rmg

Ticketmaster wins injunction against broker-software firm

A quick follow-up to last week's post about ticket brokers. Tuesday, a federal judge issued an injunction against RMG Technologies, barring the company from "creating, trafficking in, facilitating the use of or using computer programs or other automatic devices to circumvent" the system that Ticketmaster uses to control online ticket purchases.

According to testimony from former broker Chris Kovach, he had used RMG's software to buy hundreds of tickets at a time through Ticketmaster's site before human fans had a chance to do so, then turned around and sold these tickets through brokerages like StubHub. … Read more

Ticket brokers, robots, and the free market

Both the New York Times and Wall Street Journal posted stories this weekend about ticket brokers.

Ticketmaster has sued a Pittsburgh-based company, RMG Technologies, for providing software that allegedly enables brokers to bypass Ticketmaster's online security provisions and snap up all the good tickets minutes after they go on sale. Brokers then turn around and sell these tickets for a hefty profit on sites like StubHub or Craigslist. Both stories quote Chris Kovach, a former broker who was originally named in Ticketmaster's suit, but settled with the company. He claims that he used RMG's software to buy … Read more