Like it or not, the secondary ticket market is here to stay. But some people still look at ticket brokers as the scum of the earth, and this heated topic has come back into the limelight as parents scramble trying to purchase Hannah Montana tickets. As with any popular show, tickets sold out quickly. But in this case, parents started complaining LOUDLY, and pointed the finger at ticket brokers as the major culprits behind the ticket shortage. The fact of the matter is that there simply weren’t enough tickets to satisfy the demands of the public. Take a city like Philadelphia. The city alone has 1.5 million people, and that’s not including surrounding cities (and South Jersey residents). If even 1% of those people wanted to go see the show at the Wachovia Center, the show would be sold out! And let me tell you, there’s a lot more than 1% that wants tickets to this show!

While most performers simply add additional shows, the management instead decides to impose a residency restriction, limiting ticket purchases to those that live within a certain radius from the show. It’s not the first time something like this has happened - In fact, Garth Brooks just did the same thing for his show in Kansas City last weekend. But it does nothing to solve the issue at hand. All it does is screw the out-of-state fans that wanted to see the show.

About 40% of our customers buy tickets to events that aren’t local to them. Why? Business trips, vacation with the family, they’re buying the tickets as a gift for a family member or friend, etc. So if I wanted to buy tickets to the show in Ohio for my nieces, why shouldn’t I be able to do so?

Every year there’s a must-have item, whether it’s the TMX Elmo, PS3, or XBox360. So why should this be any different? Why wasn’t the Attorney General suing the people selling PS3s for $3000 on eBay? Hmmm…

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As a ticket broker, I’m sometimes left with extra tickets, so I’ve seen my fair share of concerts. (With great seats to boot!)

Monday night was the Justin Timberlake show at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, NJ. Unfortunately, with shows the following two nights at Madison Square Garden, demand wasn’t as strong as we had anticipated, and I was left with some extra tickets. Rather than let them go to waste, me and the g/f decided to go see the show, based on the rave reviews from previous shows.

Overall, I was less-than-impressed. Good Charlotte opened up for Timberlake, and I thought that was an odd choice - They seemed like they’d be better suited to open for some emo punk band (Fall Out Boy, All-American Rejects, Panic at the Disco, etc) rather than Justin. It probably wouldn’t have been so bad, except that GC seemed intent on promoting their new album, and played a bunch of new, obscure songs that really sucked. It reminded me of Kelly Clarkson at Live Earth, just painful..

After Good Charlotte, we were subjected to about 45 minutes of Verizon ads while we waited for Timberlake to take the stage. The people in the audience didn’t mind, but we were standing on the floor, so that seemed like a LOOOONG time! Finally, the theatrics get started, and Justin finally comes on stage. The crowd goes absolutely ape-shit, and he jumps right into his first song.

The Pros: Very cool stage setup (in the round, with 4 catwalks extending out into the audience), tons of dancers, and flawless choreography.

The Cons: Stage layout left us at times unable to see JT at all. The acoustics were AWFUL - Overpowering bass, and you couldn’t hear the vocals. Timbaland’s intermission thing was retarded, and entirely too long..

All in all, an interesting concert, but I would have much preferred to see him when he did his club tour.. The show won’t disappoint crazy 13-year-old JT fans, but for some of his “older” fans, consider yourself warned!

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We’re witnessing one of the slowest concert seasons on record this year, and the music industry is busy pointing fingers. So who’s to blame? No one knows for sure, but a change is needed quickly. The easiest solution?

Cut Concert Ticket Prices! Since bands may have to rely on touring for even more of their income (since CD sales are continuing to drop), it’s vital that people be able to afford to see them. The Rolling Stones, U2, and Barbra Streisand commanded top-dollar last year (and got it), but others have followed suit with mixed results.

Madonna tickets continue to get more and more expensive, and last year’s ticket sales were sluggish as a result of this..

Genesis tickets have been a REALLY slow seller this year, having only sold out one or two shows on their entire tour thus far. Could it have something to do with the $275 face value on the top seats?!

Kelly Clarkson should have listened to her experienced management - Instead, she launched an overly-ambitious tour in venues that were entirely too large for her, and the ticket prices tipped the scales at almost $90. With a 14-year old demographic, you just charge that much for the tickets! The shows were slow sellers, and Clarkson’s camp eventually cancelled the ENTIRE TOUR!

Even The Police have seen ticket sales slow down after the initial rush. Perhaps it’s because their own band mates are criticizing their performances? Or maybe it’s because Sting has continued to tour for the past decade, so it’s not a big deal as the media has made it out to be? Regardless, at almost $300/ticket for the best seats in the house, it’s still a lot to ask from a Police fan.

The American Idols Live tour is usually money in the bank, but they got a little greedy this year, launching a MASSIVE tour that’s hitting almost 60 cities in 3 months (with an inflated price tag to boot). So what happened? They oversaturated the market, and things got downright ugly. If you wanted to go to the Nashville show last night, you could have bought 8th row floor tickets for 6 DOLLARS. That’s quite a steal, considering those tickets originally sold for $85! Many people bought extra tickets, hoping to make a quick buck when the shows sold out - But when the market took a turn for the worse, people got stuck with those extra tickets.

The summer wasn’t all bad though - Perennial summer tourers Dave Matthews Band, Jimmy Buffett, and Kenny Chesney all have sold-out shows all across the country, and they’ve managed to keep ticket prices within reach for the common person.

Speak with your wallet, and demand lower ticket prices!

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Live Earth was a 24-hour, 7-continent concert series that took place on 7/7/07, and brought together more than 100 music artists and 2 billion people to trigger a global movement to solve the climate crisis. Giants Stadium in East Rutherford NJ was chosen as the site for the US location (after losing the Washington DC site due to “scheduling conflicts” that sounded more political in nature).

This worked out perfect for us, as we’re based in South Jersey, and only an hour away from the show! I have been looking foward to this show for months now, and Saturday finally arrived. It was REALLY hot - Temperatures hig 90 degrees, and even with ample sunscreen, I still managed to get a little sunburn..

Our seats were great (which should be no surprise given the nature of our business), but even I was surprised when I looked to my left. Who’s that?

Yes, that’s Chad Lowe in the front row, wearing a white t-shirt! He’s sitting literally 5 feet away from us. My girlfriend couldn’t stop staring at him, I think she enjoyed that even more than the concert itself!

Celebrity Seats has taken the pledge to join the global movement and take action against the climate crisis. Instead of poluting the planet in a gas-guzzling Hummer H2, we’ve instead ordered the new Smart Car!

A big thanks goes out to Al Gore, and to all of the bands that made this historic event possible!

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Come And See Fall Out Boy Perform For Free!

Fall Out Boy will be performing a live set on The Today Show in the heart of New York City on Friday July 6th!

The performance is at Rockefeller Plaza so make sure you get there before 7:00 am because space is extremely limited and viewing is on the first come, first-served basis. The concert will be held outside of The Today Show’s NBC studio.

The studio is located at 49th Street and Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. If you can’t make it to the performance, tune into The Today Show on NBC at 8:30 am.

30 Rockefeller Plaza
(49th between 5th & 6th Avenue)
New York, NY

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And he pulls further two shows this week!

Morrissey ended his show after 30 minutes at the Bank Of America Pavillion in Boston last night, having played just seven songs.

Doctors said that Morrissey is suffering from a throat infection, and despite making it through seven songs, he couldn’t complete his planned set.

The singer has been told by doctors he must not sing for three days, resulting in the cancellation of a show on Thursday in Northampton, MA and Friday’s show in Philadelphia.

So far, Saturday’s show at New York’s Madison Square Garden is expected to go ahead as planned.

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Kelly Clarkson, whose career hit a bumpy road this summer, is reportedly being offered a spot on the upcoming American Idol tour.

Clarkson, who has been feuding with her record label and fired her manager in recent weeks, was forced to cancel a planned summer tour of her own due to poor ticket sales.

Now comes word that the “Idol” tour - set to begin July 6 in Florida and starring the top-10 finishers from this year’s show - is inviting Clarkson to make a “special cameo” appearance on the tour, according to a report on the music-industry Web site Geno’s World.

Calls to Clarkson’s label, Sony-BMG, were not immediately returned yesterday.

It has been a rough month for the singer who had come to epitomize “Idol” success.

Her latest CD, “My December,” is not due to be released until next week but it has reportedly suffered from poor early sales orders.

The “Idol” tour might be a comedown for the star, but it will give her a chance to sing her own songs in front of loyal audiences.

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Rockers Velvet Revolver have announced dates for the first leg of their upcoming tour with Alice in Chains. The outing will kick off on August 5th in Baltimore, MD, and hit mainly outdoor venues along the East Coast and into the Midwest and Canada through the end of that month. The full trek is expected to stretch into October, according to Velvet Revolver’s website.

Velvet Revolver comprises former Stone Temple Pilots singer Weiland; former Guns N’ Roses members Slash (guitar), Duff McKagan (bass) and Matt Sorum (drums); and former Wasted Youth guitarist Dave Kushner.

August 2007
5 - Baltimore, MD - Pimlico Race Course
6 - Verona, NY - Turning Stone Resort & Casino
8 - Sturgis, SD - Buffalo Chip Campground
11 - Montreal, Quebec - Bell Centre
12 - Toronto, Ontario - Molson Amphitheatre
14 - Mansfield, MA - Tweeter Center
16 - Darien Center, NY - Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
17 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center
18 - Wantagh, NY - Nikon at Jones Beach
20 - Camden, NJ - Tweeter Center at the Waterfront
21 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena
23 - Saratoga, NY - Saratoga Performing Arts Center
24 - Scranton, PA - Toyota Pavilion
27 - Clarkston, MI - DTE Energy Music Theatre
28 - Tinley Park, IL - First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
29 - St. Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center

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Here’s a tip to Kelly Clarkson, whose entire North American concert tour was canceled today: Watch out what you sing, because the lyrics might come back to haunt you.

On her recent single “Never Again,” the 2002 “American Idol” winner sings: Does it hurt to know I’ll never be there? / Bet it sucks to see my face everywhere.

It sucks alright, but for Clarkson, not the spurned boyfriend she skewers in “Never Again.” Her entire North Ameican concert tour has been canceled due to low ticket sales.

“Ticket sales have not been what we anticipated, and we came to the realization that we had bit off more than we would chew,” said Michael Rapino, the CEO of the tour’s promoter, Live Nation, in a statement released by Clarkson’s publicist. “…we believe this decision will only benefit her and her fans in the long run.”

Clarkson, whose new album, “My December,” is due out July 25, weighed in on the tour cancellation on her Web site, saying: “I can’t tell you how much I’ve been looking forward to getting out there to perform for y’all. In the craziness of the music business, performing is what I look forward to doing the most, so it really is disappointing for me to have to tell you that I won’t be coming out to tour this summer. The fact is that touring is just too much too soon. But I promise you that we’re going to get back out there as soon as is humanly possible to give you a show that will be even better.”

In this case, “better” means smaller, as her tour will likely be downsized to smaller venues in fewer cities. Tickets for her 36 canceled tour dates are available at point of purchase. Her only scheduled live appearance at this time is the July 7 “Live Earth” benefit concert at Giants Stadium in New Jersey.

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In a performance that evoked memories of NBA Legends like Oscar Robertson, Elgin Baylor, Julius Erving, and Michael Jordan, Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James reached the next level Thursday night. James figuratively took his team, strapped them on his back, and took them to the promised land. James scored 48 points, including 29 of his teams last 30, and single handed beat the Detroit Pistons in double overtime 109-107.

James, who was criticized during the series first two games for not being aggressive enough, wiped those thoughts from anyone who witnessed this contest. James scored the games last two points in the second overtime on a layup. Pistons guard Chauncy Billups tried to tie the contest once again but came up empty handed.

The victory gives Cleveland a 3-2 series lead, with Game Six scheduled in Cleveland on Saturday night. The Cavaliers have never been to a NBA Finals since their inception into the league back in 1970. The Cavs were in a similar situation last year in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, winning Game Five in Detroit. But they then lost Game Six in a battle in Cleveland and were never a factor in Game Seven.

Game Six is going to be insane.. Do you have your Cleveland Cavaliers tickets yet?

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