Seattle Subsonic

Paramount and Moore ditch ‘Ticket-bastard’

January 5th, 2009

So it’s not the total boycott we may be hoping and praying for, but it is a step in the right direction. The Moore and Paramount Theaters are rebranding themselves in a non-profit fashion and adding some novel features like a new Web site, 24-hour ticket kiosks outside of the theaters themselves and a new online ticketing system (THAT DOESN”T INVOLVE TICKETMASTER)
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STGpresents.org (Seattle Theater Group) has become the umbrella under which the 2 venues will be presented.  Along with the new Web site launch, STG is transferring the majority of its engagements from Ticketmaster to tickets.com. They say they have “nothing but respect for  Ticketmaster.” Personally I could take a pass on the sugar coating and would rather see a photo of a middle finger in the press release. Taking a dollar out of the pocket raping bohemoth’s wallet and keeping it in mine is a step in the right direction. Frig, even if I have to put that dollar in someone else’s pocket.. I’m a little happier.
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Now I don’t know what kind of “convenience” changes Tickets.com stuffs into their prices but from what I’ve found it’s looking MUCH better. Upon checking the site, the only way to currently get your Moore and Paramount tix through Tickets.com for upcoming shows  is via the phone. I checked a couple shows that WERE available through Tickets.com and compared then to The ‘Bastard’s prices  and found that for two $45 tickets to the same event, Ticket.com charges a total of $11.00. Ticket Bastard on the other hand finds it SOOOO convenient for us to use their services that it feels entitled to $28.46 of our hard earned dollars. WTF? Thus my dissidence.
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So back to the future of you saving a buck… some other cool features promised for the new distribution of tickets and wealth are:
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• My Tickets – enables patrons to create a personal account to manage, use and transfer tickets online with password protection.
• On-Site Kiosks – allows patrons to purchase tickets 24-hours a day, 7-days a week, 365-days a year at STG’s two venue locations, The Paramount (911 Pine Street) and The Moore (1932 Second Ave) in downtown Seattle. Patrons also have the choice to retrieve will call tickets up to 90 minutes prior to show time, minimizing box office will call lines.
• Print Tickets from Home – provides patrons the option to print tickets at home with no additional fee, in contrast to other print at home programs that charge for this service.
• Receive Tickets on Cell Phone – patrons can utilize a paperless ticketing option where a bar-coded ticket is sent directly to the ticket buyer’s mobile phone.
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Rock on. thank You Paramount. Thank You Moore!