Bob Geldof threw a tantrum and got his way. E-bay will not allow auctions for Live-8 tickets (via Jiblog). Now people who would be willing to pay to see the "finest" of rock n' roll will just have to buy their tickets on a street corner, through a broker, or an ad in the newspaper.
While Geldof's tantrum is driving ticket sales back to the 19th century, we should note the lost opportunity to help his pet cause that this concert is supposedly about. (I mean helping poor countries, not self-aggrandizement and shameless self-promotion.) Surely it would have benefitted his cause more to sell the tickets at market price? Geldof and the concert organizers, instead of giving away the tickets, should have put them on E-bay themselves. Let the highest bidder pay for the tickets and send more money to the Third World. There is nothing illegal or immoral about allowing the rich to pay more for concert tickets, and Geldof has just missed an opportunity to get the rich to pay for his cause.
What about the poor people who couldn't afford to pay $1000 or more for the best seats in the house? Let them feel good knowing they gave up their seats to those who would've contributed more to save the world. Or, if they don't care about the world's poor but they're just envious of those that can afford high priced tickets, they can still watch it on television.
Let Owen and Jed have a chance on the open market to see the original Pink Floyd (where's Syd?). If they want to pay through the nose, let them. If it's not worth their blog ad revenue for the next twenty years, well, then the poor starving children of Africa get one less bowl of rice.
But don't be silly and give the tickets away. How does that help anyone?
Kinda like the stupid Green Bay Packers and the taxpayers that paid for the addition to the stadium.
