Author | Li Qinyu Editor | Fan Zhihui
"Can humans grab the tickets for this show?"
April 30th is another day that music fans love and hate. On the morning of that day, topics related to concert ticket grabbing such as "aimer Shanghai grabbed tickets", "Jay Chou Changsha who grabbed the tickets?", "Li Jian grabbed tickets", etc., became hot searches.
In July last year, tickets for Jay Chou's Tianjin concert were sold out as soon as they were sold out on Damai.com. Keywords such as "difficult to get tickets" were once on the hot search. A series of phenomena such as interface lags and "insufficient inventory" when paying also made the The fans were exhausted. Many fans even found agents to pay the deposit three months in advance, but ended up losing both their money and their lives. Therefore, a new term has also emerged in the world of ticket grabbing - "accompanying ticket grabbing".
Recently, problems such as difficulty in purchasing tickets, difficulty in refunding tickets, and difficulty in safeguarding rights have been intensively exposed. So why is it so difficult to watch a good show now?
Ticketing dilemma under chaos
Consumers have been suffering from ticketing for a long time.
"2023 China Performance Industry Consumer Insight Report" shows that the top three "main reasons affecting performance satisfaction": 52.1% are unable to buy tickets, 46.6% are not satisfied with the content of the performance, and 39.2% have overbearing terms or returns. Tickets require high handling fees, and consumers’ dissatisfaction with the entire process of watching a performance, from purchasing tickets to refunding tickets to watching the performance, is really causing slow-moving damage to the performance market.
According to statistics from the Shanghai Consumer Rights Protection Commission, in the first half of 2023, a total of 9,208 cultural ticketing complaints were received. A high proportion of complaints were caused by the inability to refund or transfer tickets after real-name ticket purchases.
Purchasing tickets is already so difficult, and refunding tickets is even more difficult.
Recently, many consumers said that because the rules of the ticketing platform were unclear and the reminders were not eye-catching enough, refunds for Eason Chan's "Fear and Dreams World Tour" in Wuhan required a high 80% handling fee, and there was no way to complain.
Jinjiang literature author "Girl Don't Cry" also wrote that he was very envious of people who can refund tickets from ticketing platforms. As a frequent attendee of plays and concerts, I have never taken the initiative to refund any tickets. However, during the epidemic, I was unwell and provided a medical test report to the ticketing platform, but I was still refused a refund.
According to the Beijing Youth Daily, the allocation of concert tickets is not decided by the ticket sales website, but by the organizer. Generally, there are several channels such as Damai, Maoyan, Fanwan Island, and Ticket Planet. In the specific sales, the performance organizer is the rule maker, the refund fee will naturally be refunded to the organizer, and each ticketing platform is the executor of the rules.
Precisely because ticket purchase is cumbersome and refunding is generally difficult, Phoenix Legend’s help in protecting fans’ rights by buying “pillar tickets” a few days ago is even more sympathetic.
After the Phoenix Legend "Auspicious Ruyi" 2024 Tour Concert in Changzhou ended, some viewers said that they bought seats with blocked views without knowing it, and their refunds were refused. Subsequently, Damai.com also communicated with the user as soon as possible and completed a full refund. Later, Linghua, the lead singer of Phoenix Legend, also gave the fans in-field tickets to Phoenix Legend's Bird's Nest concert.
Of course, this is not the first time that “pillar tickets” have appeared in the eyes of consumers.
As early as May last year, the "pillar ticket" situation occurred at Liang Jingru's Shanghai concert. "Only the sound was heard but no one was seen" throughout the concert. In the end, nine audience members chose to sue the concert organizer, requesting that the defendant be ordered to refund all purchases. ticket costs and punitive damages.
The case was heard in the Meilong Ninth Court of the People's Court of Minhang District, Shanghai in November 2023. On March 25 this year, the court notified that it approved the extension of the trial period of the case for 180 days. The case has not yet been concluded. shows that the rights protection cycle is long.
Similar to this, there was the recent rights protection incident in which a large number of spectators at Xu Meijing’s Nanjing concert had their tickets “refunded.” In the face of fans' doubts, Xu Meijing's management team explained: "Because it is a fan meeting, there is an interactive session; the random selection of fans is also real, and the interactive communication is also a true expression of true feelings. There is no pre-arrangement, rehearsal, or fraud."
However, according to Lianhe Zaobao, the stadium where Xu Meijing performed in Nanjing can accommodate 8,000 people, and the price is the same as the concert ticket price, causing many viewers to view the performance as a concert. After feeling sorry for Xu Meijing's years of illness At the same time, the audience was blamed for the unprofessionalism of the organizer and the operation team. In a word, it is difficult to purchase tickets and it is also difficult to refund them. It is even more difficult to protect the rights of the on-site experience when consumers are angry. and grievances, it also revealed that the performance ticketing market is as fragile as a grass-roots team.
When will the ticketing chaos end?
With the full recovery of the offline performance market, everything from music festivals to large-scale concerts has become very lively. Many of the leading artists raised their prices, testing the bottom line of the organizers by doubling the prices. The rational organizers gave up, but there were also some new investors who became takers. According to
, from January to October 2023. From the box office data of live performances, we can see that there are obvious signs of box office decline in October. The hot scene of "sold out as soon as tickets are opened" gradually dissipated in the performance market in the second half of last year.
Concerts are an experience economy, and when it comes to artists, it is. It is realized through solid business level and personal brand reputation. However, the traffic effect has lost its appeal. Only veteran singers with high reputation and masterpieces such as Jacky Cheung, Wu Bai, and Eason Chan are left, and their performance tickets are still very popular. Hard to find.
In order to control risks and provide benefits as much as possible, organizers often arrange longer and more special tour performances.
At the same time, it is also a challenge to the artist's physical strength. , the poor experience and high cost of purchasing tickets in the early stage will also be superimposed on consumers in the later stage, raising expectations for the live experience and reducing tolerance for artists.
For example, Jacky Cheung’s tour canceled due to physical exhaustion, and the organizer canceled the tour. Not only will the audience be allowed to choose whether to refund their tickets, but they will also be compensated for refunds from out-of-town audiences, including reimbursement of tickets, air tickets, and local hotel accommodation in Shanghai. However, the anger of some consumers has not been quelled; The operational details were out of control, resulting in many negative rights protections for Liang Jingru’s tour. The negative score experience greatly discouraged consumers from purchasing tickets. Xu Meijing’s concert in Wuhan was also forced to cancel the real-name mechanism and refunds due to negative public opinion. The ticket sales system with unclear rules increases the risk of purchasing tickets for consumers, also limits the circulation of tickets, and affects the flexible arrangements of ordinary consumers for self-purchased tickets. In addition, consumers also have to face the problem. With the ever-evolving scalpers' tricks - reporting on the organizer, grabbing seats, stealing tickets on behalf of others, etc., buying tickets for a performance not only screens out "rich people", but also tests consumers' anti-fraud capabilities.
For example, many scalpers turn to high-priced services to avoid risks. If they really can't get it, they can also choose a more expensive method of entering information in the invitation letter as a last resort. The source of the invitation letter that provided scalpers with the information seems to be involved within the organizer, which makes people ponder the connection.
It is undeniable that the ticketing platform has done nothing to combat scalpers. For example, Damai comprehensively uses technical means to block access requests initiated through cheating methods such as ticket brushing scripts, ticket brushing software, and virtual devices. At the same time, in order to prevent the purchase of tickets on behalf of others, the platform has upgraded its algorithm model to accurately identify abnormal ticket purchase requests such as "machine brushing" and "human flesh robbery", and promptly stop illegal operations.
In addition, platforms such as Damai have also launched a "waiting ticket mechanism" that allows users to prepay and queue up. Although an additional 6% handling fee is required, if the waiting list fails or the user wants to cancel the waiting list midway, the prepaid ticket and service fees will be fully charged. The amount will be refunded to the user. Compared with the high price increase and risk of ticket scalping, it can be said to provide a glimmer of hope for consumers to successfully purchase tickets.
Taken together, many of the current response methods are a double-edged sword, and it is even harder to guard against a gentleman than a villain. The difficulties faced by ordinary consumers when purchasing and refunding tickets have not really been reduced.
These problems arise one after another due to several key factors: the organizer needs to recover the huge cost of the initial investment, which leads to the continuous extension of the ticket sales period; while the ticketing platform resists scalpers, it fails to fully consider the actual needs and feelings of consumers; Caught between high ticket prices and low experience, consumers have developed a higher awareness of their rights and interests, and even over-protected their rights.
In most cases, consumers often become victims of market inequality and insufficient policies.
To solve these intertwined ticketing problems, in addition to requiring better coordination and cooperation between organizers and ticketing platforms, a more transparent and fair ticket sales mechanism should also be improved.
Previously, Fu Jian, director of Henan Zejin Law Firm, mentioned in an interview, “Faced with all kinds of chaos, it is necessary to improve rules and regulations, identify responsible parties, and increase penalties to create a good performance environment and healthy ticketing. Market. In response to 'scalper' ticket scalping, it is necessary to strengthen the coordination and linkage of multiple departments, determine the responsibilities, and determine the responsible entities in terms of ticket source management, ticket sales platforms, on-site law enforcement, and industry self-discipline. "
If we talk about the previous problems in the performance market. It can be called a hidden danger, so the slump in ticket sales at the beginning of this year is a signal that the market is calming down and consumers are returning to rationality. Now is a critical moment for the performance market to survive and reshape standards.
hopes that in the near future, it will no longer be so difficult for everyone to watch a show.
*The picture source of this article is from the Internet. If there is any infringement, please contact us for deletion.
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