Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Ticketmaster's Ticket Monopoly is Crumbling: Consumers Are Pissed Off and Investors Are Selling

Ticketmaster's parent company IAC (blue) vs. SP500 (red):
Internet technology is loosening Ticketmaster's tight grip on the lucrative live concert and sporting event scene. The Net is shaking up the ticketing market by giving artists and venues a way to sell tickets directly to fans. And it is fueling the rise of a resale market by giving buyers and sellers a safe place to connect with one another more easily and cheaply.

As the rules of the game change, talent and event managers sense a chance to seize back some control. Sports teams are trying to assert more say over the way tickets are sold. And venues and concert promoters are rethinking their relationships with ticket sellers.

"Consumers don't like Ticketmaster's fat service charge, and they are pissed off."

Read more here from the BusinessWeek article: "Ticketmaster Faces A Full-Court Press: Can the Internet break the giant's grip on music and sporting events?" Given consumer's foul mood and Ticketmaster's falling stock price (see chart above), I'd say the answer is Yes.

7 Comments:

At 9/06/2007 1:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

So soon we have yet another idiot company suing others over their outdated business plan and their arrogant behavior which cause people to stay away in the first place.
Why do successful companies get so arrogant? is it cause of nature?

 
At 9/06/2007 2:09 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

It's about time.I will and have not purchased any thing from Ticketmaster for years.If I call to buy tickets and Ticketmaster is handleing it,I hang up and do not buy. Scot

 
At 9/07/2007 4:39 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

BS Scot. No one basis their choice of event based on the ticketing company, they base it on the act that they are interested in seeing.

Even if the servicing charges are massive, the want to see the act outweighs the anger at the cost. Sure you will moan about it and wave your fists in the air, but at the end of the day, you will still pay to see your precious Justin Timberlake live. This is Ticketmaster’s business model and it works well for them. If TM continues to gain exclusivity on ticket sales, the model will continue to work well.
The idea that the internet is opening up new avenues for promoters so they can finally give the fans what they want is romantic at the least. Promoters want to sell tickets quickly and easily, that’s basically it, and if Ticketmaster can do this well, the promoters will always go with Ticketmaster. The only thing that the promoters and sports teams see is an opportunity to make more money by selling the tickets themselves. If its not

If it’s not Ticketmaster screwing the fans, it will be someone one else. All the internet has done is lower the level of entry to allow just about anyone to take my money.

 
At 9/19/2007 2:04 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

You Don't know me.I will not buy a ticket to any event that is Ticketmaster brokered.It doesn't matter who or what the event it is!!!
P.S. You might pay money to see Timberlake but I wouldn't go if it was free with transportation.

 
At 4/02/2008 12:44 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I've skiped shows because of Ticketmaster and I will continue to. It's outrageous they get away with this crap.

 
At 6/21/2008 2:36 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

mmm...timberlake

 
At 7/16/2008 10:08 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I have and will continue to skip shows marketed by Ticketmaster. "anonymous" needs to realize that Ticketmaster adds no value to the transaction yet extracts fees. A venue and show would be best served by an open market ticketing policy, utilizng TicketMaster, Tickets.com, and whever else. The infrastructure is actually there for this.

 

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