Can the company that's selling tickets to an event also be a scalper? Apparently so. Yesterday's Wall Street Journal explored recent initiatives by Ticketmaster to auction off choice seats at major concerts and allow fans to resell their unwanted tickets.

The new offerings from the IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ:IACI) subsidiary are an apparent response to the popularity of resale sites like StubHub and the eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) auction marketplace.

Ticketmaster isn't suddenly waking up to this reality. Down here in Miami, the company's TicketExchange has allowed Miami Heat season-ticket holders to resell their game tickets through the team's official website for a buck more than they originally paid. The Florida Marlins followed suit this year, and it's a shock to see the Miami Dolphins hold back from that service.

Ticketmaster's TicketExchange is a win for almost everyone. Both the ticketing agent and team can cash in a second time on the same seat by sharing in the resale markup. Fans also have access to good seats without having to haggle with a scalper out in the parking lot. The concept works, much to the detriment of the thinning fleet of scalpers.

Entering the resale market for music events also makes sense, especially for sold-out concerts. The music industry has left a lot of money on the table in the lucrative resale market, but it's starting to fight back in creative ways. Promoter Live Nation (NYSE:LYV) is now pitching live concert CDs for patrons, burned on the spot as they leave the show.

Goodbye, bootleggers? Goodbye, scalpers? Even Apple Computer's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iTunes store has helped to successfully drive back MP3 piracy. The music industry is going legit, and that's good news for the sluggish sector. But Ticketmaster following suit? That's bad news for sites like StubHub and eBay.

eBay is a Motley Fool Stock Advisor newsletter recommendation. To discover more of Tom and David Gardner's favorite investing opportunities, try Stock Advisor free for 30 days.

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this story, though he has been a frequent freelance contributor to IAC's CitySearch. He is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early. The Fool has a disclosure policy.