A recent posting on the DGM guestbook from Paul O’Carroll had this to say:
I see tickets for some of the UK gigs are already selling on the secondary market at hugely inflated prices. Surprised KC let themselves and their tremendously loyal fans get abused like this. Personally, I missed the scramble for London tickets this morning, so I will content myself with amazing memories of Aylesbury last year.
Paul’s ire may be heartfelt but is surely directed at the wrong target.
Attempting to tackle the scourge of secondary ticketing is something which King Crimson and its management has been trying to tackle with the introduction of Royal and Courtier packages. This has not been without its challenges. Just as one problem seems to be solved several more rise up, Hydra-like to take its place.
Others have tried, and failed, to get past the systematic ripping off of fans through such practices and DGM and King Crimson will continue to do what they can in this regard.
We can only reiterate: DO NOT BUY TICKETS ON THE SECONDARY MARKET!
By establishing the Royal and Courtier packages for most shows on the tour these may well be cheaper for better seats than any offered by the secondary outlets.
Our Courtiers packages contain the best seats and are expressly designed to suppress the secondary market. They are priced at £137 in the UK excl London (including the various exclusive treats) and therefore limit the price at which scalpers can sell tickets. There are packages still available for all the UK dates, so there is no reason to buy on the secondary market.
On general note, as initial shows sell out, we expect others to be confirmed offering a better alternative to buying from touts.
Other ticket related issues arising on the guestbook but which might benefit from wider circulation here…
i) AMEX. We have contacted the promoter about seats being ring-fenced for AMEX users. We were not aware of this, which was apparently part of "global AEG partnerships to offer AMEX ringfences". We have complained and it has been removed. No tickets should now be ring fenced.
ii) DIFFERENT AVAILABILITY ON DIFFERENT SITES. The various online sites do not apparently interact - so tickets are divided between them. You will therefore find different tickets available on Ticketmaster, AXS and the venues own sites. Fans should therefore check all three to see what is available. We currently believe the venues own sites have the best selection. Check out the direct links below.
