http://www.free-press-release.com/news/200907/1246487551.html
http://www.ticketnews.com/Live-Nation-is-sued-over-fees-and-No-Fee-Wednesdays-at-PNC-Bank-Arts-Center-in-New-Jersey709213?utm_source=ticker
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/07/freehold_concertgoer_sues_live.html

Many are to blame for this. The Ticket sellers, the venues, the bands and the fans. The Ticket sellers add the service fee. The parking/facility fees go to the venue. Maybe 10 years ago, the venues needed TicketMaster, but in this day and age, there’s absolutely no … Read Morereason a venue should not be able to manage it’s own ticket sales over the internet. The bands(or their promoters) choose the venues, but ultimately, that’s still on the band’s head. I can go see some perfectly good shows at WolfTrap. Granted, there’s still a service fee, but it’s less. And lastly, the fans are to blame for actually paying these exorbitant fees.”

@Greg- the only way for that effort to continue was for others to begin conducting business the same way: refusing to play venues that only sold tickets through TicketMaster. PJ got essentially no support in that effort, and in that climate, I’d have probably also thrown up my … Read Morehands and said, “Fine, fuck it if no one else wants to step up.” No one band was ever going to beat TM, but I give them credit for trying to get the ball rolling. The fact that no one else was willing to turn it into a snowball rolling downhill isn’t on them as far as I’m concerned.”

Seriously though, had that effort continued we might not be paying the extortion ticket rates we’re paying today, is all I’m saying. I remember them publicly admitting defeat and giving up, didn’t know the other details about it.”

The only way to beat TicketMaster would have been to hit them where it hurts, and take money out of their … Read Morebottom line; Pearl Jam proposed and toured on a new model that did just that, by leaving TicketMaster out of the equation, but no one else signed on for fear of pissing off the giant that is TicketMaster. Everyone else being chickenshit is Pearl Jam’s fault?”

Thus, 15 years later, astronomical service charges on concert tickets. The funny thing is, I think at the time Pearl Jam did all that, the service charge per ticket was something like $2 or $3.”