Louis C.K. Takes Ticketing Into His Own Hands

Writer/actor/director/comedy genius Louis C.K. is going on tour, and the only place you can get tickets is his very own website, LouisCK.net. 

C.K. is selling his tour tickets directly so people can avoid extravagant fees from other ticketing websites, like Ticketmaster.  In an email he sent to his fan base, he said, “Doing this means I'm making less than I would have made if I did a standard tour, using the usual very excellent but expensive ticketing service…Either way, I still make a whole lot more than my grandfather who taught math and raised chickens in Michigan.”

For every seat in every city, tickets cost $45, and that includes sales tax.  In his email, C.K. said that some ticketing sites charge more than 40 percent over the ticket price.  While making an appearance on The Tonight Show, C.K. addressed one ticketing juggernaut specifically, saying Ticketmaster is a “terrific service, but they're very expensive.”  

On Jimmy Kimmel Live, Kimmel said C.K. has revolutionized the way things are sold on the internet. C.K. recently sold his stand-up special exclusively on his website for only $5 and hoped no one would steal it.  “We make a million bucks in, like, 10 days.”

For this tour, the C.K. camp sold 80,000 tickets in one day, and already more than half of the scheduled shows are sold out.  

“You just go on, you buy a ticket, and you go to my show, you laugh, or you don't—I don't care.” 

Not only has he significantly lowered ticket prices for his tour, but the comedian who won four Comedy Awards this year has also figured out a way to dissuade scalpers from doing their thing.  If you're the ticket-buyer, you have to show up. Otherwise, if you sell the ticket for more than $45, the ticket will be cancelled.

I know most people are tired of paying through the nose for tickets to events (and sometimes you don't even get good seats).  Ticketmaster charges way more than it should on service fees, and it's a disservice to the artists and fans that are actually forking over the money for a ticket.  Louis C.K. and other comedians are realizing that Ticketmaster isn't the way to go, and other comedians are starting to follow.  

Aziz Ansari and Jim Gaffigan followed suit by selling their specials online.  The next logical step is for comedians to take control of their own ticketing, and we at CHARGED.fm completely agree.  CHARGED.fm offers the tools to help comedians do this in a way that isn't oppressive to their fans, and that's the way it should be.                            

For a man who has nearly as many black t-shirts as Anderson Cooper, Louis C.K. has proven himself to be a smart businessman as well as a brilliant comedian.  Watch some of his material in action and then go get your tickets for his fall tour. Grandmas be warned, there's some foul language and bleeping in your future.

Let CHARGED.fm get you tickets to see your favorite comedians.