So let's say you want to buy a concert ticket. You search in Google and you see a multitude of offers. All from the secondary market, i.e. scalpers, i.e. brokers. And if it's a superstar, you may have the ability to purchase a ticket to what is supposedly a sold out show. However, many times the secondary market is offering tickets when primary tickets are still available on Ticketmaster, AXS, whatever ticketing company the promoter is using.

Watch this video:

https://www.tiktok.com/@thefinanceinfo/video/7582941582014418198?_r=1&_t=ZP-92AMTG75KYA

1. This is Rory Sutherland, an English advertising executive who proffers wisdom on TikTok. He didn't sit down and try to become a famous influencer, it all happened by accident. During Covid one video of him was posted and the public was hungry for his insights and his following burgeoned. This is what we call "pull" instead of "push." Pre-internet marketing was all about pushing things on people, making them aware of them and getting the public to buy/partake. However, to succeed in the internet world, people must desire you. Push doesn't work. There are too many marketing messages which are transparent hucksterism and people are turned off. But when they find something they like, they want more and tell everybody about it. This is the essence of success. Something that has been lost in the music business. We've got all these acts complaining they're not getting paid, but if they were great, the public would desire them, they would pull their songs and more, make them a success. But nobody wants to own the truth.

2. Earlier this week I sent a TikTok video of Big Jim's review of Yang Chow, a restaurant in Chinatown that a group of us go to on a regular basis. One of the recipients said she was not on TikTok. To quote:

"I’m barely engaged in social media. I don’t want to spend more time watching people I don’t know and will never meet. I can barely keep up with my friends and family!"

This is an old school, Facebook/Instagram view of social media. That it's all about connecting with old friends, people bragging, trying to create FOMO. But no, on TikTok, a lot of the videos are informational. You learn. The algorithm divines what you are interested in and serves it up. You know I've got a bug up my ass about this, but I will say it once again, to counter the tide of oldsters...I've never heard a youngster complain about TikTok. It's the oldsters who think it's the devil. Social media is like AI, it's here to stay. Furthermore, it has distinct advantages. Why are all the Boomers and Gen-X'ers so self-satisfied? They were addicted to television, but when there's a new platform they pooh-pooh it. It would be laughable if traditional news and the so-called elite didn't rail against technology constantly. The internet is the best thing that ever happened to me, I'm connecting with you right now! I can find information in niches that was previously unavailable to me, I can connect with people all over the world. Please change your perspective and get a TikTok account, to watch the videos in this piece, if nothing else.

2.a. Big Jim is a restaurant reviewer who popped up in my feed. He tends to review holes in the wall, unknown places in the San Fernando Valley, the ones no one talks about. I haven't heard of most of the locations, but he's piqued my interest. However, he gives a positive review to everything. This is the video on Yang Chow:

https://www.tiktok.com/@bigjimsbabybites/video/7581541127866666271?_r=1&_t=ZP-925dgs2iqDf

So Google is a B2B enterprise where the consumer gets screwed. Here's another Rory Sutherland clip that talks about this:

https://www.tiktok.com/@wehaveameetingpod/video/7562607629764136224?_r=1&_t=ZP-92Ab5iPdbGJ

Bottom line... Google is in cahoots with advertisers who are oftentimes using subterfuge to make their money. Google doesn't police this whatsoever. As a matter of fact, Google is proud of the fact that it's all done automatically, online. But, the truth is Google has a responsibility to the consumer to deliver accurate information. However, the secondary market spends a fortune on ads with Google and the tech company looks the other way. The primary market is buried and can't compete.

All this talk about the secondary market vs. the primary market... How can the primary market succeed if Google is helping the secondary, looking the other way?

The music industry must change its focus. It's myopic, i.e. the secondary market is bad. It is, but it's being enabled by Google, which should be shamed into changing its policy.

It's not only concert tickets. Advertisers purvey all kinds of things for sale at exorbitant rates, far beyond the price the original seller is offering them at. But the original seller can't compete, because these secondary market enterprises without the underlying costs of the original sellers spend a fortune on Google ads and dominate mindshare.

This can be changed.

Google said "Don't be evil."? It's actively harming the concert industry, and many more verticals to boot!

P.S. You can watch the TikTok videos without downloading the app here: https://lefsetz.com/wordpress/2025/12/12/its-a-google-problem/


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