Do you hate ticket resellers as much as I do? I mean, they are nothing more than glorified scalpers. Well, now we have at least one reason not to despise them as much.
On Friday, the Jay-Z “Blueprint 3″ album release and 9/11 charity concert comes to Madison Square Garden, and national ticket reseller StubHub is naturally pawning off the good seats for a steep profit. This time, however, the profits go to the right people — the New York Police and Fire Widows’ and Children’s Benefit Fund — who are the main beneficiary for the concert itself.
Auction site eBay started StubHub after seeing what a marketplace they had become for scalpers. Rather than shutting them down, eBay joined them with StubHub and became the largest ticket marketplace in the world.
“We strive to provide a first-in-class experience for our fans and have chosen to partner with the New York Police and Fire Widows’ and Children’s Benefit Fund for this event, rather than removing ticket listings and turning fans away,” said Stubby president Chris Tsakalakis in a statement. “In keeping with the original intent of the concert, we want to be sure that any StubHub profits from Jay-Z’s show go directly to these families.”
Now if only StubHub can make it up to me for how much I spent on those Hannah Montana tickets. Wait, I meant, um, those Metallica tickets.
Jay-Z image by Jonathan Mannion.