National Association of Ticket Brokers (NATB) Issues Statement Regarding Scarcity of Hannah Montana Tickets

WASHINGTON, (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Following many media reports that ticket brokers caused the scarcity of Hannah Montana tickets,
the National Association of Ticket Brokers (NATB) (http://www.natb.org) today issued the following statement:

"Whenever tickets to premium events sell out too fast or the ticket price is too high, ticket brokers become an easy target of public scorn. Due to misreported facts about recent events such as the Hannah Montana concert tour, the public needs to be made aware of how tickets actually go on sale and how many tickets are actually available for sale. Recent, inaccurate press reports lead the public to believe that brokers control the market for premium events. This is simply not true. You need to look at how many tickets an arena actually holds for a concert or sporting event and how many of these tickets actually went on sale to the general public. Ticket brokers are no different from stock brokers — they buy and sell tickets every day. When the phone rings at a broker's office, someone is either selling a ticket or wants to buy one. The prices are set by the market and not by the brokers. Most importantly, the media is primarily isolating this to one event, the Hannah Montana tour. Ticket brokers take risks every day when buying and selling tickets. Unbeknownst to most, many times the market goes in the opposite direction. Every day of the week our members are selling tickets below face value for some event."

The following, according to the NATB, are some basic facts consumers should be aware of:

During the Hannah Montana tour, many of the tickets were not made available to the general public. For example, the Hannah Montana concert in Kansas City was held at the Sprint Center which has a total capacity of 18,500 seats. Yet, published reports stated that only 11,000 seats were available for the concert, of which a mere 4,000 were sold to the public. The reason for this is that prior to the public sale there was a fan club sale. Additionally, many Hannah Montana seats in the front half of the orchestra for other concerts have been auctioned off by Ticketmaster with some tickets selling for over $800 on Ticketmaster's secondary market exchange — TicketExchange.

This type of act could sell out large stadiums and the shows were held in small arenas, driving a fan frenzy marketplace. It's simple economics — the law of supply and demand — and it applies to every business not just tickets.

Demand for the concert has been so high that complaints over a lack of available seats prompted Missouri State Attorney General Jay Nixon to reach a "fair settlement" with Ticketmaster to release an additional 2,000 tickets for the October 23 concert to the general public — to a show which Ticketmaster claimed was sold out.

NATB has always advocated that teams, promoters, and facilities/venue service providers accurately disclose how many tickets are sold.

When the law of supply and demand dictates the price of tickets, consumers reselling their tickets on the Internet are a contributing factor for what the market prices are.

Ticketmaster, a primary market ticket seller, actively encourages consumers to buy and then sell their tickets on Ticketmaster's secondary market exchange.

NATB requires its member brokers to adhere to a strict code of professional ethics and consumer protection, including a comprehensive consumer grievance system. NATB's Code of Ethics can be found at: http://www.natb.org

NATB member brokers offer consumers a unique, 200% guarantee if purchased tickets are not delivered as promised.

– CelebrityAccess Staff Writers