Proctor letter: Bob Seger tickets

On Sept. 8, at 10 a.m., I went online to buy Bob Seger tickets. Even though I was right on time, there was not a floor seat to be had. As undoubtedly thousands of other fans discovered, the “bots” beat us to it. Low-life scalpers had used computer programs to sweep up tickets before the rest of us had a chance.

Sadly, this is not unusual in the concert business. I checked with experts. The problem is nationwide. A few artists — Bruce Springsteen, Foo Fighters, Pearl Jam, Adele, Dead & Co., Eric Church and others — are finding ways to scalp the scalpers. This option is up to the artist. Unfortunately, Bob Seger and his management haven’t seen fit to protect the fans.

I’ve seen Seger before, and I’m looking forward to a great concert. But the whole ticket-buying experience has left a bad taste on my mouth. And it will probably leave those who buy on the secondary market out a considerable amount of cash and the scalpers wealthier. All we can do is contact our favorite concert artists and insist they beat the bots and treat their fans fairly. I wish Seger had done that.

This story was originally published October 3, 2017 at 4:41 PM with the headline "Proctor letter: Bob Seger tickets."