Live Nation Accessible Seats
I am revisiting and updating older posts, to see if they are still relevant. When they are no longer relevant, I deleted them. Unfortunately, this post that I did about Live Nation and Ticketmaster about accessible seats is still relevant.
The story I shared below took place several years ago. However, a quick search on social media reveals that it is still happening.
It is still harder to get tickets and an accessible seat to a concert if you use Ticketmaster or Live Nation. It’s often more expensive to buy an accessible seat at a concert or event.
Ticketmaster and Live Nation
Right now, we’re dealing with an issue that affects most areas of our lives. And that is, Ticketmaster and Live Nation have a huge monopoly on big events and concerts. That’s not to say that it doesn’t happen at concerts that are not Live Nation concerts.
It does. However, Ticketmaster is large enough, rich enough, and powerful enough to create change.
Ticketmaster is the parent company of Live Nation.
Does Live Nation Charge more for Accessible Seats?
Does Live Nation price gouge disabled people? I don’t know. Sounds like there might be something to this, based on a story that was shared in an activism group that I am in. Read on (paragraph breaks are mine to make it easier to read):
FYI to anyone who orders accessible tickets through TicketMaster or attends events promoted by Live Nation. In March, I purchased 3 handicap accessible tickets in section 117 for the Sept 8th Luke Bryan concert at Citizen Bank Park. The cost of the tickets were $100 each.
A few days before the concert I was checking to see if there were any tickets left in our section and saw that the seats for every row (33 rows) except the handicap row (row 34) were only $50. I called TicketMaster to question this and requested a refund of the extra $50 per ticket I paid and was told that all the handicap seats in the 100 level were $100 (regular seats were $50 – $70) and they were not able to give me a refund because it was the venue who set the pricing.
I was told to call the venue (Citizens Bank Park) which I did. Citizen Bank Park told me that they have no control over the pricing for a non Phillies event and there wasn’t anything they could do about issuing a refund. They felt so bad about the way TicketMaster was price gouging me they offered me two tickets to a game of my choosing. Class act on their part!
I called TicketMaster back and this time I was told that it was the promoter (Live Nation) who sets the pricing and they would contact them to see if a refund could be issued. Via an email I was asked to contact TicketMaster for an “update about my inquiry”. Their “update” was that they were sticking by their original response and that $100 was the price for those seats because they were considered “in high demand”.
I told them that their response was unacceptable and a disgrace and not only unethical, but also illegal. I am trying to spread the word so people realize how Live Nation and TicketMaster are taking advantage of the disabled community. I have a filed complaint with the ADA. Please share this post using all social media means possible. Thank You!
Here is the link to the original post, and I am sharing it as she has asked.
Dynamic Pricing and Accessible Seating
Ticketmaster uses dynamic pricing. That is, if there is a set of concert tickets for sale, they base the prices upon demand. This happens live, in real-time. This policy was initially instated to prevent scalpers and secondhand sellers from getting all the tickets.
But it has also backfired in many ways, including affecting disabled people.
Disabled seating or accessible seating is usually pretty limited at popular events. So let’s say there are 100 accessible seats available for a really popular concert.
When those tickets go on sale, 10,000 disabled people get online and try to get some of the 100 seats available. The computer bots will see this and will inflate the price.
How to Get Accessible Seats for a Concert
From their own website:
How do I request accessible tickets?
Accessible tickets may be purchased online directly from the seat map.
Please note: The number and types of accessible tickets vary by event and venue; in fact, some venues sell tickets for accessible tickets at their box office only.
*For some events Ticketmaster is not the primary ticket seller. For such events, tickets have been posted for sale by third-party sellers or other fans. If this is the case, we cannot guarantee that accessible tickets will be posted for resale, and if you require accessible seating, we suggest you contact the primary ticket seller and/or the venue box office to check on the availability of tickets that accommodate your needs.
The bold is mine. But it demonstrates how the inequities have not been fixed. Non-disabled people are able to buy all their tickets online.
Disabled people, in some instances, will have to drive to the venue to purchase the tickets. This obviously puts an undue burden on disabled people, many of whom do not even drive and have to rely on others to do an errand like this.
Hopefully, they will see the error of their ways and make things right. Until then, rethink your purchases from Live Nation, and consider appealing to the artists who use them to use their influence.
Though, I’m not sure how hopeful I am. This is why monopolies need to be broken up. The recent dumpster fire with Taylor Swift tickets is a good example. Even she was not able to force change for her non-disabled and disabled concertgoers, she’s one of the most popular performers on the planet.
Accessibility comes from Demand
Public sentiment and demand can do a bit of good. Amusement parks like Sesame Place and Knoebels have really good accessibility programs, due to public demand. And, there is no monopoly on amusement parks, which helps. If I cannot access those parks with my son, I have a dozen others to choose from all within 2 hours of me.
This also happens in Orlando, if you’ve ever gone there. We visited everything in Orlando but not Disney. Since there is a Universal, Sea World and other options, the theme parks have to stay competitive.
Good luck and please email me if you find a good workaround we can share.