Billy Joel tickets went on sale Friday.
He’s set to play at Mohegan Sun in February. But within seconds, it seemed only resale seats were available for sky-high prices.
“The resale is almost like legalized scalping. These people buy up these tickets and triple the prices and it’s disgusting,” Melody Baker, of Westbrook, said.
She said she’s seen the singer every time he’s come to Connecticut for the last 30 years, but she won’t be attending this time.
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“Now fast forward, I have a 17-year-old, I’ve been bringing her to concerts since she was 3 years old and she said, ‘Mom, I really want to see Billy Joel,’” she said, but, "I told her well, I’ll go online and I can’t guarantee I can afford them and I was right.”
And Baker’s not alone; NBC CT Responds saw a lot of frustrated fans commenting online.
“The unfortunate reality of artists like Billy Joel is there is only one Billy Joel, and you don’t know how much longer he’ll be playing shows,” said John Breyault, the vice president of public policy, telecommunications and fraud at National Consumers League (NCL).
NBC CT Responds
NCL advocates for ticket buyers. Breyault said the case of "The Piano Man" demand will always be higher than the supply of available tickets.
And while that naturally drives up prices on the secondary market, more can be done.
One example, NCL is pushing for legislation that strengthens the illegal use of bots to scoop up seats at retail prices, only to resell them at exorbitant prices.
Resale tickets seemed to be the only option for fans who logged on to Ticketmaster Friday.
“Every single ticket was a resale ticket. The cheapest one was $425 up to $2,000 and that was for upper-level seats,” Baker said.
After Taylor Swift's ticket sales caused consumer outrage, NCL said consumers have seen some progress, like all in ticket prices shown online locally and at all Ticketmaster-owned venues.
But NCL said more can be done if fans continue to make their voices loud.
“If you don’t like the process to get tickets to Billy Joel or anybody else call your congressman, call your senator,” Breyault said.
We reached out to Ticketmaster with some questions, but were referred to this section of its website which says artists set ticket prices and how many tickets they sell at presale, too, among other things.
"Billy Joel's return to Mohegan Sun Arena, is a repeat of his highly anticipated performances in 2008, and did sell out quickly this morning. With stage and production set-up, most concerts rarely get to the capacity of 10,000, though this performance, we’re hoping to surpass 9,000," Tom Cantone, president of sports and entertainment for Mohegan Sun, said.
In the meantime, NCL has these tips for ticket buyers:
- Look for presale opportunities through your credit card.
- Join your favorite artist's fan club which may give you a presale code for potential retail ticket prices.
- And it’s a risky move, but you could save a buck, by waiting until the day of the show for potentially cheaper seats, if they are available.
