Legislation could make Springsteen tickets much cheaper
You’d be hard pressed to find a Toronto music lover who’s a fan of Ticketmaster. On top of the astronomical service fees, the ticketing behemoth was exposed a year and a half ago for withholding large blocks of tickets to a Bruce Springsteen concert and then selling them at majorly inflated prices through its subsidiary, TicketsNow.
The underhanded tactic led to two class-action lawsuits and the introduction in April 2009 of the Ticket Speculation Act, which would make it illegal for Ticketmaster to resell its own tickets through another company at a higher price. The bill has reached its second reading in the Ontario legislature; compared to most legislation, it’s moving at a snail’s pace.
So why is a law designed to protect the happy concert-going consumer being held up? Attorney General Chris Bentley says it’s partly because the government wants to make sure the bill’s language doesn’t unfairly target legal business transactions. Bentley is hopeful they can get it through for Christmas, which means that should The Boss bless us with his presence in the coming year, we can expect to pay $130 for the honour, instead of $500. What a steal.
