Henry Chatfield

I work with musicians. web3 x artist strategy @hifilabs. grateful for prev experiences w/ Seth Godin’s altmba, artist mgmt, PledgeMusic, and Berklee.

[Henry Chatfield @HenryChatfield]

Yes, Live Nation/Ticketmaster could be better.
(DOJ just sued them).

Yes, Fred Again & Skrillex San Francisco tickets probably sold out today before you got them.

But, here’s a personal story about why ticket resellers like StubHub are the real problem (for both cases)... 1/14

[Henry Chatfield @HenryChatfield]

p.s. it makes me really happy to see how accessible dj tools are these days.

Anyone remember the delicate art of placing round colored dot stickers on vinyl for cue points? : )

@raihan_, @basgras, @opiumhum, @boreta, @ThysMusic maybe?

[Henry Chatfield @HenryChatfield]

What's the best Serato DJ controller these days that's entry-level/small/affordable these days?

Used to dj a lot w/ 1200s & Rane mixer w/ Serato SL3 in the early 2000's...

Would love to have:
- capacitive jog wheel
- fader
- basic eq & fx

Numark dj2go2 is cool but no fx/eq

[Tidal @TIDAL]

That’s not all. 🗣️ Make sure to follow on Instagram to stay in the loop on what we’re building to empower artists. https://t.co/jYBIl1R92o

[Henry Chatfield @HenryChatfield]

ISO: Do I know any product marketing managers, especially in music?

I'd love to talk to you and learn more about your role.

[Henry Chatfield @HenryChatfield]

@songadaymann this is a classic example of practical decision-making & opportunity cost.

You made a good decision, knowing what you know then. You made $30k.

Just because it technically had a "bad" outcome (not making $500k), it still was a good decision & you should feel good about that : )

[Henry Chatfield @HenryChatfield]

@momovolution2 I've heard people say this but never seen objective proof. Could you link me to anything that talks about it?

not saying I think you're wrong. I'd just like to expand my own perspective. thanks!

[Henry Chatfield @HenryChatfield]

Yes, Live Nation/Ticketmaster could be better.
(DOJ just sued them).

Yes, Fred Again & Skrillex San Francisco tickets probably sold out today before you got them.

But, here’s a personal story about why ticket resellers like StubHub are the real problem (for both cases)... 1/14

[Henry Chatfield @HenryChatfield]

If you disagree with me on any of this, I'd love to hear your opinion.

This is a fluid problem. Strong opinions loosely held for me.

#fredagain #skrillex #ticketmaster #livenation #stubhub

[Henry Chatfield @HenryChatfield]

Taylor Swift fans were literally flying to Europe for cheaper tickets.

It's complicated bc many incentive structures w/ many stakeholders.

The solution is likely a coordinated, industry-wide effort. And yes, if done right, the government could support w/ legislation. 14/14

[Henry Chatfield @HenryChatfield]

Within 1 hour of onsale, the artist, their team, and yes, even Ticketmaster, “lost” $98.45 on a ticket I would have purchased directly.

Someone described it as money “leaking” out of the music industry. This is that.

This is a difficult problem to solve, but is possible. 13/14

[Henry Chatfield @HenryChatfield]

You might be thinking, this is just supply & demand. A “market.”

Yes, 100%

But, there's obviously something broken here. This is not an efficient market when 710 tickets are resold w/in 1hr of sell out.

Or, I guess it is, but not one that benefits artist.

Final $ comp...11/14

[Henry Chatfield @HenryChatfield]

Final ticket price comparison (at 1pm):

Ticketmaster base $: $79.50
TM fees: $21.05
TM total: $104.55

StubHub base $: $146
SH fees: $57
SH total: $203

Increase:
Base $: $66.50 (+$85%)
Total $ w/ fees: $98.45 (+94%)

Beyond you & me paying more, most importantly... 12/14

[Henry Chatfield @HenryChatfield]

This concert is an extreme example.

Skrillex & Fred aren't hurting for $ (I assume).

But this goes deeper.

If the DOJ wants to make real impact, they need to go after US reseller practices.

This is what hurts artists, fans, venues… the entire artist ecosystem the most. 10/14

[Henry Chatfield @HenryChatfield]

This is about how, w/in 1hr of On Sale, $57 was siphoned away from the artist, their team, & promoter.

That’s an additional 72% of the original ticket price that the artist received no cut of.

People overuse, and overly hate "middlemen" imo, but this is a perfect example. 9/14

[Henry Chatfield @HenryChatfield]

Now, let’s talk about fees.

- We all hate them.
- They are often opaque.
- They can be 50%+ of base ticket price.
- @TheJusticeDept suing LN/TM unlikely to broadly help this.

This isn’t about us (fans) paying fees though... 8/14

[Henry Chatfield @HenryChatfield]

12:59pm:

While I’m doing all of this, StubHub is boasting to me how many tickets they've sold to this show (wtf).

In 1 hour, @StubHub sold 710 tickets.

The fee they charged on top of the $147 ticket?

💰 $57 💰

7/14

[Henry Chatfield @HenryChatfield]

12:58pm:

There was so much demand for this show, StubHub broke too. I couldn't get it to load, and then tix gone.

Finally, I was able to “reserve” a ticket for $147 on StubHub.

TM base price: $79.50
SH base price: $146
Base increase: $68, or +85%

<1 hr after on sale. 6/14

[Henry Chatfield @HenryChatfield]

12:30pm:

Ticketmaster is officially Sold Out.

I go to StubHub to see prices.

Already 50+ tickets listed, many of which were up before I even got to the Sold Out screen on TM.

TM base price: $79.50
SH Lowest price: $109
Base increase: $30, or +38%

Not horrible, but… 5/14

[Henry Chatfield @HenryChatfield]

In the US, we all know concert ticket resellers are an issue.

Ask any @taylorswift13 fan.

We have direct, objective, quantitative data proving this — because Europe. Many experts have written about why.

I’m here to share an individual anecdote about how this is an issue.. 4/14

[Henry Chatfield @HenryChatfield]

12:21pm: I'm finally able to buy tickets. I get a blank screen. It eventually loads and is basically broken.

But whatever, (Jade was 5k ppl ahead of me and already knew it sold out).

You win some, you lose some. But here’s the wild part.

Enter: @StubHub 3/14

[Henry Chatfield @HenryChatfield]

Today 12pm pst:

@Ticketmaster onsale goes live.
@fredagainagain1 & @Skrillex in San Francisco!

No idea capacity but I'd guess >8,500+.

11:45am: I go on Ticketmaster to wait to buy 2 tix.

12:00pm: I'm in the queue. 11,000+ people are “in line” ahead of me.

I wait… 2/14