Senator Charles Schumer is introducing legislation that cracks down on computer 'bots' which, he says, unfairly grab up large numbers of tickets to events, which online scalpers then sell for sharply increased prices.
The senator stood in Canalside with First Niagara Center in the background. That's where Sir Paul McCartney will play his first-ever concert in Buffalo next month. Excitement over the upcoming show quickly turned to outrage for many local fans, as tickets for next month's show were gone very quickly, but then available for resale online at huge markups. Schumer says tickets are now listed for as high as $8,000.
"They do it through auto-dialing, and in a matter of minutes - even sometimes in a matter of seconds - the tickets are all bought up," said Schumer, who added that often times scalpers confidently list tickets for sale before the tickets are even available, as a sign of confidence that their bots will successfully acquire the tickets.
The senator noted that venues such as First Niagara Center and credit card companies are not at fault and support a crackdown on bots. It's also a problem not limited to large venues and major artists.
"I was looking at our tickets, which I can see online, and I can actually watch bots sitting there waiting to poach tickets when they get under a certain amount," said Donny Kutzbach, with Town Ballroom and promotion company Funtime Presents. "It's not just the big shows. It's the small ones, too."
The smaller shows, Kutzbach added, are where bots prove costly to the artists and promoters, who do not see a penny of the marked up ticket profits.
