Ticket Masters : The Rise of the Concert Industry and How the Public Got Scalped

In the spring of 1975 a trio of neophyte businessmen backed an old Chrysler onto a sun-baked Arizona driveway and convened in their new office. The garage start-up, dubbed Ticketmaster, would come to achieve such market dominance over the following decades some critics would denounce the company as an unlawful monopoly. Yet its path to the top was far from inevitable and Ticket Masters analyzes the legality and ethics behind the actions of Ticketmaster, including its recent merger with Live Nation. Ticket Masters, based on first-person interivews with the key players, is a character-driven story that explores the actions and impact of the iconoclasts guiding Clear Channel, Ticketmaster, Live Nation, SFX, MusicToday, and StubHub, while folding in related tales of trustafarians, scalping syndicates, old-school music promoters, and would-be Internet tycoons. Ticket Masters answers such questions as: Just what is included in a service fee and why does it vary with the price of a ticket? Why am I forced to pay for parking when I'm taking public transportation to the concert? and Who really pockets all of that money? This guide to the concert industry looks into cubicles, conference rooms, and booking agencies and includes interviews with promoters, musicians, and corporate executives with connections to both Ticketmaster and the bands. Special attention is paid to the touring activities and ticket-selling practices of the Grateful Dead, Pearl Jam, U2, Dave Matthews Band, and the Rolling Stones. Ticket Masters chronicles the as-yet-untold story of the modern concert industry, revealing the origins, development and ongoing strategies of companies such as Ticketmaster, Live Nation and StubHub and the efforts of numerous independent competitors. With over 100 exclusive interviews along with many previously unreleased documents, this character-driven book explores the actions and impact of the iconoclasts guiding these companies while folding in related tales of scalping syndicates, old-school music promoters and would-be Internet tycoons along with the bawdy business decisions of such world-renowned groups as the Grateful Dead, Pearl Jam and the Rolling Stones. Like no other previous book, Ticket Masters sheds light upon the complex relationships between artists, promoters, ticketing agents and the public. Whether it's Michael Cohl nabbing the Stones from Bill Graham, Ticketmaster's defeat of Pearl Jam or the silent efforts of music superstars to mark up their ticket prices for complicit websites, Budnick and Baron examine the pivotal developments that have shaped the industry as we know it. Yet, Ticket Masters is also a personal story for the millions who purchase tickets, as it addresses the often-asked (but unanswered) How and why do concerts sell out so fast? Why do service fees vary on tickets to the same event? Why isn't Ticketmaster considered an illegal monopoly? Is it worth joining a band's fan club to qualify for a pre-sale? How do ticket broker websites like StubHub get all their tickets? And (deep breath), just how did ticket prices get so high , anyway?

Golfers wanting to know the colourful stories behind names like Alcatraz, Biarritz, Cleopatra, Dell, Eden, Postage Stamp, and Redan can now turn to the only book ever devoted exclusively to the par-three hole. In Golf's Finest Par Threes Tony Roberts and Michael Bartlett have assembled what they call a "an exemplary collection of the most spectacular, historic, challenging, and unusual one-shot holes on the planet."

The heart of the book is the authors' list of the 100 greatest par threes in the world, chosen from thousands they've seen during more than 30 years profiling and photographing golf courses. These are designated as gold and silver, and arranged by design and geographical categories such as links, island and peninsula, blind, drop shot, and more. Striking photography and fact-filled profiles combine to reveal the distinct character of each hole.

Golf's Finest Par Threes also explains how the greatest course designers - notably, Macdonald, Colt, Tillinghast, MacKenzie, Ross, Thomas, Jones, Fazio, Nicklaus, Dye, and Doak - have created par threes. A closing section offers new perspectives on the one-shot hole: "Best Sets" and "Out-of-the-Box" threes, historic shots on par threes, and more.

Golf's Finest Par Three is a beautifully packaged tour of golf's great short holes, one guaranteed to inform, entertain, and provoke vigorous debate about what makes a par three superior and memorable.

In the spring of 1975 a trio of neophyte businessmen backed an old Chrysler onto a sun-baked Arizona driveway and convened in their new office. The garage start-up, dubbed Ticketmaster, would come to achieve such market dominance over the following decades some critics would denounce the company as an unlawful monopoly. Yet its path to the top was far from inevitable and Ticket Masters analyzes the legality and ethics behind the actions of Ticketmaster, including its recent merger with Live Nation. It answers such questions as Just what is included in a service fee and why does it vary with the price of a ticket? Why am I forced to pay for parking when I’m taking public transportation to the concert? and Who really pockets all of that money? This guide to the concert industry looks into cubicles, conference rooms, and booking agencies and includes interviews with promoters, musicians, and corporate executives with connections to both Ticketmaster and the bands. Special attention is paid to the touring activities and ticket-selling practices of the Grateful Dead, Pearl Jam, U2, Dave Matthews Band, and the Rolling Stones.

Chronicles the story of the modern concert industry, revealing the origins, development and ongoing strategies of such companies as Ticketmaster, Live Nation and StubHub and numerous independent competitors.