Scalper Bots Are An Unseen Plague On Live Performances
Start writing a post
Entertainment

Scalper Bots Are An Unseen Plague On Live Performances

In one corner, we have a societal leech with lots of servers. In the other corner, literally everyone else. FIGHT!

51
Scalper Bots Are An Unseen Plague On Live Performances
AMNY

On the day tickets for the Gorillaz show on September 20 went on sale, I was at school. The night before, I had devised a plan: during second period, I would (conveniently) ask to use the restroom two minutes before tickets went on sale. Setting the plan into motion, I locked the stall door and unlocked my phone, the Ticketmaster page already loaded and my debit card in hand. I counted down the seconds.

The moment 8:30 a.m. hit, I jumped on the best available seats, but received an error: “These seats have already been sold. Please try again.” I refreshed the page, conceding the seats to another quick buyer. Already, many of the seats had been blotted out, indicating they had already been sold. I tried again with a new pair of seats, but the screen read, “These seats have already been sold. Please try again.” Starting to panic now, I refreshed and tried yet another pair, only to see, “These seats have already been sold. Please try again.” Upon my final refresh, the entire show had been sold out. Crushed, I closed the page and trudged back to class.

That night, I checked another ticket vendor and was surprised to discover that all of the seats that had disappeared from Ticketmaster were available there—on StubHub. The only difference was that the seats were now $150 each instead of $60 and StubHub was not offering free CDs of the new Gorillaz album. It turns out, I didn’t lose my seats to fast-typing die-hard concertgoers; I lost them to parasites called scalper bots.

Scalper bots are automated processes that wait for ticket sales to go live, then automatically buy every ticket in mere seconds, giving real human beings no chance to get them. Then, the companies that create the bots (like StubHub) put the tickets up for re-sale at two or three times the price, often without offering free merchandise that the original seller promised, like the free Gorillaz CDs.

So what can be done to fight automated scalpers? Last year, Senator Chuck Schumer and “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda worked together to convince President Obama to sign the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act of 2016.

The act made using scalper bots and reselling tickets purchased by bots illegal nationwide. A proposed bill plans to do the same in Ontario and limit ticket resales to 50% of the ticket’s face value. Artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Adele, Miley Cyrus, Tom Waits, Metallica, AC/DC, Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift have taken advantage of Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan program. This program requires ticket buyers to provide personal information weeks in advance to prove they are a real person. If the algorithm decides the buyer is not a bot, they are allowed to purchase tickets. Tom Petty voided and resold 600 tickets to his joint Tom Petty/Pearl Jam concert, as well as 800 more for his show at Madison Square Garden. Chance the Rapper bought thousands of tickets to his own “Magnificent Coloring Day” festival from “fuckboy scalpers” to be resold to real people:


It is incredibly hard to fight bots. For each new development in verification (such as CAPTCHA), there are hundreds of people working on breaking it. Bots are rarely operated from within the country, making it difficult (if not impossible) to penalize anyone. But with high-profile artists stepping up to direct tickets back into the hands of fans and shedding light on the shady world of ticket re-sale, we are definitely moving in the right direction.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Student Life

Waitlisted for a College Class? Here's What to Do!

Dealing with the inevitable realities of college life.

58535
college students waiting in a long line in the hallway
StableDiffusion

Course registration at college can be a big hassle and is almost never talked about. Classes you want to take fill up before you get a chance to register. You might change your mind about a class you want to take and must struggle to find another class to fit in the same time period. You also have to make sure no classes clash by time. Like I said, it's a big hassle.

This semester, I was waitlisted for two classes. Most people in this situation, especially first years, freak out because they don't know what to do. Here is what you should do when this happens.

Keep Reading...Show less
a man and a woman sitting on the beach in front of the sunset

Whether you met your new love interest online, through mutual friends, or another way entirely, you'll definitely want to know what you're getting into. I mean, really, what's the point in entering a relationship with someone if you don't know whether or not you're compatible on a very basic level?

Consider these 21 questions to ask in the talking stage when getting to know that new guy or girl you just started talking to:

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

Challah vs. Easter Bread: A Delicious Dilemma

Is there really such a difference in Challah bread or Easter Bread?

37725
loaves of challah and easter bread stacked up aside each other, an abundance of food in baskets
StableDiffusion

Ever since I could remember, it was a treat to receive Easter Bread made by my grandmother. We would only have it once a year and the wait was excruciating. Now that my grandmother has gotten older, she has stopped baking a lot of her recipes that require a lot of hand usage--her traditional Italian baking means no machines. So for the past few years, I have missed enjoying my Easter Bread.

Keep Reading...Show less
Adulting

Unlocking Lake People's Secrets: 15 Must-Knows!

There's no other place you'd rather be in the summer.

959311
Group of joyful friends sitting in a boat
Haley Harvey

The people that spend their summers at the lake are a unique group of people.

Whether you grew up going to the lake, have only recently started going, or have only been once or twice, you know it takes a certain kind of person to be a lake person. To the long-time lake people, the lake holds a special place in your heart, no matter how dirty the water may look.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

Top 10 Reasons My School Rocks!

Why I Chose a Small School Over a Big University.

194088
man in black long sleeve shirt and black pants walking on white concrete pathway

I was asked so many times why I wanted to go to a small school when a big university is so much better. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure a big university is great but I absolutely love going to a small school. I know that I miss out on big sporting events and having people actually know where it is. I can't even count how many times I've been asked where it is and I know they won't know so I just say "somewhere in the middle of Wisconsin." But, I get to know most people at my school and I know my professors very well. Not to mention, being able to walk to the other side of campus in 5 minutes at a casual walking pace. I am so happy I made the decision to go to school where I did. I love my school and these are just a few reasons why.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments