Drake fans outraged by inflated ticket prices have called out Ticketmaster who have been hit with a class-action lawsuit after ‘intentionally misleading’ Montreal customers ‘for their own financial gain.’
A long time fan of the Canadian rapper and singer was appalled when he went to purchase two ‘Official Platinum’ seats for Drake’s upcoming ‘It’s All a Blur’ tour at the Bell Centre July 14 for $789.54 only to watch tickets drop to half price for a ‘concealed’ second concert date the next day.
Its been claimed that Ticketmaster knew Drake would perform two concerts in Montreal but ‘concealed this information’ to hike up prices and ‘squeeze out’ as much money as they could from fans.
The ticket blunder comes in the wake of an inquiry launched by Members of Congress in fall accusing the billion-dollar company of running a monopoly and failing to look after customers, especially during the sale of Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen tickets.
Drake fans outraged by inflated ticket prices have called out Ticketmaster who have been hit with a class-action lawsuit after ‘intentionally misleading’ Montreal customers ‘for their own financial gain’
The ticket blunder comes in the wake of an inquiry launched by Members of Congress in fall accusing the billion-dollar company of running a monopoly and failing to look after customers, especially during the sale of Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen tickets
‘Ticketmaster unilaterally decides which tickets it advertises and sells as ‘Official Platinum’ based on a given event,’ the Montreal law firm LPC Avocat Inc. obtained by the Toronto Star read.
‘The result is that most, if not all, of the tickets advertised and sold as ‘Official Platinum’ are neither ‘premium tickets’ nor ‘some of the best seats in the house’ and are, in fact, just regular tickets sold by Ticketmaster at an artificially inflated premium in bad faith.’
If approved by the Quebec Superior Court, the class-action lawsuit will seek ‘compensatory damages in the aggregate amount of the difference between the prices charged for ‘Official Platinum’ tickets and what their regular price ought to have been’ for fans who bought Official Platinum seats.
It also seeks $300 per customer in punitive damages.
The allegations have not yet been proven in court and Ticketmaster has not publicly commented on them. DailyMail.com has contacted Ticketmaster for comment.
The class action comes amid a series of disappointing moves from Ticketmaster some of which have been bemoaned by world-famous musicians.
The Cure front man Robert Smith convinced the company this month to issue partial refunds to some of his fans after it had inflated prices of tickets that had originally been set as low as $20.
Meanwhile, Taylor Swift, lashed out at the company last November when she saw exorbitantly high-ticket prices for her ‘Eras’ tour calling it ‘excruciating’ to watch fans struggle to get tickets.
Fans, known as Swifties, who made their frustrations known eventually led to a Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington looking into the ticket-vending giant and their dominance in the industry.
Senator Amy Klobuchar, who chairs the US Senate committee on consumer rights, said that Ticketmaster is responsible for 70 percent of ticket sales in the U.S.
‘In truth, there is no other choice. It is a monopoly,’ she told MSNBC last year.
Ticketmaster’s boss in January apologized to Swift and her fans during a US Senate hearing.
‘We need to do better and we will,’ said Joe Berchtold, president of Live Nation, Ticketmaster’s parent company.
A bot attack was responsible for ‘a terrible consumer experience’, he said.
In July, Bruce Springsteen fans were met with similar site difficulties and outrageous prices as Ticketmaster activated its ‘dynamic pricing’ model for tickets to his current arena tour — his first featuring the full E-Street Band since 2017.
Beyoncé is seen on stage in Pasadena in July 2018. Her European shows are significantly cheaper than her U.S. ones
Mercedes Arielle, from Dallas, shared her tips for getting European tickets for the show
Tickets are available for Beyonce’s show in Stockholm for 2,325 Swedish krona, or $225
The same type of ticket in Charlotte, North Carolina on August 9 costs $822
Music lovers have been complaining of incidents similar to this across the country saying its cheaper to buy a plane ticket and see shows in Europe.
Beyoncé fan Mercedes Arielle, from Dallas, announced on Instagram that she had saved money by booking a flight to Stockholm to see the Renaissance tour, rather than buying a ticket in her hometown.
And Beyonce isn’t the only musician whose shows in Europe are dramatically cheaper than those in the U.S.
Analysis by DailyMail.com showed that, over the summer, the same level of tickets for Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Pink and Ed Sheeran can be found at big discounts in Europe.
‘Beyoncé is a ministry,’ said Arielle, explaining the lengths she went to to get tickets.
She told The Washington Post: ‘When I think about the things she is saying in her music about experiencing joy and celebrating black women? She made us feel empowered and capable and strong and worthy.’
Arielle told NBC News she bought VIP tickets to the Stockholm show for $366, while her friends in Dallas spent $900.
She said she was so close to the stage, ‘Beyoncé is gonna sweat on me. That’s how close I am.’
Arielle, whose Instagram account offers tips to ‘hack luxury by any means possible,’ said she was using points from travel loyalty cards to pay for her hotel.
Meanwhile, another Beyoncé fan, Kylyn Schnelle, 28, from Louisville, Kentucky, said tickets for the show in her hometown were on resale sites for over $800.
Madonna is seen on stage in New York in June 2022
Tickets to see Madonna, right at the front, in London on October 15 cost 1,505 pounds, or $1,838
The same tickets – right at the front – in Madison Square Garden will cost you $2,666
Schnelle told NBC News that she looked online and found tickets in London, and a flight, with the trip adding up to the same cost as seeing the singer in Kentucky.
‘When I looked in London, it was 167 pounds [about $200], and the flight was, like, $660,’ she said.
‘I was like this is genuinely the same cost.’
Schnelle’s best friend lives in London, so, she said, it took ‘very little to convince’ her to go.
‘If you’re going to spend $800, why would you not milk it as much as possible?’ she said.
The tactic used by Arielle and Schnelle could save music lovers thousands – especially if they have airline points to use, or have already booked their tickets to Europe.
Tickets are currently on sale for Beyoncé’s show in the Swedish capital Stockholm on May 10 for 2,325 krona, or $225.
Bruce Springsteen is touring with his band for the first time in six years
Seeing ‘The Boss’ in his home state will cost you $537 for tickets
Similar tickets in Copenhagen will set Springsteen fans back only 666 krone, or $96
The same type of ticket in Charlotte, North Carolina on August 9 costs $822.
Coveted front-of-stage tickets have the biggest savings.
To see Madonna up close in London on October 15 costs £1,505, or $1,838.
The same ticket at Madison Square Garden on August 23 is $828 more expensive, at $2,666.
To see Bruce Springsteen in his home state of New Jersey will cost you $537 when he performs on April 14.
Yet if you are in Copenhagen, the same level of ticket costs 666 krone, or $96.
A general admission ticket for Ed Sheeran’s tour stop in Chicago, standing in front of the multiple stages, will cost you $149 on July 29.
For those in the Scottish city of Glasgow, the same general admission entrance costs £90, or $109.
Pink’s Summer Carnival tour takes her across North America and Europe this summer
Pink’s fans in Chicago pay significantly more than her fans in the Polish city of Warsaw
Similar tickets for the Pink show in Poland cost 550 zlotys, or $126: in Chicago, they are $618
Ed Sheeran fans pay around $40 less in Glasgow than in Chicago
Sheeran’s general admission tickets are $149 in Chicago
Fans of Pink in Poland will find themselves saving hundreds of dollars compared to their U.S. counterparts.
In Warsaw, on July 16, you can see Pink for 550 zlotys, or $126.
In Chicago, however, her August 12 show costs $618.
Both Pink tickets are for her Summer Carnival tour, which begins in London in June and arrives in North America on July 24.
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