There are a lot of songs that I’m just not sure how they got on my iPod. Sometimes I discover that Angie has snuck Lady Gaga on there or downloaded some new music that she thinks I’ll enjoy. Then there are other times that I must have just forgotten that I discovered something on my own.

This was the case with Error. I don’t know anything about the band, but the song Brains Out played while I was walking through the city last week and I was shocked that I had something I enjoyed so much that I couldn’t tell you anything about. I listened to the rest of the EP and started digging for more as soon as I got to a computer.

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I enjoy live music and have certainly paid to see my fair share of shows.  Summer festivals, arena acts, small clubs, dive bars, it’s all pretty much fair game, but I have to say something about the way Ticketmaster is hurting everyone.  This is not a new story, and I’m sure it will come as no surprise to many readers.  Let me start with an example.

One of my all-time favorites, Skinny Puppy, is touring this Fall and I received an alert about the ticket on-sale date from Ticketmaster.  This is good.  I go to their site to buy tickets for the show, face value $24.  This is acceptable.  I request two tickets for Angie and I.  An $8.50 Convenience Charge along with a $1 Building Facility Charge  is assessed per ticket.  This, this is unacceptable.

This isn’t the first time I’ve seen this, and it is not the first time that I have made the choice to get my tickets at the box office, regardless of the inconvenience.  Everyone hates to pay more for things, but this goes beyond that.  My problem is with the way this continues to hurt artists and venues.  I urge you, don’t pay 40% more than the price set by the promoters and performers.  To try to combat this, other outlets are trying to offer more reasonable convenience charges, but a $5 fee per ticket isn’t much better.  Go to the box office, I’ll meet you there.