By Allison Reitz
Up-and-coming act Owl City and veteran singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen are just two of the artists covered in the daily tour recap for November 5, as compiled by TicketNews.
» Read more: Owl City, Leonard Cohen and more: Daily tour recap

By Allison Reitz
Singer-songwriter John Mayer is among the recording artists with a tour highlight in the daily tour recap for November 4, as compiled by TicketNews.
» Read more: John Mayer, ZZ Top and more: Daily tour recap

By Alfred Branch Jr.
Claiming that Live Nation violated a previous agreement by selling 17 UK theaters to a rival, Key Brand Entertainment (KBE) is suing the concert and promotion giant to block the deal.
» Read more: Live Nation sued over UK theater sale to Ambassador Theatre Group

By Kelly McWilliams
Usablenet’s mobile platform, a tool long familiar to travelers and commuters, is beginning to make its mark in the mobile ticketing world.

Launched in 2000, Usablenet sought to translate web material into a mobile-friendly product for consumers. The company, with offices in both New York City and Udine, Italy, worked first with Amtrak to offer passengers cutting edge web-to-mobile service. Initially, it remained in the service of the traveling population, soon starting accounts with air travel providers such as Jet Blue and hotel chains such as Hilton Hotels. Next was a foray into the world of commuters, translating the Web sites of transit companies into mobile for their daily riders. » Read more: Usablenet makes inroads into the mobile ticketing arena

By Alfred Branch Jr.
Two New Jersey ticket broker companies, part of a lawsuit filed in the spring by state Attorney General Anne Milgram over the resale of Bruce Springsteen tickets, settled their cases with her office this week, without admitting any wrongdoing.

The two companies, Almost Backstage Inc., of Vauxhall, N.J., and Ticket Town, Inc., of Fort Lee, NJ, will each pay the state $5,000 and will “not offer for sale, sell or advertise for purchase any concert ticket prior to the initial on-sale date.” In addition, the two have agreed to only sell tickets they have on-hand.

Ticket Town does business as Northeasttickets.com, while Almost Backstage reportedly does business as abtickets.com. Richie Seibert, owner of Almost Backstage, could not be reached for comment, and representative who answered the phone at Ticket Town declined to comment.

“We want to end the fraud committed against the public through the offering of phantom tickets,” Milgram said in a statement. “Our message to the ticket resale industry is very clear – it is fraud to sell something that you don’t have and may never have, while giving the public the impression that these tickets are yours to sell.”

These settlements are the latest Milgram has achieved from the ticket industry this year. Over the winter, the AG’s office reached a settlement with also in connection with the way the companies sold Bruce Springsteen tickets.

Other similar lawsuits Milgram filed are still pending against Select-A-Ticket, which is owned by former National Association of Ticket Brokers President Tom Patania, and TicketNetwork, owner of TicketNews. A third pending lawsuit was filed against Orbitz’s Cheaptickets.com, which has a partnership with TicketNetwork.

At various times, the companies allegedly sold tickets to some of Bruce Springsteen’s September and October concerts for prices above face value. In addition, there were allegedly some discrepancies for which seats were being offered with some ticket listings allegedly for rows or seats that did not exist at the venue.

David Szuchman, New Jersey’s Consumer Affairs Director, said in a statement that the state will consider lawsuits against brokers who allegedly deceive fans. “We continue our efforts to produce a level-playing field for consumers who expect, and are entitled to, an equal opportunity to purchase tickets when seats initially go on sale.”

By Alfred Branch Jr.
Shawn Freeman, the president of Ticketmaster Entertainment subsidiary TicketsNow, is leaving the company and will be replaced by Eric Korman, currently president of the Ticketmaster diversified live entertainment and marketing division, TicketNews has learned.
» Read more: Shawn Freeman is out at TicketsNow, to be replaced by Ticketmaster’s Eric Korman

By Allison Reitz
Lady GaGa’s “Monster Ball” plans and Chris Brown’s “Fan Appreciation” efforts are part of the daily tour recap for October 28, as compiled by TicketNews.
» Read more: Lady GaGa, Chris Brown and more: Daily tour recap

By Alfred Branch Jr.
A second lawsuit has been filed against Live Nation over its parking and undisclosed charity fees at New Jersey’s PNC Bank Arts Center.
» Read more: Second lawsuit filed against Live Nation over parking and charity ticket fees

Tue, Oct 27th 2009 12:12 pm EST
PRESS RELEASE: “ACE TICKET SLAM DUNKS MAJOR DEAL WITH THE HOME FOR BOSTON CELTICS BASKETBALL, COMCAST SPORTSNET”

Boston, MA (Ace Ticket) October 27, 2009 – Comcast SportsNet and Ace Ticket announced today that the regional sports network will host its Celtics Pre-Game Live and Celtics Post Game Live studio shows from the Ace Ticket Studio on Causeway Street for every 2009-10 Boston Celtics home game.
» Read more: Ace Ticket launches new television studio for Celtics shows

By Alfred Branch Jr.
Angered over what it calls “hypocritical and disrespectful” actions toward ticket brokers, the National Association of Ticket Brokers (NATB) today blasted hotelier Steve Wynn for his aggressive stance against ticket resale for Garth Brooks’s upcoming residency concerts at the Wynn’s Encore Theatre.
» Read more: NATB blasts Steve Wynn over Garth Brooks ticket policy