If you camp out at a box office, thus proving your loyalty and fandom by waiting in line for hours, do you deserve concert tickets over someone sitting at their computer?
A Hawaii lawmaker seems to think so, especially after only 6 percent of Bruno Mars concert tickets were purchased at the box office. The three April shows at the Neal Blaisdell Center in Honolulu sold out within two hours, leaving hundreds of disappointed fans sulking in line.
In Hawaii, local-boy Bruno is a big deal, but according to Ticketmaster, 42 percent of the concert tickets were purchased by people out of state. Scalpers are now selling tickets back to Hawaii-locals at a huge mark-up.
To combat this "unfortunate" set-up, State Senator Donna Mercado Kim has introduced the "Bruno Mars Act," which would require ticket vendors and entertainment venues to sell in-person tickets only for the first 48 hours.
"If it sells in four or five days that's great," Kim told KITV. "(But) sellout in three hours and the local venue doesn't even have an opportunity to be part of that program? To me something needs to be done."
The majority of states have some kind of policy against scalping and ticket resales, but the secondary market for tickets is still a huge industry nationally, estimated at around $5 billion.
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