Roots, Toots n' Hoots Blog

Garth, StubHub and scalpers of charity gigs

Jeffrey Remz  |  November 19, 2010

Garth Brooks is doing nine shows for charity in December to aid the victims of May's devastating floods in the Nashville area. This was not the first time that the superstar helped those in need. About four years ago, Brooks did concerts in California to help those affected by wildfires.

Tickets for the Nashville event were kept reasonable, something that Brooks has managed to do throughout his career.

But if you take a look on StubHub, the ticket reseller where people can sell their tickets for whatever price they want with StubHub taking a cut, the generosity shown by Brooks in pricing his tickets was not necessarily adhered to by ticketholders.

For example, tickets for the 7 p.m. show on Dec. 17 are going for a high of $3,000 (to be honest, it's hard to take this price seriously because these tickets are on the top level). A show on Dec. 21 has a top ticket price of $1,177. The late show that night is at $1,375 (This price probably is serious. The tickets are near the front of the floor level close to the stage). To be honest, there are also many tickets priced below $20 for almost all concerts, meaning that these folks aren't trying to gouge the public at all. It is understandable why some people would want to sell their tickets - it's not as if plans don't change (yes, that's true - even for Garth)

As for the scalpers out there, of course, it is wrong to capitalize on a charity event by managing to get tickets and trying to resell them for a high price with none of that money going to those in need.

StubHub also would benefit from the resale, but they're not going to.

A statement on StubHub's web site said, "Garth Brooks is one of the biggest names in country music and for the first time since 1998, he is returning to Nashville to perform at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, benefitting The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee in support of all of those affected by the disastrous flooding this past spring. StubHub will be donating all net proceeds from these events back to the charity, and you can help out too by clicking the link below and donating directly."

A link on the StubHub web site goes to the Tennessee Emergency Response Fund.

A shout out to StubHub is due. Of course, it makes good PR to donate tens of thousands of dollars from resales of tickets for a worthy cause, but it also should not be taken for granted. StubHub stepped up to the plate, and the needy of Tennessee will benefit.

If you have a comment, please send it our way at countryst@gmail.com.