In what they bill as a way to reduce scalping, the IAC/InterActiveCorp-owned Ticketmaster has announced plans to auction off tickets for popular performances.

A recent New York Times story explains:

With no official price ceiling on such tickets, Ticketmaster will be able to compete with brokers and scalpers for the highest price a market will bear.

"The tickets are worth what they're worth," said John Pleasants, Ticketmaster's president and chief executive. "If somebody wants to charge $50 for a ticket, but it's actually worth $1,000 on eBay, the ticket's worth $1,000. I think more and more, our clients -- the promoters, the clients in the buildings and the bands themselves -- are saying to themselves, `Maybe that money should be coming to me instead of Bob the Broker.' "

For the immediate future, the auction system will be an option available to promoters, who stand to share in the profits from the plan.

Ok, it's slightly older news, but the person responsible has been harshly reprimanded.