Concerts have been memorable and joyful experiences since they became popular in the early 20th century. Musical events and shows have spanned across the world, creating a cultural phenomenon for every individual. Some people hang their unforgettable night’s memories up on their bedroom walls, all in the form of photos and souvenirs; but the most important memorabilia is a six inch piece of cardstock: the ticket.

Buying concert tickets has never been easier. There are countless apps and websites that can grant the “night of the century,” only with a credit card and a click of a mouse. However, some fans never get to have such an opportunity, all because of the corruption of the online ticketing business.

Ticketmaster is a world-known online event site that issues tickets to concerts, shows, events and more. With simple registering procedures, a customer can have front-row seats for Justin Timberlake’s Nashville concert in all of five minutes. However, we were not so lucky.

After waiting by the computer all morning, the excitement grew with each passing minute until the tickets were released to be bought. The Ticketmaster website had such high traffic that dozens of fans worldwide were put on a waiting list to just enter the site. If there were no available seats for four people in the $400 budget, the only option was to start over and be placed at the end of the waiting list. It took approximately two hours for the entire show to be sold out. Leaving upset and empty handed, we searched the website for any more opportunities. We stumbled upon hundreds of tickets for the Timberlake concert. All over the arena, there were empty seats, begging to be filled. Our faith was restored and we could see our idol after all.

But, like every miracle, there was a catch.

This show was being scalped, and no legalities were being threatened. Those hundreds of tickets were being resold for nearly five times their original cost. Prices for the floor seats reached four and five figures. Nosebleed seats, usually worth half of a regular ticket, were going for the price of an original VIP pass. By reselling tickets that were authorized by Ticketmaster, nothing about it was illegal. Not only is it infuriating, but it is simply unfair.

Scalping is a term for online marketing that refers to buying tickets to an event and reselling them at inflated prices. The legal scalping business does bring a good profit, but only from those willing fans that have the cash. Tickets that are priced for thousands of dollars are inaccessible to people who do not have that much money, or the will to spend it. This lessens the amount of fans that attend the concert, thus lowering the amount of money that the performer earns. This may not be an issue for Justin Timberlake, but it hurts a large percentage of the fans that miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime.

Taking the reselling option off of Ticketmaster’s website will not only increase the amounts of tickets bought, but lessen the disappointment in fans worldwide.