without legislation, some bands, promoters and venues are trying to clamp down on scalping. Bands such as U2 have begun to realize that enraging your dedicated fans is a poor marketing strategy.
In May, sa国际传媒 Place in Vancouver used new anti-scalping technology from Ticketmaster at the sold-out U2 concert. Unfortunately, the new system produced hours-long lineups that infuriated fans, and the band decided to delay the show.
The strategy included asking ticketholders for their ID and the credit card used to purchase the tickets, but many people ignored warnings to arrive early to allow for the longer time to process each person. Fans took to social media to post photos of the long lines and vent their anger.
The decision to use the credit-card system was made by U2 or the promoter, rather than by sa国际传媒 Place, and the intentions were good. Bands are trying to make sure that fans are treated fairly and the tickets aren鈥檛 all scooped up by bots.
However, even if Ontario and other provinces figure out the bot problem, that鈥檚 only part of the frustration for ticket-buyers.
Even before the bots and scalpers get into the game, as many as half the tickets are already gone. They go to companies as perks or to promoters or to members of the bands鈥� fan clubs. They are marketing tools or sweeteners for insiders.
That means that even if there are tickets left after the bots are done, the pool is a much smaller one than you would think by looking at the capacity of the arena. Ordinary fans seem afterthoughts in the process.
Here, Ontario has an idea that might make a difference, even if the bot controls don鈥檛. It plans to force ticket sellers to announce the capacity of the venue and the number of tickets available to regular fans. With a little simple math, ticket-buyers can see how many pre-sale tickets have been gobbled up.
The goal is to embarrass the promoters and venues into reducing the number of pre-sales. That鈥檚 something sa国际传媒 could easily do.
As provincial policy goes, it wouldn鈥檛 save the planet or create more jobs, but it would make thousands of music fans happier.
