Ticketmaster sucks. Can blockchain be the cure?

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When The Cure’s frontman Robert Smith said he was “sickened” by Ticketmaster fees, many of us felt vindicated. The platform then refunded some fees, but scalpers are now at it, too, and selling entire Ticketmaster accounts instead of tickets. Is there still hope for concertgoers? — Anna

Playing monopoly

If you are longing for a Ticketmaster alternative, you’re not alone. Whether you are a fan of Taylor Swift, The Cure or Bad Bunny, reasons abound to resent the self-described “world’s leading live entertainment ticketing platform.”

Is all the hate warranted? Maybe not. Or rather, the platform might just be shouldering more than its share of responsibility. “It’s easy to blame Ticketmaster and say it’s their fault,” its former CEO Fred Rosen, who ran the company from 1982 to 1998, told CBC Radio in January. “What determines pricing is demand.”

Regulators in many countries beg to disagree. Earlier this year, the U.S. Senate questioned Live Nation, which acquired Ticketmaster in 2010, over concerns that it’s a monopoly.