Didn't want to stand on line for tickets to see Paul McCartney at Madison Square Garden? Don't sweat it.

Licensed online ticket giants like TicketsNow.com and StubHub.com have plenty of seats. They're good ones - but you need to be almost as rich as the Beatles to buy them, with third row McCartney seats going for $3,420.

The business of reselling tickets to prime events is moving into prime time. Once the domain of shady scalpers, licensed online ticket sellers are out to shed their dark image with a national public service TV ad campaign, TicketsNow execs told the Daily News.

The commercials, expected to air in a matter of weeks and backed by the Central States Ticket Brokers Association, will urge fans to order tickets from licensed resellers.

"Use caution when purchasing tickets from an Internet auction site or fan-to-fan exchange," the ad says. "Your only worry will be deciding what to take to the big event!"

Online ticket brokers like TicketsNow.com let die-hard fans find tickets for premiere entertainment and sporting events, without having to brave the long lines

The company recently joined forces with AOL to resell tickets on its site. Even Ticketmaster, the country's leading front-line ticket seller is getting into the act, reselling tickets.

And fans are catching on. Insiders estimate the business has grown to several billion dollars.

In fact, big concerts are selling out faster than ever because resellers are scooping up the tickets. That has artists and promoters fuming because they are not getting a cut of the action.

Artists also don't want their fans to pay sky-high prices. Some like Bruce Springsteen have tried to stop the practice by not issuing tickets to his most recent tour. Tickets were sold only by phone, to stop scalpers from buying them out on Day One.

TicketsNow says it provides an important service to fans by conducting thorough background checks on the licensed brokers who sell tickets on its site.

"The difference between us and eBay is that we guarantee the transaction," said Kenneth Dotson, chief marketing officer at TicketsNow. "We pre-screen all the sellers and and give you a money back guarantee at the back end."

But in exchange, fans are often asked to pay two to three times the face value - if not more - for a ticket. More>>>

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posted by ADMIN @ Tuesday, September 13, 2005