German Promoter Fights Secondary Ticket Market (With Some Success)

Over a Depeche Mode show. From Billboard:

The District Court of Munich prohibited dealing in indirectly purchased concert tickets for the June 2-13 German leg of the tour, following legal action by the promoter.

In preliminary injunction proceedings, at the request of Marek Lieberberg Konzertagentur (MLK), the District Court of Munich prohibited the Internet ticket portal Ventic, which has a German service operated by Smartfox Media based in Roermond, Netherlands, from trading in tickets that Smartfox obtains direct from the MLK distribution system or through third parties. In these proceedings, MLK was supported by the two associations of the concert industry, idkv and VDKD.

Concert promoter Marek Lieberberg in Frankfurt comments: "This decision is the first small step toward the long overdue regulation of ticket sales and the restriction of black market trading. Our aim must be to prevent professional ticket auctions and unacceptable commissions that often come to a multiple of the actual price of admission. At stake here is not so much giving the artists a further share, but the protection of ticket buyers against dubious sources and excessive premiums."

Secondary market ticket-sellers reduce concert-going to Darwinian levels where seat purchase is determined solely by income level, social contacts with the promoters, and/or the ability to log on at the exact, necessary time. Next time Hannah Montana does a show in Portland, why should any local 14 year old be forced to compete against a ticket broker sitting on his ass in Houston?

Regardless of what happens in Germany, nothing is going to change in US unless concert goers force a change, by sitting it out and letting the resellers and promoters take a serious bath.

Back .. For Now

Eeash, nothing to put a stop on blog posts like getting sucked into the Twitterverse.

The other reason it's a little dried up here is because I've been getting wet a lot! bought one of these pretties at the beginning of the month:



It's a Dagger Zydeco and it's sweet. Friends have told me I have to name my new kayak, so I guess it'll have to be Buckwheat. It's only been out on three trips so far, but with the new toy comes research into the various travel spots I can use it in middle Tennessee.

Tweet du Jour

Trump: "If Carrie were an average man, this would not be an issue." Really good point.

Cortney Tidwell

Here's another one for the list of great music artists living in Nashville who can't get arrested here, but overseas, it's a different story. Cortney Tidwell's new CD, Boys, is being released by City Slang records - the European home of Lambchop, who may as well have wrote the book on how to be perceived as uncommercial in Music City - this June. No word yet on when it will be released in the US or by whom. How rich will it be if Nashvillians have to buy the import? Here's the lead single, "Watusi."

Tweet du Jour 5/11/09

"Reading an LA mag. Saw pic's of 3 men I once slept w and I'm only on pg 85. Oy."

Tweet Du Jour

"I loved #StarTrek. I do kind of wish that we weren't the only ones who dressed up."

Happy Cinco

I was at La Paz for the big to-do. More pics tomorrow, right now I'm off to bed:

When Losing Means Finding

Last year during the Olympics I made an "equal time" post, for all of the people who complained about the exploitation of female athletes at the games, that featured a lovely photo of a previous US Mens' Olympic Water Polo team. Unfortunately the host has since taken the photo down and I've been unable to find another copy. I guess this is the next best thing - an ad featuring the team, for Mikasa Sports

Everything You Learned in 4th Grade Art Class Is Wrong

Take the conspiracy theory method used in Holy Blood Holy Grail, and Dan Brown's novels that used it as a jumping off point, apply it to the art world and BOOM - you've got a wonderful little controversy to sell.

We all know the legend of how the brilliant painter Vincent Van Gogh cut off his ear in an act of romantic (or something like it) desperation. Two German researchers are now claiming it was all a made-up story to keep the real mutilator - visiting fellow artist Paul Gaugin - out of jail. They're selling a new book that lays out the theory, In Van Gogh's Ear: Paul Gauguin and the Pact of Silence.

This one just started hitting the web a few hours ago, and it's already getting slammed by Bloomberg's Martin Gayford:

In a gripping passage, Gauguin describes how he left Van Gogh’s house that fateful evening after an argument. While crossing the square outside, he heard “a well-known step, short, quick, irregular. I turned about on the instant, as Vincent rushed forward toward me, an open razor in his hand.” Gauguin claimed he quelled the madman with a glance.

Many have doubted that happened; it may be a story Gauguin invented to absolve himself from the guilt of having deserted his poor friend. That’s plausible. But to suggest that the glittering blade was actually in Gauguin’s own hand, and that he used it on Van Gogh’s ear is a leap into wild conjecture.

Labels Are Losing iTunes Money as a Result of Variable Pricing

Okay, there's a funny. After screaming that Apple was keeping them from making as much money as they possibly could and threatening to do god-knows-what to iTunes/iPhones availability for their catalogs, the majors have cake all over their faces as it's shown Steve Jobs & company understand far more about young record buyers than Wall Street ever will. From Digital Music News:

Major labels are seeing sales decreases following a shift towards variable pricing on iTunes, according to numerous sources to Digital Music News. The sources include executives within the majors, all of whom requested anonymity.

In the initial weeks following the pricing changes, including a move towards top-end, $1.29 downloads, overall revenues are moving downward. Lower unit sales can still result in greater revenues given the higher pricing tiers. But according to the figures shared, unit sales are dipping far enough to produce aggregated revenue declines compared to the pre-variable position.