Gelber takes Hannah Montana crusade national

[Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus performs at the St. Pete Times Forum on Monday as part of the Best of Both Worlds Tour. Times photo | Ross Mantle]

Rep. Dan Gelber and his two daughters* went on CBS' Early Show this morning to vent about not being able to get tickets to a Hannah Montana concert. Gelber, a possible 2010 statewide office candidate, will introduce legislation to crack down on brokers.

"I could take my kids to the concert, but it would cost about $2,000, $3,000 for a family of four to go to a Walt Disney concert, which is obviously outrageous," Gelber said on the nationally televised program.

* The interview was a Hannah trifecta. Hannah Gelber, 7, was being interviewed by Hannah Storm about Hannah Montana.

Comments

Gelber voted to repeal the law in 2006. Does this guy even think before he lobs grenades?

time to call the whaaambulance, Dan.

It's all about supply and demand.

If you don't want to pay $3k for a ticket - DON'T.

If you are dumb enough to do it anyway - NOT MY PROBLEM!!!

Why do liberals insist on using governement for everything??? what a joke.

[i'd pay to see Dan Tanna]

was that the scalping law ?
i thought that ticketmaster had the filter in place to stop the bulk purchasers.
i hate the ticketmaster "convenience charge"

let ticketmaster or the venues regulate how they choose to sell tickets or not...that way, when it blows up, it'll be their problem, and not anyone else's....you do not need a law to regulate this. Doing so is anti-capitalist, and anti-American.

this is nothing new folks, its just that the whiny soccer moms who are used to getting what they want are pitching a fit. Those parents should turn this into an educational lesson about economics and the laws of supply and demand.

This is new and not what was intended by the law. Ticket brokers use new computer software to avoid Ticketmaster's bulk purchasing prohibitions and corner the market to obtain a monopoly. That 11:52 is anti-American, as Teddy Roosevelt would say.

To spend over $10 admission for a 7 year old to anything is ridiculous.

i think lawyers charge too much- why not regulate how much money they can make? Sounds good Dan? No?

[James]

Boo hoo hoo.

I thought ticket prices for The Police were outrageous. Instead of crying about on a message board, I showed up at the Forum a few minutes before the show started. I haggled a broker down to $15 and saw a great show.

That is how some people get ahead in life while some ... just complain.

Paents dumb enough to pay over face value for concert tickets for their spoiled brats deserve what they get.

Next time, tell their brats to get jobs and pay for the tickets themselves.

Bring back sweat shops.

Maybe next time Gelber, you will think of your kids rather than youself, and not wait until the last minute to get tickets!!!!

What a buffoon.

Typical Democrat, blaming everyone else and not taking personal responsibility.

glad to see in the era of terrorism, Illegal immigration, collasping entitlement systems, that Gelber and the Dems are focused on the things that matter.

[Brian Lupiani]

"I could take my kids to the concert, but it would cost about $2,000, $3,000 for a family of four to go to a Walt Disney concert, which is obviously outrageous," Gelber said on the nationally televised program.

That IS outrageous. You expect to pay that for a family of four (okay, maybe three) to spend a day at Disney WORLD, but not for one concert.

Let's amend the U.S. Constitution so all will have tickets to see Ms. Montana at the price they deem to be appropriate.

Gelber: the last time I looked property taxes and home insurance were still unsolved issues. Spend more time on working with them and you buddy Cristi instead of worrying about Hannah Montana.

Hey Brian

There are lots of things that are outrageous...that doesn't mean the gov should pass a freaking law against it. Pro athletes make 10 million a year while soldiers dying defending our freedom make 25K. Lets pass a law against that??? Its called the market and the gov should stay the hell out of it.

12:28
Monopoly does not equal free market. It was a Republican who busted the monopolies before you
were born. Don't make this a partisan issue.

[Chris Brudy]

Ticketmaster began as a convenience and grew into a monster. With the expansion of the internet, its time normally would be over. Venues could be selling their tickets online without its help. However, Ticketmaster has maintained its monopoly on the entertainment ticket market by blacklisting artists and venues who will not agree to its now unnecessary participation. Beyond Ticketmaster and its corner on the ticket market, which should be an anti-trust issue, ticket prices will be whatever the market will bear. The venues and artists should wake up and jack up their prices, rather than let "brokers" take the profits. Finally, what if the kids want a Ferrari? Just say no.

What’s the problem, Danny-boy?… just use your savings from the new tax plan!

Schmuck…

Hey 12:34 I never mentioned partisanship in my reply you must be projecting.

And thank for the history lesson, but I remember very well the "Trustbuster" TR and I've read both of Edmund Morris' bios on him.

If you are equating Carnegie and Rockefellers behavior with the actions of somebody who hustles and tries to sell concert tickets at an inflated price due to demand then you lack a sense of porportionality and should get a clue.

I mean I know when I see the guy trying to sell tickets outside of the FSU/UF game at $10 over face value the first thing I think is..."lets stop this guy now before he creates another standard oil"!

[Chris Brudy]

Brian: If the soldier is killed in the middle of the year, on orders from a partisan leadership that is protecting a cartel monopoly in oil, is his 25K pro-rated down to 12.5K?
12:34: Anyone reading this knows that Monopolies are the antithesis of free markets. Also, the only people who don't want issues to be partisan are the Republicans who know they will lose on the merits. With the exception of Teddy Roosevelt, who only became President because McKinley was assassinated, Republican Presidents have always smiled benignly while monopolies squeezed the public.

[DR]

Supply and Demand. Until parents start refusing to pay these ridiculous amounts for this crap, prices will continue to be the same or even worse go up. All entertainment prices are terribly over priced according to wahat you're getting, but only empty seats will bring the price back down.

Gelber is a self centered idiot.

[DR]

Chris Brudy, well said brother!

12:49
This is not about people selling tickets outside the FSU/UF game. It is about computer software being used to acquire large numbers of tickets to corner the market. This shuts average people out of the market. Tickets to some events were all gone within minutes of their release, in spite of Ticketmaster polices to limit ticket sales.

Memo to Gelber.

Jewish South Florida does not play well above West Palm Beach or from Fort Myers north.

OOOPS!! Dan Gelber was disenfranchised! He had his right to go to the theatre taken away! Quick, somebody file a lawsuit.

What utter BS!

The most relevant part of this nonsense is the bit about the "Hannah Trifecta".

I would have tazed Gelber on sight!

“Don’t taze me bro, my kids are watching!”

…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz… ouch! I said, my kids are watching… zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz… ouch!

WHAAAAAAA, I want to see Hanna! … zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz… ouch!

Who knew the ticket brokers were bloggers???

How do you think we found you dipsticks who buy the tickets... moron!

unless the brokers buy 100% of the tickets, it's not a monopoly - get over it....if it's a problem, let ticketmaster deal with it. THAT is the the free market response.

[Crusader]

"Hannah trifecta" -- best line of the week! Touche.

[Fat Tony]

I HATE people who want to legislate everything out of existence that they do not agree with. Gelber is just throuwing his (considerable) weight around. A little more gouging of clients and he should be able to afford the tickets.

[better than you]

I keep forgetting how stupid some of you bloggers really are.

You all are missing the important part of the legislation, its to keep the free market open. People are using software to purchase large amounts of tickets instantly. Tickets to these events have sold out in minutes all over the country, and ticketmaster has already started filing suit against the company. Gelber and the rest of the legislature voted for this bill so it would open the market up so that people didnt have to go and purchase tickets from brokers who were adding $25 dollar parking for $200 dollars with the ticket package. the bill was supposed to make it so that anyone can have a chance to resell their ticket. It seems he is trying to fix the loopholes in the bill, especially the one where it took out any penalty if you are caught violating the law.

So how about some of yall spend a few minutes actually reading up on stuff before you open your traps and look like idiots? Only takes about 10-15 minutes to look at the new statute and the old one to see there is a problem. Or are you all that dang pathetic that all you can do is sit around and post all day long on blogs? Get a life losers. Or at least wait until you get home to start posting so you dont look so dang pathetic.

[better than you]

and what do you mean "considerable" weight? I think you are getting Gelber and Geller confused there bud. and it doesn't look like this is going after the brokers.

"Tickets to these events have sold out in minutes all over the country, and ticketmaster has already started filing suit against the company."

let the 2 parties solve it in court. don't legislate it. if ticketmaster wants to control who buys their product and how much, so be it. Most companies are ecstatic when a product of theirs sells out at the set price.

"the bill was supposed to make it so that anyone can have a chance to resell their ticket."

by anyone, doesn't that also include the brokers themselves?

I understand that probably 90% of the posters here either are ticket brokers or lobby for them, but how exactly is the Hannah Montana situation an example of the free market at work.

I am sure all of the lobbyists who are looking to make money off the brokers would be crying foul if Bill Gates bought all the Guchi shoes and charged $25,000 a pair to every lobbyist.

Keep underestimating Dan Gelber. Look how well that served you in November 2006.

[Omega83]

5:41 it's very simple...Ticketmaster has the supply. Brokers have the demand, as do many others. Ticketmaster sets the market price, brokers pay, and then reset their own price.

Brokers have successfully used the free market approach to develop a way to obtain said product that gives them a competitive advantage over the rest of the field of demand.

It's actually so simple, its beautiful. It's entrepreneurial, it's legal, and it's fair. It's the "free market" at work.

The point is that it's not the government's place to regulate supply and demand of a non-essential product. If you think the playing field should be leveled over this, let the supply-holder (i.e. Ticketmaster) change their policy appropriately. It sounds as if they already are.

But when government interjects itself, there will no doubt be unintended consequences. Let's say they limit the number of tickets putrchased, and b/c of that, Ticketmaster fails to sell out...now you have a different problem.

And seriously, is whether or not one can buy a ticket to Hannah Montana really the most pressing public policy issue of the day?! If so, we have a lot of problems in this society.

[better than you]

This is not about the brokers. This is not about the brokers. This is not about the brokers.

I wish I could make the font bigger so ya'll can read it. Similar legislation is being filed in Pennsylvania right now to outlaw the use of this software.

Omega83 - Ticketmaster already limits the numbers of tickets that can be purchased for an event, the software gets people around that. If you are in line at 10 when the tickets go on sale, and at 1001 the event is sold out, and at 1015 the tickets for the event are on the internet for 10 times the face value, that's a problem.

some of yall need to go read some books, start off with Leviathan. Government is essential to ensure that we all don't act like animals and basically try to F*** each other as hard as possible.

I'm losing brain cells dealing with yall. I need a beer.

Omega83- How is it a free market when all but three entities can compete?

My family of four went and it did not cost $2,000. Okay, it cost us around $1,000. But I saw more limos than I have ever seen in my life, and long lines for $35 tshirts, and no one there was complaining.

Ticketmaster needs to change, but Gelber needs to scope out ebay for the best deal like my wife did.

By the way, it was a great show. No regrets.

For anyone who is interested read:
http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2007/10/21/case_could_have_ticket_reseller_facing_the_music?mode=PF

For anyone who is interested read:
http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2007/10/21/case_could_have_ticket_reseller_facing_the_music?mode=PF

... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz... ouch!

[better than you]

good post, but to many people wanna hate on gelber to actually read facts on it.

Make it a misdemeanor to acquire 5 or more tickets than allowed by venue/promotor. Anything over 5 is a third degree felony punishable by up to 5 years in state prison.

Problem solved.

[John]

Rep. Dan Gelber supports local governments drunken spending.

Fix property taxes & insurance first.