and Ticketmaster will forever be inextricably linked. Pearl Jam became synonymous with anti-Ticketmaster venom from both artists and consumers during that period, who saw the ticketing company as a monopoly that charged egregious fees to the detriment of both parties. Beyond creating its own fan ticketing, inspired by the, the band tried to tour without playing any Ticketmaster venues and they were the “star” witness in the DOJ investigation over those same two years.
Since the 2010 merger, the ticketing business has served as one of the key monetization engines in the flywheel. Its success in maintaining and extending market share was helped along by LYV’s promotion business. In the U.S., where venues sign exclusive deals with ticket providers, venues were aware that Live Nation could do what made the most sense economically in routing its tours , and as LYV built scale in new areas of the concert business, it unlocked further value through adding ticketing.
We are finally getting to the point where Live Nation can extend its artist-first ethos to ticketing -- offering artists the ability to successfully create and execute on their own objectives. Ticketing can become more than just a dumb revenue center for LYV. And, LYV can add value to more than just its venue clients.Live Nation tickets shows for a continuum of artists across different level of success ranging from a new artist playing a small club to the likes of Pearl Jam in stadiums.
As one output, a standard mobile ticket will have one bar code. The ticket is easily transferrable between attendees simply by sharing the barcode through a screenshot or otherwise. In the case of Safetix, the bar code is dynamic, with a new one generated at regular intervals. This makes the ticket impossible to counterfeit, and tightens artist/promoter/ticketer/team/venue control over how, when and at what price a ticket can be transferred.
I tried to get tix to the LA show. Signed up for presale. Only tix available were behind stage and top 10 rows nosebleed. Next day general - only behind stage ($108). 90% of tix not on sale either day. Aftermarket GA tix now $5k. Thanks TM & PJ.