Legendary guitar outfit, the Eagles, aim to foil the secondary ticket market by raising prices for prime concert seats and making the cheap ones cheaper, thereby squeezing those looking to resell The Eagles tickets.

Not coincidentally, the Eagles were the first band to charge $100 (£65, €74) for a concert ticket 16 years ago. Now the group, who are signed to Live Nation Entertainment, plan to use the newly merged company’s “dynamic” ticketing service for their April 27 show in Sacramento, California -- a first for a major group.

Dynamic pricing has been tried by professional baseball teams including the San Francisco Giants. It uses technology to continually adjust ticket prices for some seats based on demand.

The $32 (£21, €24) seats in Sacramento also use a paperless system that limits ticket transfers and further shuts out resellers.

The aim is to make tickets affordable for more fans and to fill seats, according to Marc Robbins, who helped design the system for the Eagles’ manager, Live Nation’s Front Line. The result lifts food and merchandise sales while slicing into the markup of the secondary ticket market.

The Eagles test highlights ticketing changes made possible by Live Nation’s merger last month with Ticketmaster Entertainment, a deal opposed by consumer groups. As the world’s largest concert promoter, venue operator, ticket seller and manager of artists, the company now has more leverage to make changes that drive revenue and profit.

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