[akrymski]

Could someone explain why tickets aren't sold via an auction mechanism? Surely that's the only fair way to distribute anything of limited supply

[RainyDayTmrw]

That's only "fair" in a certain, academic sense, which claims that willingness to pay more money makes someone more "deserving" - completely ignoring socioeconomic status.

That also offends a lot of people who oppose the above reasoning.

[akrymski]

It's "fair" in any society that has capitalism. Going down the rabbit hole of deciding who deserves money is playing God.

[cptroot]

The answer is mentioned in the article. Not all concerts want only people with means to attend. The venue might want to be accessible to low-income members of the community, or it might be a benefit concert, with free tickets and a donation drive.

[akrymski]

What's wrong with giving out some free tickets to low income members of the community?