Scalp Thyself!

Another story from the NY Times, this time about a band that decided to scalp its own tickets. Money (no pun intended) quote:

“I would argue that on some level they are our tickets,” Mr. Luba said. “If people in a free market find that Ticketmaster’s service is easier and more effective, by all means go for it. But we have found a group of people who are used to buying tickets directly from the band’s Web site.”

The sales model for concert tickets is interesting. Ticketmaster is a de facto monopoly, but I'm afraid I don't know enough about the history of the firm to say much about how they got there. Nor do I know if their position is enforced by legislative fiat. It seems as if instances like this could put some pressure on  Ticketmaster to rein in costs. What do you think? Are standard ticket sales euvoluntary? What is the BATNA? Is Cournot competition alive and well?