What would the Pearl Jam of 20 years ago say? The classic alternative rockers, who recently announced a special summer concert at Chicago's Wrigley Field, sold the event out within an hour of its going on sale to the public. While there were a number of ways in which fans could purchase tickets, many were unable to acquire them before the event was posted as sold out. Frustrated fans filled message boards and social media with attacks on everyone from fan club members (who purchased tickets early) to the ticketing website, The Chicago Cubs, and even the band themselves. The only parties who debatably deserved the gripes, complaints, and death threats are, as always, the scalpers.
Pearl Jam made tickets to this event available in several steps prior to their public sale date. Fans who purchase a yearly membership in the long-running Ten Club had access to tickets well in advance, as did Chicago Cubs season ticket holders, and residents of the neighborhood surrounding Wrigley Field in Chicago. For the average fan, who did not have access to one of these pre-sales, tickets were able to be purchased via phone or the Tickets.com website. Unfortunately, when the tickets officially went on sale, fans were redirected to a "virtual waiting room," which claimed to randomly select parties waiting to purchase tickets every 30 seconds until the event sold out. Whether the system actually works as advertised is beside the point, as there is no way to verify whether it does or not, but after an hour or more of waiting by their computers, many anxious fans were eventually told tickets were no longer available.
Within moments of the event officially selling out, second hand ticket broker sites like Stub Hub were selling tickets that were originally priced at $55 for $175-300 each. Pearl Jam posted celebratory information about the sell out on their web spaces, but hardcore fans may wonder, have they given up on fighting the good fight to protect the fan, and subvert the scalper? In 1993, members of the band testified before the U.S. Senate against Ticketmaster, claiming they were a monopoly within the concert industry, and railing against added service fees and "convenience charges," which were far more modest at the time than they are today. The band went so far as to use ticket retailers and venues outside of the hands of Ticketmaster for subsequent tours, but those systems often proved inefficient and frustrating for fans in ways similar to those recently shut out from purchasing tickets to this summer's Chicago show. Until ticket technologies like paperless ticketing and others catch up to those who seek personal profit at the expense of punishing the fan, scenarios such as this are bound to continue. One thing Pearl Jam can still do in the meantime to help the fans who were shut out? Announce a second night in Chicago...
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