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The Economics Of Ticketmaster

The Economics Of Ticketmaster

On today's Planet Money:

A listener wants to know why Ticketmaster charges a convenience fee if you want to print out the tickets you buy online. After all, it's your ink and paper, and you're not asking Ticketmaster to mail your purchase.

Economist Emily Oster of the Chicago Booth School of Business has been decoding the universe for us, and she's got an answer for you. It's got to do with the network effect, locking up a market and — of course — supply and demand.

If you've got an economic riddle for Emily Oster, e-mail it over.

Bonus: After the jump, meet former Ticketmaster CEO Fred Rosen.

Download the podcast; or subscribe. Intro music: Q-Tip's "Breathe and Stop." Find us: Twitter/ Facebook/ Flickr.

Fred Rosen explains why ticket prices rose in value, and why he gets so much joy from providing a service:

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Laura Conaway