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Harvey Goldsmith on BBC Breakfast


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Harvey Goldsmith has literally just been interviewed on BBC Breakfast (7.30am) along with a guy from ticket marketplace website www.getmein.com.

Got to say, Mr Goldsmith really doesn't come across well... I get the impression he's in denial - you're never going to stop tickets being resold, in my opinion. I certainly don't think he's got the answers though, to be fair, at least he TRIED to do something about the problem with the O2 - even if he made a bit of a pig's ear of it.

Hopefully the interview will be on the BBC website later.

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He was on the Radio the other day doing something similar.

What was very noticable was that he tried not to let the other guy speak: he talked over him, interupted, shouted him down etc.

Very rude, & gives the impression that he's affraid to let his arguments speak for themselves so he has to prevent opposing viewpoints being heard.

He was still claiming the Zep ticketing system was an example of how things are being made better... :hysterical:

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Thanks for this. I'll try to catch the interview later, somehow. Not surprised to hear he doesn't come across well. I watched the broadcast of him giving evidence to a committee of M.P's in the summer. 'Arrogance, rudeness, bluster and an utter inability to see the flaws and contradictions in his arguments' sums up his performence on that day.Before the 'Harvey is lovely,he gave us Zep, he's my friend etc' brigade join in-yes, I'm sure he's a lovely man when not getting wound up about touting.As has been pointed out in the Parliamentary report, he essentially wants 'his' industry protected in a free market place.The idea that 'tickets are currency and therefore blah blah blah' is laughable. The view of our Mp's is that a large part of this IS about versions of the free market and Government's role in regulation and/or legislation of economlc activity within that market and the secondary market.Which is true.For a much-needed counterweight to his unfortunate ideas, try BBC's'have your say' site and read the comments there.Much better-informed,on the whole, less emotive and based on consumers' views,for whom H.G purports to speak. Eye Thank yew. Carry on,this is all very nice!!

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He was on the Radio the other day doing something similar.

What was very noticable was that he tried not to let the other guy speak: he talked over him, interupted, shouted him down etc.

Very rude, & gives the impression that he's affraid to let his arguments speak for themselves so he has to prevent opposing viewpoints being heard.

He was still claiming the Zep ticketing system was an example of how things are being made better... :hysterical:

maybe because he has worked with Zep now he is trying to portray himself as Peter grant ?? but there was only one of him !!

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Yes , he really showed ebay the way to go and kicked their ass with the O2 show didn't he?

:D

Obviously not, but, after that mess, if he gets it wrong again there'll be no question it wasn't accidental.

He certainly does come off as having an ego, but honestly I have to applaud his efforts. If promoters like him don't try to stop the crazy touting, only people who are well-connected or well-off, or both, will ever again get to attend any kind of 'name' show. At least he's trying to fight the race to the bottom that fans are in right now.

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I have made my feelings publicly known towards Harvey Goldsmith innumerable times.

Here's the facts:

There was just as much publicity surrounding the purchase of tickets as there was surrounding the event itself.

It still didn't stop touts or the like selling either their spare ticket or in some cases both.

The 02 staff weren't checking if the wristbands had been "tampered" with at all.

The application process was a farce.

Lets face it if you're a casual fan or just someone who thinks they can make a quick buck then you're gonna apply. WTF, it doesn't cost anything so why not.

Hence the fact they had 125 million applications because the media was saying it was gonna be the gig of the century. "Sound of touts rubbing hands together"

As far as i'm concerned Harvey Goldsmith did something that is unforgivable in every single Zep fans eyes. He almost single handedly made sure that the real fans had no chance of attending this concert whilst trying to achieve the exact opposite. This was because of two reasons.

1: he is a complete dinosaur and made no preparation for the amount of applications for tickets he recieved via the website.

2: he had no conception of the fact that the real fans would pay whatever they could to get a ticket, but because of the publicity surrounding the gig after the apparent high security surrounding it, it added a "zero" to every ticket price on the black market, and most genuine Zep fans were priced out (unless you could sell a kidney, or your house etc)

I went to the 02 gig. I loved every minute, I paid well over the odds for a ticket and the only person i'm still pissed with is Harvey.

The main reason being is that I am a true fan and I got to go. There are millions of others that would have gone but couldn't because of his awful system.

Half of the audience only knew one or two songs and had no idea what they were actually witnessing. I actually thought that the crowd reaction to most of the lesser known tracks was embarrassing. The audience should have lifted the roof off after every song cos they played superbly.

In future this is what i suggest (and actually what I suggested to Harvey Goldsmith after the website crashed, but hey, he's got his OBE to think of now).

When you apply for tickets you have 60 seconds to answer 5-7 questions (multiple choice) about the band you're going to see. They don't have to be nerdy questions, just the kind that your average tout or "never heard of them" punter would maybe not know.

The application should allow you to apply by email address only so that the serious fan can apply on behalf of all his friends and famillies addresses once only.

At least using this method I probably would have had a decent chance of genuinely aquiring tickets and so would about another 10,000 genuine fans. Which is about the same amount that was lacking at the 02.

Cheers!

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It's always comical to me to listen to someone who rakes in a fortune moaning on about other people being greedy by trying to make a fast buck.

When is Mr Goldsmith going to aknowledge the FACT that the reason a big proportion of tickets end up in the hands of touts is because people from INSIDE 'HIS' precious industry make it possible.

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In future this is what i suggest (and actually what I suggested to Harvey Goldsmith after the website crashed, but hey, he's got his OBE to think of now).

When you apply for tickets you have 60 seconds to answer 5-7 questions (multiple choice) about the band you're going to see. They don't have to be nerdy questions, just the kind that your average tout or "never heard of them" punter would maybe not know.

The application should allow you to apply by email address only so that the serious fan can apply on behalf of all his friends and famillies addresses once only.

At least using this method I probably would have had a decent chance of genuinely aquiring tickets and so would about another 10,000 genuine fans. Which is about the same amount that was lacking at the 02.

Cheers!

This is a good idea in theory and might have worked 15 years ago with a mail-order set up but anyone can find these answers in a few clicks of a mouse now we have the internet - there are so many information-packed sites around these days that it's not difficult to find answers to even the geekiest of questions, given a little time. Though I think you're correct in suggesting that some of the less serious applicants would probably just go 'sod it' when faced with a barrage of questions!

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I have made my feelings publicly known towards Harvey Goldsmith innumerable times.

Here's the facts:

Folks will quibble over the online test for tickets, but it doesn't change the fact that IMHO, Larry just made the post of the year. That may not be saying much as were

just 11 days into the New Year, but he's unashamedly saying what needs to be said,

especially if there is to be another Led Zeppelin performance between now and

forever.

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Indeed and yes. To follow in the general theme of the last couple of posts, then- I too have made my feelings about His Harviness well known here and on the old version of this site. It was clear to me and many others here during the actual application periods that he hadn't really thought about the consequences of using an untried system for a gig that was clearly going to attract huge demand for tickets. Essentially we were part of Harv's little try-out. Don't worry ,he'll get it right next time, folks.

Bronwen[sorry-Bronwyn?] has made a significant and overlooked point.Harvlets is so keen to point outwards,at touts, ebay,viagogo,people using cards that belong to someone else etc, so his smug coterie of legit fee-chargers[ie-ticketbastard etc]escape all scrutiny.Does he ever wonder if they can account for every single ticket that they handle? Do any of them end up in the hands of touty-on-selling-tertiary marketeering bad guys? Mmmmm? He wants you, me and everyone else to obey his whims and play by his rules, yet control of tickets is down to him and him only.His casting of blame seems selective, to say the least. Lovely bloke though...

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