Phish Fans Caught Up in the Ticketing Perfect Storm
I was writing an email and one of those creepy Google ads popped up for the Phish page on TicketsNow, the Ticketmaster-owned secondary ticket site similar to StubHub. A few observations: – The market has ballooned to nearly $650 per ticket for the opening night Hampton show – nearly double where it stood a couple…
Interesting People Doing Interesting Things
Here at HeadCount, we are always excited to see people, especially youth, speak up. If you're in the mood for a little inspiration, check out a few of these incredible change makers. "You Voted, Now What?": Have you ever been stared down by a man draped in metallic, gold fabric with all exposed skin painted in gold?…
Independent Report Ranks HeadCount No. 1 (By Far)
Air Traffic Control, a non-profit that connects musicians to social action, put together a report summing up the various "music related political events" in 2008. The report found that 82% of that activity involved HeadCount. The next closest organization, Rock the Vote, was responsible for 7%. We knew we were staging the largest event-based voter…
A Guitar for the Ages
The following was written by Gregg Nevens, who made the highest bid on a guitar signed by members of The Dead as well as Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to commemorate The Dead’s appearance at the Presidential Inauguration. While Gregg’s views are clearly his own and do not reflect HeadCount’s nonpartisan political stance, we…
Ticket Brokers Breaking Hearts
One of the many dirty secrets behind the secondary ticketing market (what some would call “legalized scalping)” is that the ticket brokers don’t always have the tickets they advertise. They “sell” the tickets, get the money in hand, and then try to buy the same tickets at a lower price. If they can’t, then they…
Merger Intentions Confirmed, Politicians Speak Up
As of Tuesday morning, Ticketmaster and Live Nation confirmed their intended merger. The new company, named Live Nation Entertainment, would be headed by Michael Rapino, Live Nation CEO. Ticketmaster Chairman, Barry Diller, spoke up immediately on behalf of the honest intentions of the company. Both companies claim the mixture of economic turmoil and everlasting music industry profit…
I’m Tired of Grammy Gripes
The 51st Annual Grammy Awards were on last night and, although every knowledgeable music lover I know has had more gripes than praises about the ceremony, I had more fun watching this event than any awards show I can remember (except maybe adolescently swooning over N*Sync at Nickelodeon's Kid's Choice Awards). Sure, The Jonas Brothers should never, ever…
We’re Our Own Tribe
Seth Godin has his own action figure. Why? It may be because he is a superhero. Named the Marketing Guru, Godin has made a career in writing books focused on marketing techniques. However, it is quickly becoming apparent that these techniques are not only applicable to business models. Every day he has at least one…
DEA Slow to Get Memo on New Medical Marijuana Policy
The drug war is now raging inside Washington, as Bush administration holdovers in the DEA are carrying out raids on state-sanctioned medical marijuana facilities in California — raids that President Obama has pledged to halt. The Washington Times quotes an administration official saying “The president believes that federal resources should not be used to circumvent…
Ticketmaster gets Bosscocked
Your television screen wasn't the only thing getting slammed by Bruce Springsteen's crotch this past Superbowl Sunday. The next morning thousands of fans had a nightmare of a time trying to purchase tickets to upcoming Springsteen shows. At this point we are all pretty used to dealing with the ridiculous hurdles thrown at us by Ticketmaster…