Ticket Sales : Privacy vs. Profits?

Radio talk show host Tom Leykis picked up his telephone at home recently to hear a salesman pitching season tickets to the Los Angeles Theatre Center.

Leykis, who hosts a daily “verbal combat” call-in program on KFI-AM, has an unlisted number.

“Before the guy could launch into his pitch I asked: ‘How did you get my number?”’ Leykis recounted Wednesday. “He said, ‘I have this list in front of me’ and read my address, my apartment number, my ZIP code.”

After some prodding, the telephone salesman told Leykis that his address and phone number had been put on a solicitation list after he bought tickets in March for a Penn & Teller show at the Wiltern Theatre.

Leykis said he is “furious” about ticket agencies who provide other telephone sales organizations with the unlisted telephone numbers and home addresses of people in the public eye. Leykis said he, like other talk show hosts, has received threatening calls and letters and takes pains to maintain his privacy. His concern comes in the wake of the shooting death of actress Rebecca Schaeffer--who police believe was killed by an obsessed fan (he obtained her address after a private detective agency he’d hired simply asked the Department of Motor Vehicles for it).

Leykis made the issue the subject of his Wednesday show.

“After this Rebecca Schaeffer thing I’m really concerned about this,” Leykis said. “I can’t believe they wouldn’t let people know ... I gave them my name, address and telephone number for credit verification purposes, not to be sold or rented.”

“Beyond the danger factor here, with my kind of job there are people who like to call and discuss politics, and come over and see your dog, and send you birthday balloons and people who’d like to see what color your house is,” Leykis said. “I don’t want people coming to my house at all hours of the day and night and I don’t think anybody else does. I don’t think that’s unreasonable.”

When he purchased his tickets by credit card from Ticketmaster, Leykis said, he was asked for his address and phone number in order to verify the credit card number.

Officials at Ticketmaster confirmed that addresses and phone numbers are obtained to ward against credit card fraud. “We have to have phones and addresses,” said Fred Rosen, Ticketmaster chief executive officer. “Do you know the amount of credit card fraud? We need ways to verify.”

Ticketmaster denied that it sells phone numbers to other entities.

“Ticketmaster does not sell phone numbers and does not give out phone numbers,” Rosen said. “We don’t do any business with the LATC and I can tell you they didn’t buy any names from us and no one can buy any phone numbers from us.”

Rosen said this was the first call of its kind in six years.

“This is much ado about nothing,” Rosen said. “I think he’s somewhat overly paranoid. The list that he got on the (theater) probably gave out.... Every theater has the capability.”

Repeated calls to the Wiltern Theatre were not returned, but Leykis said he spoke to an official at the theater Tuesday who assured him the theater had not given out his phone and address.

Rival ticket agency Ticketron said that it is common practice for lists of phone numbers and addresses obtained by a ticket agency to be used by the theaters.

“Our lists are considered to be the property of the venue whose tickets we’re selling,” said Linda Woerz, Los Angeles area manager. “So, if you purchase tickets over the phone for say, the Pacific Amphitheatre, (the information derived) belongs to them.”

Said Cynthia Anderson, marketing director at the Los Angeles Theatre Center: “The Penn & Teller list has been identified as the list (that provided Leykis’ information). What we had done is really very standard operating procedure for people who solicit subscriptions. We traded a subscription mailing list with Penn & Teller people.

“We trade with other arts organizations,” she said. “It’s all very above board. Celebrities are not in the main pool of list trades.... Although they do come up from time to time.”

Theaters often trade or rent lists for a fee ranging from $45 to $1,000, Anderson said.