Story pick: Ticketmaster, the company people love to hate

If you've purchased a ticket to a concert or sporting event in the last 30 years, there's a pretty good chance that you did so through Ticketmaster, which dominates the business. There's also a better-than-average chance that you found yourself muttering about the experience -- especially the dreaded service fees. Not for nothing do Ticketmaster detractors, who are legion, call the company "Ticketbastard."

Steve Knopper, a music-industry reporter whose work has appeared on occasion in The Post, tackles Ticketmaster's past and future in a new Wired story, "Everyone Hates Ticketmaster — But No One Can Take It Down."

It's not a gripping narrative or an explosive piece of investigative reporting or the sort of "hey, Martha" story that generates nothing but readers. It's merely a well-reported business story about a major company with an awful Q rating -- and a dominant position in the marketplace. As a local bonus, outspoken D.C. concert promoter Seth Hurwitz makes an appearance in the piece.