IT TOOK JUST minutes for U2′s Joshua Tree 30th anniversary gig in Croke Park to sell out this morning, but fans with deep pockets can still pick up tickets.
With a capacity of almost 78,000, Croke Park is among the largest stadiums on the European leg of the The Joshua Tree Tour, but that didn’t stop fans snapping up the tickets in less than five minutes. However, some fans were left angered by the fact that hundreds of tickets immediately popped up on SeatWave, a company owned by Ticketmaster, who sold the original tickets.
The SeatWave tickets start at €290, some €250 more expensive than the cheapest tickets which went on sale today. Some tickets are being sold for as much as €1,019.
SeatWave bills itself as a Ticketmaster company which allows fans who missed out on sold-out gigs to purchase official tickets. It allows fans to sell their tickets, even within minutes of purchase. The company charges a 10% “success fee” on sales and allows customers set their own selling price. That means that the higher the price for “secondary market” tickets, the more money SeatWave stands to make.
Tickets are also available on eBay and DoneDeal. On eBay, touts are offering tickets for between €250 and €350 each. These tickets have left some fans angry, accusing Ticketmaster of promoting touting.
Fine Gael TD Noel Rock has been a vocal advocate of a law banning touting, calling for Ireland to shut down SeatWave with a similar law to one used in Belgium. His anti-touting law is with the Oireachtas Bills office and he hopes to have it debated soon. The bill will make it unlawful to sell tickets for major sporting musical or theatrical events for over their face value. Rock has said the law will protect consumers.
The sale of the U2 tickets came on the day that the presale for the London showing of Hamilton kicked off. The Tony-winning musical is the subject of one of the most lucrative secondary markets in the world. The New York Times estimates that scalpers can make between $3 million and $7 million a month from resold tickets.
The London sale features strict anti-touting measures, including a ban on buying for others and requirements that the credit or debit card used to purchase is brought by the ticket holder, along with with ID.
When Ticketmaster was asked about their view of anti-ticket touting laws in Ireland, a company spokesperson said in a statement:
“U2’s The Joshua Tree tour has been exceptionally popular. With artists of this stature, demand often far outstrips the supply of tickets. Ticketmaster is committed to the overall ticket buying process to ensure artists get tickets into the hands of fans and never places tickets on secondary market sites.”
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