Paperless ticketing foes speak out against DMB

Posted by on Monday, March 5, 2012 · 5 Comments 

dave matthews band ticket

A Dave Matthews Band ticket from 2001

Dave Matthews Band’s new ticketing policy has caught the attention of a consumer rights group.

This year, people who buy DMB tickets in the general admission pit area will have to pick them up from the venue’s will call booth on the day of the show. The goal is to prevent scalping, by making it harder to resell these premium tickets in advance. But the Fan Freedom Project says the policy is “restrictive.”

“Anti-consumer policies like will-call only strip ticket-buyers of their freedom to buy and sell tickets as they please,” said Elizabeth Owen, a Fan Freedom Project consumer advocate, in a press release. “Parents should be able to purchase tickets as gifts for their kids, and fans should be able to give away or resell their tickets if plans change at the last minute.”

The Fan Freedom Project is a 1-year-old organization aimed at fighting the paperless ticketing policies that are becoming more common in the concert industry. Paperless ticketing proponents, such as music industry blogger Bob Lefsetz, say such policies are the best way to “get tickets in the hands of true fans.”

It should be noted that DMB’s policy is not the same as true paperless ticketing, which requires ticket-buyers to show identification and a credit card to gain entry to an event. Tickets for all Dave Matthews Band 2012 tour dates are on sale now to Citi cardholders and go on sale to the general public Friday.

What do you think of DMB’s new will-call ticketing policy?

  • It’s too restrictive for ticket buyers.
  • I like it, because it fights scalping.
  • I like it, but DMB should do true paperless ticketing to fight scalping even more.

Acepolls

Photo (cc) by Jason Tinder and republished here under a Creative Commons license. Some rights reserved.

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  • Alyson

    The last paragraph is confusing- how are tickets picked up if not by showing the credit card it was paid for with? And why is that not restrictive? Can someone enlighten me?

    • http://www.dmbnews.net Colin Steele

      With true paperless ticketing, you don’t pick up tickets at all. Your ID and credit card are checked against a list, and if they match up, you’re allowed to enter the venue.

      • http://mine Bob Rackley

        I think I would buy a life time pass to see the DMB for every tour!! fuck yea What would you say? The true paperless ticking will only leave people with no seats or people with three seat for you see in general admition the security has to check your seat number

  • Cristy

    I am all for preventing scalping. However, as a TRUE FAN having access to the presale, I was lucky enough to get ahold of 7 pairs of PIT tickets. Why did I buy so many you ask? Because 1. I have friends that will be ecstatic to go and enjoy the show from the pit, and 2. If I didn’t buy them, the scalpers would. I am selling the extra tickets to my friends for the same price I paid for them, however since I cannot get them until the day of the show, I can’t expect my friends to pay me for them yet. This means that I will be paying interest on my credit card simply for hooking my friends up with great tickets.

    • http://www.dmbnews.net Colin Steele

      I’m shocked they let you buy seven pairs of pit tickets. Weren’t there posted maximums?