Ticket Brokers Accused of Scalping Hannah Montana Tickets

Tickets for Hannah Montana's Best of Both Worlds concert are selling out nationwide, in record time in some locations. Miley Cyrus, daughter of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, is the voice behind the Hannah Montana moniker. Miley's hit Disney television show, also entitled Hannah Montana, is popular with the evermore influential preteen set, and the Best of Both Worlds concert in the name of Hannah Montana is proving to be the hottest concert of the year.

Investigators in Missouri, however, are looking into complaints that some ticket retailers are taking advantage of the system and of Miley's popularity as the teen singing sensation Hannah Montana. Parents have complained that they were locked out of the system and couldn't get tickets even if they dialed in right at the time ticket sales were set to begin, yet ticket resellers have plenty and are offering them at prices upwards of $3,000, an enormous jump over the selling price that ranges between $26 and $63.

Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon filed lawsuits alleging three companies, GoTickets Inc., Tickets Now Entertainment Group Inc., both of Springfield, Illinois, and Ticket Solutions Inc, located in Overland Park, Kansas, violated Missouri's anti-scalping ordinances. Investigators went online and purchased tickets from these websites at inflated prices, leading to the charges. Nixon is seeking an order requiring the accused to comply with the law, pay restitution, penalties and court costs.

The incident caused Nixon to strike a deal with Ticketmaster to release an additional 2,000 tickets that buyers could purchase online or by phone, but had to be picked up at the Ticketmaster office by the purchaser, who has to show a photo I.D. and the credit card used to purchase the tickets. Each buyer could only purchase two tickets.

"By requiring purchasers to appear at the box office and provide credit card and photo I.D. verification, we also are minimizing the impact that would-be scalpers will have on these sales," Nixon said. "If these ticket brokers are rendered unable to hijack the system, real fans get the tickets at the prices set by the artists."Miley's concert is based on her Disney television show, on which she pretends to be a "normal" teenager named Miley Stewart and wears a disguise to transform into teen singing sensation Hannah Montana. Her father costars with her as a strict, but loving, stage dad. Brooke Shields has appeared in dream sequences on the show as Miley/Hannah's mom, who, according to the storyline, died when Miley was younger. The show's theme song, Best of Both Worlds, has become the title of the Hannah Montana concert tour.

Fans looking to buy tickets to Hannah Montana's Best of Both Worlds concert can join Miley's - Hannah Montana's - fan club. Members of MileyWorld, Miley's fan club, get a chance to purchase tickets before they go on sale to the general public. Membership to MileyWorld is $29.95 per year, but this could ultimately result in a great savings for those who are planning on going to Hannah Montana's concert.

Sources: ago.mo.gov (Missouri Attorney General), www.mileyworld.com (Miley Cyrus fan club)