Ticketmaster sucks. Can blockchain be the cure?

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When the priest is frontman Robert Smith said he was “sickened” by Ticketmaster’s fees, many of us felt vindicated. The platform then refunded some fees, but resellers are also jumping in and selling entire Ticketmaster accounts instead of tickets. Is there still hope for viewers? — Anna

playing monopoly

If you’re longing for an alternative to Ticketmaster, you’re not alone. Whether you’re a fan of Taylor Swift, The Cure or Bad Bunny, there’s no shortage of reasons to resent the so-called “world’s leading live entertainment ticketing platform”.

Is all the hate justified? Maybe not. Or rather, the platform might just be shouldering more than its share of the blame. “It’s easy to blame Ticketmaster and say it’s their fault,” former CEO Fred Rosen, who ran the company from 1982 to 1998, told CBC Radio in January. “What drives prices is demand.”

Regulators in many countries disagree. Earlier this year, the US Senate questioned Live Nation, which acquired Ticketmaster in 2010, over concerns it was a monopoly.