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From: rjn@hpfcla.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.wanted
Subject: Re: Orphaned Response
Message-ID: <39700002@hpfcmp.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 13-Oct-85 21:22:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: hpfcmp.39700002
Posted: Sun Oct 13 21:22:00 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 19-Oct-85 06:57:25 EDT
References: <10372@ucbvax.UUCP>
Organization: 13 Oct 85 19:22:00 MDT
Lines: 33

re: more on scalping - supply & demand observations...

Some of the respondents  here have suggested that scalpers merely  represent
normal  supply and demand  forces in the ticket  marketplace.  To the extent
that  you  consider  only  the  FINANCIAL  cost of  tickets,  this is  true.
However, I believe that some performers are trying to sell tickets partially
for a currency OTHER than money (and are thus discouraging scalpers).

Suppose you are a performer whose fans are primarily blue collar workers and
teenagers, with some number of yuppies and upper middle class thrown in too.
So, your primary fans have less  discretionary  income (i.e.  cash) to spend
on  tickets,  but they have lots more TIME  than the  bustling  yuppies  and
uppies.

Now, to maintain fan  loyalty,  you feel obliged to tour.  But in each city,
there are  enough  yuppies  and uppies to gobble up all the  tickets  if you
simply let the price "float up" the supply/demand curve (like it does in Las
Vegas).  If you operate on this policy, you will  eventually  alienate  your
teen/bcw audience, and they'll stop buying records, posters, etc.

What's the  alternative?  A low ticket price guarantees a huge demand, which
must be  mediated  by some other  mechanism.  So, change  part of the ticket
price to TIME - standing  in line.  This puts the  teen/bcw  group on a more
equal footing with the yuppie/uppie  group.  (Personally, 2 hours in line is
a higher price than I'm willing to pay for any performer I can think of.)

If Bruce  Springsteen lets the market (or the scalpers) set the dollar price
of his  tickets,  he'll  soon end up with class of fans very much like Wayne
Newton's.  I doubt if that's attractive to him.

Regards,                                              Hewlett-Packard
Bob Niland                                            3404 East Harmony Road
hplabs!hpfcla!rjn                                     Fort Collins CO  80525