Before I begin this blog, let me say, I believe brokers have a place in our business.  And in most businesses, actually.  The free market system should allow an individual or a business to purchase something and then sell it for a higher price if the market so demands.

That said, if the market goes unregulated, consumers can suffer.

And now this blog can begin . . .

If you’re a long term reader of this blog, or if you’ve heard me speak about ticketing and the secondary market before then you’ve probably heard the story of my Mom who brought her grandkids to see Annie in Boston a few years ago only to tell me later that she didn’t think she’d be able to bring them to another show in the future.

“Why not, Mom?”

“It’s too expensive!  I paid $140+ a ticket!”

A quick google search told me that she paid more than face value for the ticket because when looking for seats, she did a quick google search as well and ended up on the site of a secondary market seller.  And she bought tickets not knowing she wasn’t buying from the official source.

Again, I’m a believer that brokers should and actually need to exist.  But I also believe that they should be required to notify customers that they are a secondary seller.

Well, odds are that kind of legislation is a long way from happening.  Which means that Broadway sites are going to have to do the reverse.

I propose that all Broadway shows (and Off Broadway too) get together and come up with “official language” and maybe even a Good-Housekeeping-like seal that could exist on all Broadway sites, as well as on signs in the theater, in ticket envelopes, etc.  You know, something like I have at the bottom of this site.

If we’re all pushing this same message, over time we could train our buyers to only buy official . . . or, at the very least, to know when they’re buying “unofficial.”

There’s a time and a place for both, as long as My Mom the customer knows what they are getting into.

Because if My Mom and the thousands like her decide just not to take the grandkids anymore, there won’t be a theater tomorrow for any of us to sell tickets to.

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