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Reverse engineering Ticketmaster's rotating barcodes

conduition.io

301–310 of 737 posts

Re: Reverse engineering Ticketmaster's rotating barcodes

#301

I am sure this is pointed out elsewhere, but ticketmasters business model is based on lying to the public so that the artists and venues don’t have to. Taylor Swift is a nice-ish person and wants her fans to think they can buy tickets for her shows at about 25 bucks because that’s a lot of money for a 12 year old and she does not want to alienate her fans. Her manager is an evil cackling bastard and wants to get as m…

Can you provide a source for artists getting a cut of the greater-than-MSRP resale market?

There are a lot of journal articles about this, but here's a recent NPR story [0] and a Vox article from 2019 [1].

[0] https://www.npr.org/transcripts/154299904

[1] https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/7/22/20703858/live-nation...

Re: Reverse engineering Ticketmaster's rotating barcodes

#302
post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Ticketmaster ultimately provides a luxury. You don't need to see a concert I don't agree. Entertainment/recreation is a need. Music is an important part of the human experience, and seeing it live, with other fans, is really valuable to some people. And the fact is, the value a person places on the experience is totally orthogonal to their ability to use/afford Ticketmaster. And it's not just about Taylor Swift - e…

I agree that experiencing music is a fundamental part of human life, but experiencing specific musicians at specific venues is not. It is very easy to find free live music without Ticketmaster or online portals.

> It is very easy to find free live music without Ticketmaster or online portals.

Oh okay, nevermind then. Heck, I just found some under my couch. How does Ticketmaster even make any money?!

Re: Reverse engineering Ticketmaster's rotating barcodes

#303

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I still don't blame the developers, I blame government. It's not the job of rank and file workers to police companies. I wouldn't work for LN, but I'm not going to blame someone else for doing so. We've all gotta feed our families. (I realize there's a line somewhere, you wouldn't excuse a prison guard at Auschwitz the same way, but I can't get too worked up about a developer making a ticketing app even if I hate the…

Even government software has issues (Vienna). I paid a €100+ fine for not having a ticket, even though I spent time going through the purchase flow. I have 100s of tickets purchased. Live agent and support agent just shrugged and told me I don't know how to use the app, washed their hands of any responsibility or need for understanding. It's like there's no way to make the software human and humans in the loop have a…

That’s just reflection of your culture. I.e. I come from Eastern Europe where cheating is so engrained and “i made an oopsie” would never fly. Beurocracy is face to face and takes ages

Now living in NZ I get tons of slack for something like “verify youre local for free museum entry” or “get your passport by post”. Life is so much easier when societal trust is high.

Re: Reverse engineering Ticketmaster's rotating barcodes

#304

I am sure this is pointed out elsewhere, but ticketmasters business model is based on lying to the public so that the artists and venues don’t have to. Taylor Swift is a nice-ish person and wants her fans to think they can buy tickets for her shows at about 25 bucks because that’s a lot of money for a 12 year old and she does not want to alienate her fans. Her manager is an evil cackling bastard and wants to get as m…

Taylor Swift's manager is a woman. And an artist like TS is going to know exactly how it works behind the scenes

Re: Reverse engineering Ticketmaster's rotating barcodes

#305
post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dont think it’s a truth. Shamans and wizards (never heard this used to describe anyone in history but let’s assume it’s just any kind of supposed magic user) were people at the top tier of their societies in terms of political power. Not kings or chieftains, but above everyone else. Programmers are just making a living selling their labor power like every other office drone in the world. We’re one of the most commo…

> Shamans and wizards (never heard this used to describe anyone in history but let’s assume it’s just any kind of supposed magic user) were people at the top tier of their societies in terms of political power. Not kings or chieftains, but above everyone else. I don't know where you came by such a notion; Shamans, "Wizards", witches, "wise women/men", are usually shunned from society such that they tend to live near…

Perhaps they were referring to a time when nomadic people started settling into "villages," before organize religion solidified?

Re: Reverse engineering Ticketmaster's rotating barcodes

#306

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, as it also notes, it works offline if you remember to open the ticket before you get there, and they don't (or at least didn't used to) give you sufficient warning. I found out that's how it works the hard way when it was new by having to walk a half mile back from the venue to get service to load the tickets. There's also the chance the ticketmaster app won't work properly later even if you did do it. I've had…

Sure, I'm just reacting because TOTP is like the textbook example of a system designed to work without interactive access to a networked resource. The whole as TM designed it has crappy affordances, but you could fix that without breaking the design.

Ah, yeah. I’m just hoping the justice dept breaks them up and ticket sales move to something like the airline model.

Re: Reverse engineering Ticketmaster's rotating barcodes

#307

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, as it also notes, it works offline if you remember to open the ticket before you get there, and they don't (or at least didn't used to) give you sufficient warning. I found out that's how it works the hard way when it was new by having to walk a half mile back from the venue to get service to load the tickets. There's also the chance the ticketmaster app won't work properly later even if you did do it. I've had…

Recent experience for a large stadiums event suggests they have fixed the notifications. I got a lot of notifications encouraging me to a) charge my phone and b) download the ticket before arrival.

Yes, they have learned. As much as I hate them they are mostly a well-run company.

Re: Reverse engineering Ticketmaster's rotating barcodes

#308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can still print the ticket on paper. Tho nowadays that means a trip to a FedEx store for me, since I refuse to keep buying inkjets I only use a couple times a year.

> I refuse to keep buying inkjets I only use a couple times a year. Laser printers are the solution, and Brother laser printers seem to remain the most highly-regarded.

Yup, I use my brother laser printer to print probably 20 pages a year and it’s been going strong for 5 years now on the cartridge that it came with when I bought it on eBay.

Re: Reverse engineering Ticketmaster's rotating barcodes

#309

I am sure this is pointed out elsewhere, but ticketmasters business model is based on lying to the public so that the artists and venues don’t have to. Taylor Swift is a nice-ish person and wants her fans to think they can buy tickets for her shows at about 25 bucks because that’s a lot of money for a 12 year old and she does not want to alienate her fans. Her manager is an evil cackling bastard and wants to get as m…

Taylor Swift's manager is a woman. And an artist like TS is going to know exactly how it works behind the scenes

Hey now, it's 2024, anyone can twirl their evil mustache if they want to sport one. Just wash your hands afterwards.

Re: Reverse engineering Ticketmaster's rotating barcodes

#310

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One ID for the entire order would be fine. You can buy 4 tickets, and go into the concert with your 3 friends. It often works this way even with no ID involved, I buy two tickets, add them both to my wallet, scan them both when my GF and I go to the show. You COULD still scalp tickets if the person who bought them from you is going to walk in with you. But the scalper would have to eat the cost of one ticket to do it…

What if you need to arrive separately? Especially for a big event with tens of thousands of people, can be easier to meet up inside the venue on everyone’s timeline.

Then you should have thought of that when you bought the tickets I guess. Any change to the system to fight scalping is going to inconvenience regular users too.

As a frequent concert goer, I’d happily have to arrive with my group if it meant no Ticketmaster.

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