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Ticket Masters: The Rise of the Concert Industry and How the Public Got Scalped
“A clear, comprehensive look at a murky business.” — The Wall Street Journal Your favorite band has just announced their nationwide tour. Should you pay to join their fan club and get in on the pre-sale? No, you decide to wait. But the on-sale date arrives, and the site is jammed. You can’t get on—and the concert is sold out in six minutes. What happened? What now? Music journalists Dean Budnick and Josh Baron chronicle the behind-the-scenes history of the modern concert industry. Filled with entertaining rock-and-roll anecdotes about The Rolling Stones, The Grateful Dead, Pearl Jam, and more—and charting the emergence of players like Ticketmaster, StubHub, Live Nation, and Outbox— Ticket Masters will transfix every concertgoer who wonders just where the price of admission really goes. This edition has an updated epilogue that covers recent industry developments.
416 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
November 9, 2017
Wow, this is quite a story. I credit Budnick with (arguably) doing in depth research and laying out all the intricacies in the ticketing business. Frankly, there were far too many people, too many entities with sections and subsections, too many sales and acquisitions, and too much minutiae to really get a grasp on who the hell did what over the years since Bill Graham and similar were in charge.
I also have a hard time getting over the fact that I, personally, know that multiple bits of information presented are erroneous, Eddie Vedder is not from San Diego and he's never been associated with the town, Phish did not play at the Rosemont Theater in 2005, U2 was part of the Amnesty International tours, and I can't recall the others. These discrepancies leave me with serious doubts about what other details are not vetted here. I appreciate the fact that Budnick tried to explain this ultra-complicated industry and I do feel better informed about the sad and prohibitively expensive concert world now.
I also have a hard time getting over the fact that I, personally, know that multiple bits of information presented are erroneous, Eddie Vedder is not from San Diego and he's never been associated with the town, Phish did not play at the Rosemont Theater in 2005, U2 was part of the Amnesty International tours, and I can't recall the others. These discrepancies leave me with serious doubts about what other details are not vetted here. I appreciate the fact that Budnick tried to explain this ultra-complicated industry and I do feel better informed about the sad and prohibitively expensive concert world now.
November 11, 2014
Although it can be difficult to follow all the names thrown around, this is the best explanation I have ever read about how the concert industry, one that I have worked in, functions... or rather...disfunctions.
December 29, 2024
I always thought this book would be the exposé on TicketMaster. It would chronicle how the most evil corporation in the world came to be found out, how the most egregious example of a monopoly was allowed to continue by engaging in more evil and corruption, etc etc. It was not that.
TicketMaster, apparently, is really really misunderstood. For one, the tickets they sell to people are not their clients— the venues are. Who saw that twist coming? That immediately changes all the calculus of every supposedly "anti-consumer" decision they have ever made.
What I took away most from this book is how wrong the public narrative of something can really be. Ticketmaster let themselves become the villain because they knew they were in a position to handle it. But really, all the hate-able aspects of their business are symptomatic of the music industry as a whole, and really they honestly probably have made it better. But congresspeople realized they can score points with their constituents by appearing to go after a universally hated company even if there isn't any actual legal standing to do so.
Greedy artists, greedy venues, and another yet novel antitrust paradox are to blame. Because Ticketmaster exists to benefit the venues, competition in the space would drive up ticketing fees. More ticketmasters mean that venues would choose whichever one could offer the highest percentage of the door. All because artists decided they shouldn't have to pay rent for their shows anymore and suddenly venues needed new ways to make money.
The way ticketmaster came to be so hated is likely one of carelessness. A CEO that couldn't be bothered to believe it an issue (he's probably right too) and an industry with so many complexities and moving parts to understand easily, especially with how opaque it is.
I think there's some lesson here about how an organization fits into a complex system when it is constrained by the realities and incentives of itself and others, but I don't know what it is. So I'll save it for another time.
6/10.
TicketMaster, apparently, is really really misunderstood. For one, the tickets they sell to people are not their clients— the venues are. Who saw that twist coming? That immediately changes all the calculus of every supposedly "anti-consumer" decision they have ever made.
What I took away most from this book is how wrong the public narrative of something can really be. Ticketmaster let themselves become the villain because they knew they were in a position to handle it. But really, all the hate-able aspects of their business are symptomatic of the music industry as a whole, and really they honestly probably have made it better. But congresspeople realized they can score points with their constituents by appearing to go after a universally hated company even if there isn't any actual legal standing to do so.
Greedy artists, greedy venues, and another yet novel antitrust paradox are to blame. Because Ticketmaster exists to benefit the venues, competition in the space would drive up ticketing fees. More ticketmasters mean that venues would choose whichever one could offer the highest percentage of the door. All because artists decided they shouldn't have to pay rent for their shows anymore and suddenly venues needed new ways to make money.
The way ticketmaster came to be so hated is likely one of carelessness. A CEO that couldn't be bothered to believe it an issue (he's probably right too) and an industry with so many complexities and moving parts to understand easily, especially with how opaque it is.
I think there's some lesson here about how an organization fits into a complex system when it is constrained by the realities and incentives of itself and others, but I don't know what it is. So I'll save it for another time.
6/10.
July 14, 2025
While the topic is extremely interesting, the style of writing does drag at times. There is too much focus on minor details at times, and people whose lives don't really add much to the narrative, which does weigh things down. However, the book does an admirable job at showing how the two headed monster that is Ticketmaster and Live Nation has been decades in the making.
The monopoly these companies' merger has created, which cares nothing about customers, was the result of rich executives obsessed with growth and consuming all competitors all for the sake of ravenous shareholders. This insatiable appetite that fuels the astounding greed of any public traded company is the root of their terrible business practices, as is the case with nearly every industry. However, for ticketing and concert going, learning about the origins was interesting, but also depressing, knowing that at this point, the only way to be unaffected is to not go to concerts because if you want to go to any of your favourite concerts, there is absolutely no avoiding them, while also knowing the disgusting secondary ticket sellers are just subsidaries of Ticketmaster/Live Nation.
This is where we are at, and the book does a good job of showing that, and aside from the only method customers have left, which is a unified boycott (which, in my humble opinion will never happen), there really isn't much else we, as customers, can do to stop what has become a monolithic beast.
The monopoly these companies' merger has created, which cares nothing about customers, was the result of rich executives obsessed with growth and consuming all competitors all for the sake of ravenous shareholders. This insatiable appetite that fuels the astounding greed of any public traded company is the root of their terrible business practices, as is the case with nearly every industry. However, for ticketing and concert going, learning about the origins was interesting, but also depressing, knowing that at this point, the only way to be unaffected is to not go to concerts because if you want to go to any of your favourite concerts, there is absolutely no avoiding them, while also knowing the disgusting secondary ticket sellers are just subsidaries of Ticketmaster/Live Nation.
This is where we are at, and the book does a good job of showing that, and aside from the only method customers have left, which is a unified boycott (which, in my humble opinion will never happen), there really isn't much else we, as customers, can do to stop what has become a monolithic beast.
December 9, 2022
I've been going to concerts all of my life and for the past 24 (almost 25) years I've been following one band quite consistently. This book connected the dots on a lot of things I've observed as a concertgoer in the 21st century. And then there were things that I learned about this industry...phew. Very interesting...Very interesting indeed.
As for reading this book, it can get quite dense, but I understand the need to break down a lot of the history of the industry. It's basically an in-depth look at the music industry from the touring perspective. One slight issue I had was the propensity of the authors to refer to a company by one name and then throw in the name they changed to later even though they hadn't reached the name change in the chronology. Other than that, it was a very intriguing read
As for reading this book, it can get quite dense, but I understand the need to break down a lot of the history of the industry. It's basically an in-depth look at the music industry from the touring perspective. One slight issue I had was the propensity of the authors to refer to a company by one name and then throw in the name they changed to later even though they hadn't reached the name change in the chronology. Other than that, it was a very intriguing read
March 20, 2018
- The first 40% of the book is really detailed and pointless for the majority of the population, I would suggest to skip it and start reading from Chapter 4.
- Only read it if you're super interested in learning more about the live entertainment and ticketing industry in the U.S.
- Helps you understand the history of how some key companies in these industries were created and some of the details that made them successful.
- In general, the book gets lots into pointless details that add no value to the reader.
- Only read it if you're super interested in learning more about the live entertainment and ticketing industry in the U.S.
- Helps you understand the history of how some key companies in these industries were created and some of the details that made them successful.
- In general, the book gets lots into pointless details that add no value to the reader.
February 1, 2020
A ton of information but not a good read.
Fred Rosen, ex-CEO of Ticketmaster, completely changed TM's business model by providing an additional revenue stream (through service charges) to the venues and re-signing contracts through time.
The Department of Justice in 2010 allowed Live Nation and Ticketmaster merger and did not deem such merge a threat to potential monopoly power in the ticketing space.
Fred Rosen, ex-CEO of Ticketmaster, completely changed TM's business model by providing an additional revenue stream (through service charges) to the venues and re-signing contracts through time.
The Department of Justice in 2010 allowed Live Nation and Ticketmaster merger and did not deem such merge a threat to potential monopoly power in the ticketing space.
May 7, 2024
However much you currently hate Ticketmaster it's not nearly enough. Had to read this for a class, and while it's probably not something I would've picked up otherwise, it was hard to put down once I started. My only complaint is that there's a little too much exposition for people who are only in the book for 4-5 pages. I also had to read this on a time crunch tho so take that with a grain of salt.
November 25, 2025
While the book does a good job tracing the history of automated ticket selling, it gets a bit too into the weeds at times. By the midway point, the names and companies got really jumbled for me. It could also use an update, given that TM/Live Nation continue to monopolize the live music scene and efforts to curb ticket reselling have repeatedly failed, despite a large number of music fans repeatedly pointing to a very broken process that should be illegal.
January 12, 2020
I did it! I finished this comprehensive history of the concert/ticket industry from the early beginnings and my concert loving, ticketing job soul has been filled. While this was very detailed and, as stated, comprehensive, some areas and sections of the book became a task to read though I still definitely enjoyed learning from this!
January 21, 2023
An interesting history on the rise of the ticket and live entertainment industry. It shows how a few players looked to consolidate the market to grow further profits but ultimately led to higher costs for the consumer and less options for the artist. This is a problem that is still extremely relevant today and this industry is often viewed as one that is ripe for disruption.
August 28, 2017
A bit dry at first, but fascinating subject to me as an avid concert attendee. Can't wait to see the update about Taylor Swift and others gouging fans for premium spots for her shows via Ticketmaster
October 27, 2018
An absolute must-read for anyone interested in concert ticketing and how it's got to where it is. While lengthy and hard to read at time, Ticket Masters is an invaluable look inside the industry that occasionally feels like it's holding music fans to ransom.
November 10, 2018
Narasi yang menarik tentang ketatnya bisnis tiket di Amerika. Tidak hanya fokus pada tiket namun juga bagaimana mengikat venue untuk mengatur penjualan tiket. Kisah perjuangan Pearl Jam menjaga harga tiket supaya tetap bisa terjangkau versus biaya-biaya tambahan juga menarik.
July 7, 2020
I’m in the industry so I found it fascinating and knew some of the people in the book but I feel it’s almost too detailed.
Would be interested to see an update especially now during the pandemic which has halted the concert industry completely.
Would be interested to see an update especially now during the pandemic which has halted the concert industry completely.
May 2, 2022
3.5 stars rounded up
This is a pretty detailed book about the history of live concerts and ticketing. It almost reads like a textbook at times, but I enjoyed reading about how complicated this industry is.
This is a pretty detailed book about the history of live concerts and ticketing. It almost reads like a textbook at times, but I enjoyed reading about how complicated this industry is.
March 4, 2023
Solid read with the background on the ticket business from the beginning but really enjoyed the more recent stuff and also seeing how some of the bands I listen to and their involvement with things like fan ticketing.
March 23, 2023
Excellent.
I enjoyed this book, it showed the inner working of ticketmaster and how they've gotten to be so big and ultimately corrupt.
I enjoyed this book, it showed the inner working of ticketmaster and how they've gotten to be so big and ultimately corrupt.
December 11, 2023
Very complicated story.
October 31, 2024
Very tough read. A lot of excruciating detail and names to remember
June 7, 2017
How many of us have attempted to buy concert tickets only to discover all the tickets have be sold out, seemingly at the moment they become available, or have had to pay the mysterious service fees?
Dean Budnick and Josh Baron’s Ticket Masters: The Rise of the Concert Industry and How the Public Got Scalped investigates the evolution of music industry and how tickets are sold. Although computerization and fees originated in the 1960’s, this innovation did not initially have the impact one might expect because the number of tickets available for purchase via computers was relatively small and the technology was not always reliable.
The much-reviled Ticketmaster came up with an improved business model that included improvements such as: making every ticket available for purchase through the system, increasing service fees, and sharing a portion of the service fees with intermediaries. This model evolved into a monopoly and although a few artists such as Pearl Jam, the Grateful Dead, and the String Cheese Incident fought it, Ticketmaster remains the dominant model for ticket sales today.
Ticket Masters is a well-researched and readable book that goes a long way to explaining Ticketmaster’s rise and is a good read for anyone who is interested in how the music industry has evolved or even simply wants to know how ticket prices have gotten so absurd and concerts seem to sell out almost instantly.
Dean Budnick and Josh Baron’s Ticket Masters: The Rise of the Concert Industry and How the Public Got Scalped investigates the evolution of music industry and how tickets are sold. Although computerization and fees originated in the 1960’s, this innovation did not initially have the impact one might expect because the number of tickets available for purchase via computers was relatively small and the technology was not always reliable.
The much-reviled Ticketmaster came up with an improved business model that included improvements such as: making every ticket available for purchase through the system, increasing service fees, and sharing a portion of the service fees with intermediaries. This model evolved into a monopoly and although a few artists such as Pearl Jam, the Grateful Dead, and the String Cheese Incident fought it, Ticketmaster remains the dominant model for ticket sales today.
Ticket Masters is a well-researched and readable book that goes a long way to explaining Ticketmaster’s rise and is a good read for anyone who is interested in how the music industry has evolved or even simply wants to know how ticket prices have gotten so absurd and concerts seem to sell out almost instantly.
May 16, 2023
Awful people in an under regulated industry will screw consumers for decades.
Bands should have organised BETTER and protected fans.
Most could care less and a few did too little.
But the ticket industry is a lesson in US Justice Department incompetence.
Painful to read.
Bands should have organised BETTER and protected fans.
Most could care less and a few did too little.
But the ticket industry is a lesson in US Justice Department incompetence.
Painful to read.
May 13, 2018
I absolutely loved this book, and yet I'd recommend it to almost no one. For anyone who wants to learn more about the ticketing industry, this book is invaluable and covers a lot of the history that rarely gets talked about and for that content this book is great. That said, the writing is often poor with excessive details and quite poorly organized even from paragraph to paragraph, which can make it an unnecessarily difficult read.
January 29, 2015
I've had this book tucked away for quite awhile, as I work in the industry and find it fascinating - especially the misinformation that is out there about things like how many concert tickets are made available to the general public, the deals ticketing agencies have made with artists and venues, and the rise of the secondary ticketing market (where I work).
Ticket Masters: The Rise of the Concert Industry and How the Public Got Scalped has a pretty leading title, and it delivers against that - the public is the big loser here, and author Dean Budnick does a good job at pointing out the way the industry works, explaining away some things folks think they know about, and in many cases keeps it light and informative.
For instance, most folks know - or think they know - about the Pearl Jam and Ticketmaster battle from back in the early 1990's. But, did you know that the band (who I love) who said they were only interested in making sure the fans could have a $20 ticket refused to take any less than $17 a ticket themselves? I sure didn't. And I also didn't know about later issues TM has had with folks like The String Cheese Incident, etc., with different results.
Ticket Masters is often dry - it took me maybe seven months to read, and I read about five or six other books along the way - but it does open up ones eyes to a guarded and often closed industry. Definitely recommended to anyone IN the industry, as well as for those looking in from the outside. It's not always riveting, but definitely a solid account of what's going on.
Ticket Masters: The Rise of the Concert Industry and How the Public Got Scalped has a pretty leading title, and it delivers against that - the public is the big loser here, and author Dean Budnick does a good job at pointing out the way the industry works, explaining away some things folks think they know about, and in many cases keeps it light and informative.
For instance, most folks know - or think they know - about the Pearl Jam and Ticketmaster battle from back in the early 1990's. But, did you know that the band (who I love) who said they were only interested in making sure the fans could have a $20 ticket refused to take any less than $17 a ticket themselves? I sure didn't. And I also didn't know about later issues TM has had with folks like The String Cheese Incident, etc., with different results.
Ticket Masters is often dry - it took me maybe seven months to read, and I read about five or six other books along the way - but it does open up ones eyes to a guarded and often closed industry. Definitely recommended to anyone IN the industry, as well as for those looking in from the outside. It's not always riveting, but definitely a solid account of what's going on.
August 4, 2014
Good overview of not just the history of ticketing systems, but also of the concert industry as a whole. Certainly shines a light on where all your money is going when you buy a concert ticket (whether it be on the primary or secondary market), and how pretty much everybody on the chain is getting a piece of the action. Would have given it a higher rating, but the writing style makes it pretty tough to read at points. Lots of run-on sentences, temporal jumps and the occasional typo. There's also an ever-changing revolving door of characters, but fortunately the authors have added a standalone glossary of names in the back of the book to help the reader keep track of who each person is (which I referenced more than once or twice). Overall, a worthwhile read for anybody interested in the way the concert industry works, but only if your desire to learn about the industry trumps your desire for a smooth reading experience.
April 4, 2016
Interesting. Really gets into all parts of the history of ticketing. It goes off onto many tangents about the artists and their management. Also, fascinating how a percentage of tickets are never sold on the primary market (i.e. Ticketmaster) and now are directly sold to secondary ticket agencies (i.e. Stub Hub) where the profits are split with the artists or promoters and the ticketing agency. I guess this explain why for a Monster truck show we are going to we paid $83 in service charges, facility fees, and printing fee (for a print at home) for 6 tickets. Makes you wonder where all of those Adele tickets went after selling out the entire summer tour in a few minutes.
August 28, 2013
This was kind of a slow read for me with lots of details about the people and developments of the ticket industry.
But as an avid concert goer since the early and mid-70's it was really interesting to learn how ticketing really works and why shows are so expensive.
We learn how some of the artists that we think "are on our side" get tickets and immediately sell them to the secondary market, essentially scalpers. We learn how hard bands like the Grateful Dead worked to serve their fans in an honest manner and how several other groups used the Dead as a model for their own organizations.
But as an avid concert goer since the early and mid-70's it was really interesting to learn how ticketing really works and why shows are so expensive.
We learn how some of the artists that we think "are on our side" get tickets and immediately sell them to the secondary market, essentially scalpers. We learn how hard bands like the Grateful Dead worked to serve their fans in an honest manner and how several other groups used the Dead as a model for their own organizations.
December 28, 2016
I finally finished this book! I've had to pick it up and put it down so many times that I finally bought myself a physical copy and made my way through it (for real, I first borrowed this book from the library in 2012 when it came out). I'm not sure the book answered all of my questions about the ticket industry, and it definitely left me with more questions like "well, what are we going to do about it?" but that wasn't what the book set out to do. It was a great, comprehensive history on the ticket industry, and even though at times my eyes washed over the jargon, I enjoyed reading it.
August 2, 2013
Long story short: Tickets are expensive and there's little we can do about it. I wanted more details about the music industry and less about the people developing the ticketing software. The cast of characters became confusing and overwhelming. I do feel more aware of how the industry finds ways to make the most from the audience, but there doesn't seem to be much we can do about it. The best tip: When you buy a ticket you are agreeing the show is worth that price.
August 24, 2012
I'm actually a few chapters short of finishing this book. I sort of got lost because I was not using the (super-helpful) index of names mentioned in the back of the book. I kept forgetting who people were, and i just gave up. The book is actually very in depth and interesting if you're in the field. I will go back and re-read one day. It was a must-own for me!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews