LET'S SAY the latest Dave Matthews concert is coming up, and you can barely wait to hear the band's groovy tunes. You also just found out that you will be unable to attend the concert hosted by the John Paul Jones arena. Why? You couldn't go online and purchase a ticket in the short time frame that the tickets were available for consumers before being sold out. Sadly, you eventually have one option -- going to a scalper and paying for the show at a higher price than the face value of the ticket. When you arrive at the concert, you are denied entrance because your ticket is scalped, even though it is otherwise legitimate and you paid a significantly higher price for it.
Is this a fair method of eliminating the black market in ticket sales?While canceling the ticket is an acceptable method of diminishing the black market on tickets, it should not be the primary means of stopping it. The true offenders in this situation aren't as much the purchasers within the black market as the suppliers. The JPJ arena must change its ticket price and its policies aimed at punishing scalpers and their patrons.
"The second-hand ticket market is widespread. It is supply versus demand for most big shows," explained Larry Wilson, general manager for the John Paul Jones Arena in an e-mail interview. While it is impossible to keep track of how many scalpers there are in the University's market, technology has made it easier to provide tickets faster and to a larger audience. Wilson added, though, that the patrons who purchase the scalped tickets are the ones who really get hurt. Because of the JPJ arena ticket policy, consumers of scalped tickets receive a double punishment -- not only are their tickets more expensive than a typical ticket, but they are also subject to be cancelled by the arena.
The JPJ arena's standards against scalping are not solely University policy. Virginia law states that municipalities are able to regulate policies regarding ticket scalping and purchasing. Musictoday, the official provider for the JPJ arena, mentions on its company's Web site to report online scalpers by contacting the Musictoday Web site.
Though the state of Virginia and Musictoday have tried to counter the black market, ticket scalping in Charlottesville is still a major problem for the arena. Additionally, scalped ticket buyers are the reason that there is a black market in the first place. Despite this, making consumers suffer despite paying more for a big event should not be the University's response to inhibit scalping and other black market products. Box office companies and the University should use the knowledge of the market and its patrons to provide better, if not higher, prices for more popular shows. In economics, if there is more demand for a product than there is supply, the market must adjust itself by increasing the price of the ticket. Subsequently, JPJ arena needs to provide relatively higher priced tickets for typically sold out shows to counteract scalping.
If the University feels the need to enforce policies against scalping, they should be directed at placing harsher punishments and more enforcement on the scalpers themselves. Currently ticket scalping for an entertainment venue is classified as a class-one misdemeanor, and can be punishable as a higher misdemeanor depending on the municipality, according to the Virginia state legislature Web site. While providers of scalped tickets are more difficult to find and apprehend, they are the ones who create the black market in the first place and are more likely aware of the punishments of making an illegitimate profit. Additionally, in a black market, there can be no demand for a market if there is no supply. JPJ arena must refocus its priorities.
Overall, a black market for tickets demonstrates a need for a better legitimate market in the first place. As such, a lockdown on black market ticket holders is not the best answer, since they are only responding to a failure in the market. On the other hand, scalpers can be legitimately fair game, since Musictoday and Virginia law have made it clear that selling tickets outside of authorized retailers is not acceptable. Only when law enforcement ultimately puts the majority of pressure on the supply-side section of the scalping market will all of us be able to enjoy the annoying drone of the Dave Matthews Band in peace.
Adam Silverberg's column appears Thursdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at asilverberg@cavalierdaily.com.
Read More
PATEL: Personal development courses support students beyond the gradebook
By Heer Patel | 4 days agoThe University must rethink its approach to education beyond traditional major-specific requirements and mandate personal development courses.
EDITORIAL: Commercialization threatens U.Va.’s educational mission
By Editorial Board | 5 days agoAfter all, measuring the University’s worth in terms of accrued capital, operational efficiency and numerical rankings molds this space into just another cookie-cutter institution.
YOUNIS: Why every U.Va. student should say yes to English
By Ayat Younis | January 9, 2025Every student at the University, regardless of their primary field of study, can professionally and academically benefit from engaging with the English department.
