Paul and Ringo Sell Out in Seconds, Scalpers Profit

Is this even surprising? The Daily News reports that the April 4th reunion of surviving Beatles Paul and Ringo sold out in record time, and now organizers are apologizing to angry fans who can only find tickets through scalpers for inflated prices (up to $9,000!). The performance is part of a benefit for the David Lynch Foundation, and the director of the organization told fans, "We were alarmed [to see] that tickets were listed on the scalping sites days before they went on sale." The 1200 remaining tickets (after a fan club pre-sale) were available through Ticketmaster starting Monday at 11 a.m., and allegedly sold out in nine seconds (the Vegas show sold out in 7). Tickets can now be found on eBay and Craigslist, as well as the aforementioned scalper sites.

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By Jen Carlson in Arts and Events on March 11, 2009 1:04 PM

Comments [rss]

Snoopy

"They love your money yeah yeah yeah. They love your money yeah yeah yeah. They love your money yeah yeah yeah."

Snoopy

Somehow paying $9,000 to hear a drummer who couldn't really play the drums and an old beat up guy yodeling isn't real value for your dollar.

Who's making the outfits for the occasion, Stella?

aspiringrapper

The idea that they couldn't anticipate that this would happen is completely absurd.

Snoopy

Will Yoko Ono's band be the warm up group? No way am I spending 9 big ones if she isn't.

EastRiver

Paul "sold out" in 1970.

NannyState

Will they be giving hair dyeing tips during the show?

longacre

John Lennon, Elvis and Biggie Smalls better show up on that stage for $9,000.

Dirk

I love the Beatles, but $9,000? Paul and Ringo are not worth $9,000.

Politburo

Yes, ticketmaster sucks, etc.. but is anyone really surprised here? Even without the ticketmaster scam, the secondary market for these tickets would be unprecedented.

billybob

I can't believe people would pay $9k to see these geezers.

mandarkzilla

Bite your tongue! That's Ringo Starr you're talking about!!!

bucephalus

“Paul was the cute one, John was the smart one, George was the cute one, and Ringo was the luckiest person in the world.”

tingo

That's because Ticketmaster sucks. They have a complete monopoly, charge inflated prices and fees, and encourage scalping.

ides_of_march

Ticketmaster should be renamed Ticketmafia.

I'm just glad that most of the live music I enjoy can be heard in local bars for the price of a few beers.

Tgirl

agreed... it is a disgrace. I was totally jerked around the other day on TM when Leonard Cohen tix went on sale. One minute after ten a.m. (when tix officially went on sale) the only option available was the "Marketplace," aka TM's scaper-site. They should be shut down.