How reseller bots illegally inflate concert ticket prices
From PBS NewsHour.
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Ticket prices for concerts and live events are skyrocketing. Some of that is driven by bots and AI agents trained to scoop up hundreds of tickets to resell them at higher prices.
Bots are trained to look for “side doors into Ticketmaster to get their hands on those tickets before you do,” according to Ben Sisario, a reporter covering music and the music industry for The New York Times.
“This is illegal," Sisario told Horizons host William Brangham. But, the federal law is rarely enforced, he added.
As Sisario points out, joining a digital queue for a high-profile concert like Harry Styles or Taylor Swift and finding yourself at “number 285,000 in the queue” means that the vast majority of those ahead of you might be bots.
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Bots are trained to look for “side doors into Ticketmaster to get their hands on those tickets before you do,” according to Ben Sisario, a reporter covering music and the music industry for The New York Times.
“This is illegal," Sisario told Horizons host William Brangham. But, the federal law is rarely enforced, he added.
As Sisario points out, joining a digital queue for a high-profile concert like Harry Styles or Taylor Swift and finding yourself at “number 285,000 in the queue” means that the vast majority of those ahead of you might be bots.
Horizons from PBS News, dives into the science, health, technology and environmental issues making headlines each week. Visit the PBS News website to watch this week's episode.
Watch PBS News for daily, breaking and live news, plus special coverage. We are home to PBS News Hour, ranked the most credible and objective TV news show.
Sign up for Here's The Deal with Lisa Desjardins: https://to.pbs.org/41q6E8i
Subscribe for exclusive content in our newsletters: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/subscribe
PBS News podcasts: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/podcasts
Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app: https://to.pbs.org/2Jb8twG
Find more from PBS News at https://www.pbs.org/newshour
Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2HfsCD6
Follow us:
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