Ticketmaster accused of price gouging

SASKATOON - Saskatchewan Justice Minister Don Morgan has promised Elton John fans that he'll investigate after complaints of price gouging in their quest for tickets to a planned performance in the province this fall.

Some fans who went to Ticketmaster's online service last month say they were told there were no regularly priced tickets left and instead were directed to another site the company owns called Tickets Now.

That online site demanded much higher prices for John's performance, scheduled for Sept. 15 in Saskatoon.

"We got a number of calls from people saying it's scalping," Morgan said Friday.

Ken Wood, the manager of Saskatoon's Credit Union Centre, where the music legend will perform, says the venue has asked Ticketmaster to stop the practice.

Wood says the centre has an arrangement with Ticketmaster to sell tickets to events, but no deal with Tickets Now.

Ticketmaster said they were not advised of the automatic link from their site to Tickets Now, and they've had it removed.

Will Antonishyn, the Saskatchewan director of Ticketmaster, said the company limited buyers for the Elton John show to eight tickets per person.

Antonishyn said if anyone secured tickets before they officially went on sale, it wasn't their doing.

"The inventory belongs to the promoter and artist, and the artist determines who has what privileges in advance of the public on sale or not, like fan clubs for instance," he said.

Morgan said the province wants to make sure that people who want to buy tickets have a fair opportunity, and aren't being beaten by people who might be trying to "defeat the system."