So How About That Ticketmaster Settlement?

Is anyone going to use those Live Nation codes?

Yesterday, I asked y’all how much you’d received in the Apple eBooks Antitrust Settlement.

Who Else Got Apple eBooks Antitrust Settlement Money Today?

Today, let’s talk about Ticketmaster.

No, wait, let’s talk about Apple again. Do you know what was great about the Apple eBooks Antitrust Settlement? I got an email that read “You now have a credit of $1.57 in your Amazon account.”

Here’s an excerpt from the 1,569-word email I got from the Schlesinger v. Ticketmaster Settlement Administrator:

To the extent you are eligible to receive them, your Discount, UPS Discount, and Ticket Codes will be placed in your Ticketmaster.com account and will be available for your use starting on or around June 18, 2016.

Once I logged into my Ticketmaster account, I found three discount codes that each entitled me to $2.25 off “a future online ticket purchase of primary tickets.”

I also found three codes that came with a paragraph’s worth of caveats:

This code is potentially redeemable for two General Admission tickets for certain Live Nation concert events subject to availability and limitations. Please be aware that due to limited availability, we expect these settlement ticket codes to be redeemed quickly.

For event eligibility please keep checking the dedicated website at: http://concerts.livenation.com/microsite/settlement

Do you know the quickest way to make sure I never use those ticket codes? Ask me to keep checking a dedicated website. (I did check the dedicated website, BTW. There are a few good acts on the list and a lot of tribute bands.)

It’s probably for the best anyway, since I’m apparently sharing those codes with other people and it’s first-come, first-served? Is that what’s going on here?

According to Ticketmaster’s blog, that’s exactly what’s going on here:

While all class members are eligible for qualified events, tickets will be redeemed on a first come, first serve basis.

The New York Times figured out how many people might want to snag those Live Nation tickets before you:

Ticketmaster Lawsuit Could Mean Free Passes for You

Ticketmaster sent an estimated $386 million worth of discount codes to nearly 57 million people, according to Steven Blonder, a leading attorney on the lawsuit and a principal at the law firm Much Shelist.

Recall that the company is obligated to pay out only $42 million, and it becomes apparent that most of the vouchers will never be redeemed.

It’s incredible that even when Ticketmaster is legally required to compensate users for being a bad actor (technically for being deliberately unclear about its fees), it still manages to be a bad actor.

So. What did you get from Ticketmaster, and are you planning to check that dedicated website in the hopes that you can be the first person to redeem your free ticket codes?

Support The Billfold

The Billfold continues to exist thanks to support from our readers. Help us continue to do our work by making a monthly pledge on Patreon or a one-time-only contribution through PayPal.