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'Paperless Ticketing' Aims to Thwart Scalping at Concerts, Sports Events
Washington Post (07/05/10) Farhi, Paul
Many musicians and sports organizations are embracing paperless ticketing technologies in an attempt to thwart scalpers, with advocates such as Washington Wizards owner Ted Leonsis arguing that "online and paperless is the trend of the future and only will be a positive for consumers and for venues." Ticketmaster and Veritix note that paperless tickets eliminate concerns about lost or stolen tickets and eliminate long will-call lines. However, one of the shortcomings of paperless ticketing systems is the inability to transfer ticket ownership to other parties, while groups hoping to attend a venue can be denied admission if the person who purchased the tickets on behalf of the group does not show up. The impossibility of transferring virtual tickets has sparked concerns by ticket resellers that they could be blocked out of the secondary market, and it also makes it harder for consumers to sell unwanted tickets. "People should be free to give away or sell their tickets to whomever they want, whenever they want," says attorney Gary Adler. Ticketmaster and other sellers claim that they are not opposed to reselling, unless it is done outside their own electronic boundaries. A merger between Ticketmaster and Live Nation has provoked fears of primary and secondary market monopolization, but University of Memphis professor Joris Drayer says the concert and sports industries are too big and decentralized for one company to dominate. Drayer says conventional tickets are not going away any time soon. He says many sports fans prefer paper tickets, and "the sports industry is notoriously slow to adopt new technology."
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