Ticketmaster, which dominates the ticket business, is fighting back against online ticket resellers by letting customers bid up the prices for the best seats and returning profits to promoters and artists.

It will auction the best seats to many top summer tours, including Madonna, Shakira, Kelly Clarkson, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bon Jovi and former Pink Floyd composer Roger Waters.

The Internet has made it easy for speculators to buy tickets and resell them at huge prices at online sites such as Craigslist and eBay.

Ticket sites StubHub and RazorGator do nothing but resell tickets, charging both sellers and buyers service fees.

Ticketmaster auction money is split between the promoter and artist, with Ticketmaster taking a service fee.

Waters will perform Pink Floyd’s complete Dark Side of the Moon with a backup band at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Sept. 12. Regular top ticket prices are $175; the first four rows’ minimum Ticketmaster auction bid is $500. Seats are being resold on StubHub and RazorGator with asking prices soaring to $4,600 and $7,000, respectively.

Posted: 05|22|06 at 8:48 am. Filed under: US News.