Arkansas probing Hannah Montana tour ticket sales
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Arkansas said on Thursday it is probing the online ticket sales for pop idol Hannah Montana's upcoming U.S. tour, whose prices have shot above those of superstars the Police and Bruce Springsteen.
Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel said he had received numerous complaints from parents disappointed they were unable to get tickets to the Disney Channel star's tour because they sold out within minutes.
Hannah Montana is the character played by 14-year-old Miley Cyrus, daughter of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus. Cyrus plays a teenager with a double life as a rock star in the popular Disney Channel show "Hannah Montana."
Her TV character has released two top-selling albums during the past year.
McDaniel has demanded that five companies hand over documents involving online ticket sales for Cyrus's 54-date "Best of Both Worlds Tour," her first as a headliner, that starts in St. Louis on October 18, and which will play in Little Rock, Arkansas, on December 1.
McDaniel said he was concerned that some ticket brokers and resellers used computer software to breach an online sales system run by Ticketmaster to cut in ahead of legitimate customers, and that some tickets were being offered for sale before they existed.
The five companies are Ticketliquidator.com, StubHub.com, Tickets-For-Events.com, TicketsNow.com, and Gotickets.com.
"The Attorney General will seek to identify those entities and individuals that are engaging in such behavior and the extent to which the listing Web sites participate in these activities," said a spokesman for McDaniel on Thursday.
'HOTTEST SHOW OF THE YEAR'
Ticketmaster spokesman Joe Freeman said this had been a case of extraordinary demand "as well as some inappropriate and arguably illegal activity."
"People have likened the demand for this tour to something akin to the Beatles or Elvis, and something that a lot of people did not see coming," he said.
"We enthusiastically embrace any inquiry or investigation designed to ensure fans get fair and equal access to tickets," he said.
Sean Pate, a spokesman for San Francisco-based StubHub, said his company would cooperate with the investigation. But he said he did not believe there had been any foul play, just insatiable demand that was driving up prices in the resale market.
Pate told Reuters the "Hannah Montana" show had become the hottest tour of the year, with the average ticket price rising to $237, higher than prices for the Police, Springsteen, Beyonce, Genesis and Van Halen.
He said the most expensive ticket so far for the tour sold for $2,500 -- a second row seat at a show in Charlotte.
"This is by far the hottest show of the year," he said.
Disney Channel is part of The Walt Disney Co. Ticketmaster is operated by IAC/InterActiveCorp, and StubHub is a unit of online auctioneer eBay Inc.
