Managing secondary ticketing used to be resolved by chasing away the person standing in front of the theatre with a handwritten cardboard sign selling two tickets. Not anymore. Secondary ticketing is the industry of “scalped” tickets, those bought and then resold at a higher amount. And these scalpers are now licensed ticket brokers, operating professional offices and belonging to local business and civic groups. The face and industry of secondary ticketing has changed and continues to evolve and grow. The secondary ticket market did more than $15 billion in business in 2006 and the numbers entering the secondary marketplace are growing.

So how does this affect you, the patron of Broadway Across America shows? And what’s the harm?

Knowing who you are buying from is not necessarily enough. You probably recognize the secondary ticket companies, but don’t let the big-budget media and ad campaigns fool you. When purchasing on the internet, the first link is not necessarily the authorized point of sale. If you purchase from the secondary market and arrive at the theatre unknowingly with a fraudulent ticket or, you arrive at your seat to find someone has been sold the exact same ticket, where do you turn? Unfortunately, there’s no way for Broadway Across America to assist patrons who purchase through the secondary market.

“We can’t help with a refund or exchange, because we weren’t involved in the sale,” according to Courtney Pierce, Broadway Across America’s Senior Vice President of Sales. Buying through authorized ticket locations allows Broadway Across America to protect and support patrons. “We want to guarantee that everyone has a great show experience and a very integral part of that is the buying of tickets,” says Pierce.

Tickets purchased through secondary markets are usually substantially more expensive than the original ticket price. The most economic way to purchase tickets is through subscriptions, group sales or at an authorized ticket agency for the show.

Broadway Across America cannot prevent secondary ticket agencies from buying tickets when they go on sale, and state laws governing ticket brokers (and how much they can charge for tickets) vary greatly from state-to-state. Legal ramifications for reselling tickets do not seem to be a deterrent. Eleven states still have strong anti-scalping laws; Massachusetts, for example, bars the resale of tickets above face value and nine others have weaker ones. In June 2006, Florida overturned a law against reselling a ticket for more than $1 above face value. Many brokers place the burden of complying with the law on its users.

So what does the future have in store? Broadway Across America is in initial discussions to utilize Ticketmaster’s TicketExchange program in which patrons can resell their tickets online if they cannot attend a performance. The program may go into effect as early as the 07-08 Season. Realizing the necessity to stay ahead of the curve with electronic transactions, an innovative system has been developed. “We are investing in markets across the country to introduce e-tickets which allows us to control the entry into the theatre and most importantly to protect the customer,” according to Pierce.

Season ticket holders will be able to check in on the season area of the BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com website beginning in select markets with the 07-08 season to see if the resell program will be available in their market. Single ticket buyers can resell their tickets by going to Ticketmaster.com (in cities where Ticketmaster is the authorized ticket agency). Tickets must be purchased through Ticketmaster in order to be eligible for the resale program.

The only way patrons can be sure that they are purchasing authorized, legitimate tickets at the original ticket price is to use only the sources communicated from the Broadway Across America office, including Ticketmaster. Make sure your ticket belongs only to you, purchase your show tickets from an authorized ticket seller, visit BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com and we‘ll see YOU at the show!

By: Allison Thomas