Comedian Louis C.K., who made news in December when he decided to self-distribute his latest stand-up show online at $5 per download, is now out to upend the live ticketing business. Last night he sent an e-mail to customers who purchased the online show, announcing he would be selling tickets for his upcoming tour exclusively through his website. The goal, he writes, is to “bring the price of tickets down and make them easier and less complicated to buy.” He is also planning to prevent the resale of tickets to any of the 39 shows for more than their face value of $45:
[Y]ou’ll see that if you try to sell the ticket anywhere for anything above the original price, we have the right to cancel your ticket (and refund your money). This is something I intend to enforce. There are some other rules you may find annoying, but they are meant to prevent someone who has no intention of seeing the show from buying the ticket and just flipping it for twice the price from a thousand miles away.
