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Stones Ticket Resales Sag in Montana

Some amateur entrepreneurs in Montana are finding out a hard lesson about the music industry: Nothing, not even the Rolling Stones, is a sure bet. The Stones rapidly sold out their show in Missoula, MT (population: approximately 60,000), but people who snatched up tickets in the hopes of selling them for a tidy profit are instead finding themselves unloading at less than face value as the concert date approaches.

The Associated Press reported that 46 classified ads for Stones tickets appeared in last week's Missoulian newspaper. "Need money for hunting rifle," said one seller on eBay. The concert will be held at the University of Montana football stadium, where 21,000 seats are set aside for watching Mick and company. The starting ticket price was at $77, with the range going all the way up to $377 -- and even higher for fans who wanted to watch the show from one of the VIP seats onstage.

Some dismayed ticketholders took their stories to the press, including aspiring actor Monte Jenkins, who hoped to make a nice profit on ten tickets that he purchased for $2,100; apparently it isn't so easy to pay the bills as an actor in Missoula. He was able to unload two of the tickets at a profit, five at break-even or in-the-red prices, and the others remain unsold. Jenkins said that he wouldn't be keeping one ticket for himself, as he doesn't even like the Stones.

"Most people, because it's a work week, can't go," said Sharon Hawke, who was trying to find a taker for a $353 ticket. "Other people have no interest in seeing them. They said if it was Toby Keith, they'd do it."

Stones tickets in larger markets are typically in high demand right up to the concert time. In a smaller town like Missoula, however, it is believed that the diehard fans all were able to get tickets in the early going, thereby decreasing resale demand.

--The ARTISTdirect Staff
10.03.06