Ticketmaster has long been one of the primary ways for fans to purchase tickets to concerts, shows, and other live events. The company has contracts with many major venues and artists giving them exclusive rights to sell tickets. This has led to complaints about high fees and a lack of options for buyers. With the rise of technology, some are wondering if artists can now sell tickets directly to fans without needing Ticketmaster as an intermediary.
What services does Ticketmaster provide?
Ticketmaster provides a full suite of services beyond just selling tickets online. These include:
- Exclusive contracts – Ticketmaster secures exclusive deals with venues and promoters to be the sole authorized ticket seller.
- Ticketing platforms – The company provides the technology and software for venues to manage ticketing.
- Analytics – Advanced data analytics help venues and artists manage ticket pricing and sales.
- Resale market – Ticketmaster facilitates ticket resale through their TicketExchange platform.
- Buyer protections – Customers are protected via guarantees against invalid or fraudulent tickets.
- Marketing – Ticketmaster has extensive marketing resources to promote shows and help drive ticket sales.
With these services, Ticketmaster has established itself as an essential intermediary between venues, artists, and fans. Their exclusivity deals make them a required partner for most large-scale shows.
What are the main criticisms of Ticketmaster?
While Ticketmaster dominates ticketing, they have received ongoing backlash over the years for a number of unpopular practices including:
- High fees – Service fees, processing fees, and order charges frequently add over 20% to the base ticket price.
- Lack of transparency – Critics argue the fees are excessive for the services provided but details are lacking.
- Captive audience – Fans have little choice but to use Ticketmaster due to their exclusive deals.
- Resale market – Ticketmaster owns resale sites like TicketExchange which some claim allows them to double-dip on fees.
- Anti-competitive – Some lawsuits have accused Ticketmaster of monopolistic control over ticketing in violation of antitrust laws.
These types of complaints have made Ticketmaster one of the most hated companies in America. Their fees and dominance have angered generations of music fans.
Can artists bypass Ticketmaster?
The short answer is yes, artists can bypass Ticketmaster – but doing so comes with major logistical challenges. Here are some key considerations:
Selling tickets directly
Artists and concert promoters can build their own website platforms to sell tickets directly. Some major acts like Louis CK and Iron Maiden have done this to avoid Ticketmaster fees. The downside is this takes time, money and technical expertise to build a reliable direct sales channel. It also requires handling fraud prevention, customer support and sales reporting capabilities Ticketmaster provides.
Using alternative ticketing platforms
There are some smaller competitors like AXS, Eventbrite or Universe that artists could potentially use instead of Ticketmaster for ticketing services. These platforms tend to have lower fees. However, they don’t have the same breadth of capabilities, marketing reach or exclusive venue deals as Ticketmaster. Very few venues currently have the capability to seamlessly switch ticketing platforms.
Exclusive venue deals
The biggest obstacle is Ticketmaster’s exclusive contracts with major venues and promoters like LiveNation. An artist can’t simply bypass Ticketmaster without getting out of these existing long-term deals. Taylor Swift recently made news by attempting to require venues use Ticketmaster alternatives – but had mixed success trying to override exclusive arrangements.
What options exist for competing with Ticketmaster?
Artists and startups are exploring a number of alternatives to take on Ticketmaster:
Dynamic pricing
Data analytics can now help artists adjust ticket prices in real-time based on demand. Sites like SeatGeek argue this “dynamic pricing” can increase revenue while reducing costs – removing dependence on Ticketmaster’s fees.
Blockchain ticketing
Some blockchain startups like Blockparty and GUTS aim to cut out intermediaries by using crypto tokens and smart contracts for ticket sales. Fans could resell or transfer tickets without high markups. But the technology remains unproven on a large scale.
Artist-owned platforms
The ideal for some artists is to own their entire sales channel – from marketing to final tickets. Companies like Bandwagon directly handle ticketing logistics for acts, providing a turnkey alternative. But they remain relatively small in scale compared to Ticketmaster.
Legal challenges
The Department of Justice allowed the Ticketmaster-LiveNation merger but is now reportedly investigating their dominance. Breaking up these exclusive deals would be a massive shakeup for the industry if trust-busting forces tickets back to a more open market.
Will Ticketmaster retain its dominance?
Despite the backlash, Ticketmaster is likely to remain the primary ticketing option for major concerts and events for the foreseeable future due to:
- Their entrenched exclusive agreements make them unavoidable for big venues.
- They have an advantage in scale, data and capabilities compared to rivals.
- Switching ticketing platforms has major technical, marketing and sales hurdles.
- They can leverage their dominance with LiveNation to bundle services.
- New startups lack resources to truly compete nationwide.
Barring legal intervention or massive technology disruptions, fans will likely be stuck paying Ticketmaster’s fees for major shows. But alternatives may be viable for smaller acts focused on direct fan relationships. Don’t expect the calls of #BreakUpTicketmaster to fade away any time soon.
Conclusion
Ticketmaster’s grip on event ticketing has frustrated generations of consumers. While technological options exist, exclusive deals and entrenched infrastructure make dislodging their dominance difficult. For now, sky-high fees remain the price most fans must pay to see top shows and concerts. But new options like dynamic pricing, blockchain ticketing and legal challenges pose a threat to Ticketmaster’s long-standing stranglehold – even if breaking their exclusivity remains an uphill battle. Direct artist ticketing has promise for some, but tackling the behemoth looks ever more challenging. The live events industry would benefit from more competition, but fans are unlikely to see major changes anytime soon.