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Gus Ruelas / Reuters
Louis C.K.
Ticketmaster? Louis C.K. doesn't need no stinkin' Ticketmaster (or any ticket-selling site, for that matter). Not when he has his own website on which to sell tickets for his upcoming comedy tour. And after just two days, according to the stand-up star of FX's "Louie," his decision to forgo a ticket-selling middleman has paid off.
"well. after 45 hours, my tour has sold 100K tickets, box office gross of 4.5 mil $ (not all mine). I guess it was a good idea," he tweeted Wednesday.
Prior to the tickets going on sale, C.K. wrote his mailing list and explained that he was tired of the fees and scalping that goes along with online ticket sales. Scalpers still bought his tickets when he charged less, and the sellers were still making nice commissions. So he decided to organize his own tour. He is paying the sales tax on each ticket, which means the cost to the fan is $45 everywhere, and he had to consider venues that were perhaps smaller or not on the same level as those that deal with online agencies.
The comedian is no stranger to forging his own professional path via the Internet: In 2011 he sold downloads of his "Live at the Beacon" special directly to fans through his site for $5, and made over $1 million in 12 days, much of which he's donating to charity, according to Entertainment Weekly.
As he told EW, "I don't do this for money. To me, it's the number of tickets I sell that's satisfying. I like knowing we sold out Chicago in an hour. That's a good feeling. This year I'm going to have the lowest tickets on the road. I'm going to be the cheapest comedian ever!"
Are you going to see Louis C.K. on tour? What do you think of his ticket-selling strategy? Let us know on Facebook.
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