Culture

How Robots Are Scamming You Out of Concert Tickets

Former Ticketmaster CEO spills the beans

By Adrian Lam
June 27, 2016 5:00 am EDT
Concert Tickets
(Raphael Dias/Redferns)
(Raphael Dias/Redferns)

Nathan Hubbard, former CEO of Ticketmaster, feels your ticket-buying pain. In an effort to expose the truth about why you always seem to be coming up short in the ticket-purchasing process online, Hubbard recently did a first-person tell-all for The Ringer. Some of the topics he elaborates on include “tickets never go on sale when you think they do”; the reasons the best seats in the house seem to dry up right away; and worst of all, the ticket-broker-controlled robots that beat you to those seats. Read his full essay here.

Adrian Lam

Adrian Lam

More from Adrian Lam »

More Like This

Torn image: Left, a vibrant blue and orange abstract pattern. Right, a black and white photo of five young men holding drinks.
How 9/11 Changed The Strokes’ Debut, “Is This It”
Welcome to the New InsideHook
Welcome to the New InsideHook
A man analyzing multiple screens with news and charts
How “Monitoring the Situation” Became Reality TV for Men
Pile of plastic pollution
Your Brain Might Not Be Full of Microplastics After All

Culture
Add InsideHook as a Preferred Source
Add InsideHook as a Preferred Source

Most Popular

Coastal town at dusk with illuminated buildings, palm trees, and a beach, reflecting lights on the calm water.
The Italian Seaside Town That Still Feels Like a Secret
Two people, a man and a woman, look at a framed painting of a man with a blue cap and green jacket.
Can 30 Minutes With One Painting Fix Your Attention Span?
A triathlete in a white and black suit runs on a bridge, followed by a cyclist, with orange cones lining the road.
He’s 43. His Biological Age Is 27. Here’s His Routine.
A man in a baseball cap looks at his phone while a woman next to him drinks from a glass. Other people are in the background.
Field Report: Observing Men Hitting on Women IRL
A phone displays a vibrant green hill and blue sky. Outside the phone, the scene continues with a walking orange figure.
Why I’m Unreachable Until Noon
A screenshot of a tweet from Charli XCX featuring an image of a large group of young men in dark blazers and striped ties, one man in a white shirt stands out.
Why Is Everyone Copying This Yung Lean Music Video?

Recommended

Suggested for you

Coastal town at dusk with illuminated buildings, palm trees, and a beach, reflecting lights on the calm water.
The Italian Seaside Town That Still Feels Like a Secret
Two people, a man and a woman, look at a framed painting of a man with a blue cap and green jacket.
Can 30 Minutes With One Painting Fix Your Attention Span?
A triathlete in a white and black suit runs on a bridge, followed by a cyclist, with orange cones lining the road.
He’s 43. His Biological Age Is 27. Here’s His Routine.
A man in a baseball cap looks at his phone while a woman next to him drinks from a glass. Other people are in the background.
Field Report: Observing Men Hitting on Women IRL
A phone displays a vibrant green hill and blue sky. Outside the phone, the scene continues with a walking orange figure.
Why I’m Unreachable Until Noon
A screenshot of a tweet from Charli XCX featuring an image of a large group of young men in dark blazers and striped ties, one man in a white shirt stands out.
Why Is Everyone Copying This Yung Lean Music Video?

COVERAGE

From literary events and music festivals, to the gallery scene and film screenings, Minh Tran sorts cultural signal from noise every Tuesday and Friday.

More Culture, Right This Way

Performers in bright neon outfits on a stage, holding up a large yellow Ramp Visa card.

Does Not Compute: Software Firm Stages Broadway Musical

Five books with colorful, illustrated covers stand upright against a textured yellow wall, casting shadows.

Loose Tooth Press Subverts the Age-Old Literary Model

Collage of Kick streamer Clavicular and a number of body modification instruments and images

Does the Godfather of Looksmaxxing Want You to Kill Yourself?

Black and white, Duncan Sheik in a plaid shirt sits in a theater, chin on hand, looking thoughtfully to the right.

Duncan Sheik’s Final Gift

Explore More Culture

Keep Reading

A blonde woman in a "Music is a Blessing" tank top plays a blue glitter bass guitar, flanked by a smiling DJ and a man in a beret.

The Private Club Courting Gen Z With … Ping-Pong?

A grid of six product images: a deer-print jacket, an espresso machine, brown suede clogs, two wooden speakers, and a tan leather sofa.

From Modular Furniture to Early Prime Day: The Best Deals on the Internet This Week

Three men in a dimly lit bar: two seated on a couch with a saxophone, one in sunglasses at a marble bar.

Products of the Week: Wooly Birkenstocks and Hunting Jackets

A person's arm wearing a rose gold watch with a clear face revealing intricate gears, on a dark green leather strap.

An Anniversary Upgrade for Vacheron Constantin's Most Complicated Watch