IN THE RACE TO BUY CONCERT TICKETS, FANS KEEP LOSING

6 October 2018 - by Ellen Rosen

Lisa Senauke, a Miley Cyrus fan , tried to get tickets to her Oct. 26 concert in Oakland, Calif.The tickets were to go on sale at 10 a.m. on Sept. 17, and starting at 9:58 a.m., she logged into her Ticketmaster.com account, credit card in hand.But though she tried again and again for the next hour to buy tickets, she was always told the same thing: nothing available.

Ms. Senauke's frustration is not isolated.The coming concerts of...Taylor Swift...sold out in minutes.And the same thing happened with tickets to recent reunion tours by the Police and Van Halen.

While some fans just quietly give up, others have complained to government officials, particularly after they found tickets to the same concerts available -- sometimes at many times the face value -- on secondary sellers like Stubhub.com and TicketsNow minutes after the public sale began.

QUESTIONS

1)In terms of supply and demand, what problem exists in the market for concert tickets?

2)Is this market in equilibrium?How do you know?

3)What is one idea you can think of to help solve this problem?

4)Use the data and graph below to complete the following.

a)Plot the data points onto the graph.Use all necessary labels.

b)Suppose Miley Cyrus only charges $60 per ticket.Draw this price ceiling on the graph.

5)What is the equilibrium price and quantity in this market?

a)Price:# #$#

b)Quantity:#

6)If the price Miley Cyrus charges for each ticket is below equilibrium, why doesn't she raise her prices?