Online Ticket Buyers Find Themselves Outgunned by High-Tech Bots

19 March 2010

"If you want to see Lady Gaga at Madison Square Garden in July, you’ll probably be at your computer this morning before 10 a.m., ready to strike when tickets for the much-anticipated concert go on sale.

But you probably won’t score a prime seat. You, gentle human, can’t beat the machines.

Automated programs will stampede the virtual ticket window, be first in the virtual cue and grab up the choice seats. They do it for every big tour, be it Bruce Springsteen, the Black Eyed Peas or Tom Petty. Through their high volume of requests and lightning speed, these programs try to box out the regular fan in an effort to snag the best tickets to the hottest events...."