Before the rise of Ticketmaster in the late 1970s, buying concert tickets looked very different than it does today. In the early days of rock and roll in the 1950s and 60s, there was no centralized ticketing system. Fans had to rely on more local, individualized methods to get tickets to see their favorite musicians perform live. Over time, as rock music grew more popular, the process became more complex. By the 1970s, more formal systems emerged to handle ticketing for larger arena and stadium shows. However, these systems were still regional or tour-specific. It wasn’t until Ticketmaster centralized ticketing on a national scale that the process truly modernized.
Let’s take a closer look at how people bought concert tickets in the pre-Ticketmaster era:
Getting Tickets in the 1950s and 60s
In the early days of rock music, concerts were much smaller and often held in bars, clubs, theaters, or ballrooms. This meant tickets did not need to be sold far in advance. Fans could simply buy tickets at the venue on the day of the show. Some of the main ways tickets were sold:
- Venue box office: Fans lined up at the box office on the day of show to purchase tickets. First come, first served.
- Mail or phone orders: Some venues allowed fans to call or mail in ticket requests. Mail orders required mailing a check or money order.
- Ticket brokers: Third party brokers bought and resold tickets, though this was not yet a common practice.
- Promoters: Local concert promoters often handled their own ticketing and promotion.
Prices were low, usually just a dollar or two for general admission. Major acts like The Beatles or The Rolling Stones drew big crowds, but nothing like the arena and stadium tours of the 70s and beyond. Overall, buying tickets remained simple, though lines could still get long for hot shows. Fans had to act fast once tickets went on sale.
The Rise of Rock Venues in the 1970s
As rock music exploded in popularity in the late 1960s, concerts shifted to bigger venues like theaters, amphitheaters, and arenas. This is when more robust ticketing systems started to emerge:
- In-house ticketing: Large venues began selling tickets in-house through box offices and phone orders. Many used basic computer systems to track inventory.
- Mail order: Fans could request tickets by mail weeks in advance using mail order forms. Venues held orders until tickets went on sale.
- Third party vendors: Regional ticket agencies like Ticketron started selling tickets for multiple venues and events.
- Tour-specific ticketing: Some bands and promoters handled their own ticketing and promotion.
Prices rose as shows moved to bigger buildings. The average ticket cost $3-6 for general admission. Reserved seats could reach $15 for the biggest acts. With no national ticketing system, process and pricing varied between venues and tours. Fans often had to scramble between various mail orders, in-house sales, and regional ticket vendors.
The Rise of Arena Rock in the 1970s
The 1970s saw rock spectacle reach new heights with the advent of arena rock and nationwide stadium tours. As these massive tours became more common, the DIY ticketing infrastructure began to strain. With fan demand skyrocketing, more robust systems were needed to sell tickets fairly and efficiently. The first modern ticketing services emerged:
- Computer Reservation Systems (CRS): Airlines had already developed CRS technology to handle reservations. This allowed real-time tracking of ticket inventory across sites. Concert promoters adapted these systems for events.
- Exclusive contracts: Venues and promoters signed exclusive deals with specific ticketing services to handle all their inventory, creating early roots of vertical integration in the industry.
- National call centers: Regional call centers consolidated into national 800 number systems that could handle heavy call volume when tickets went on sale.
Ticketron and Ticketmaster (formed in 1976) became major national ticketing brands. Concert tickets averaged $7.50 for general admission and up to $20 for the best reserved seats. While selection and convenience improved, some criticized the exclusive deals that allowed ticketing companies to lock up much of the inventory.
How People Actually Bought Concert Tickets
Let’s walk through a typical process of buying concert tickets step-by-step before the rise of Ticketmaster:
Step 1: Get Information about the Concert
Without the internet, fans learned about concerts from:
- Radio announcements
- Print ads in newspapers and magazines
- Venue marquees and billboards
- Word of mouth
- Flyers at local record stores
People had to actively seek out concert info to learn when and where tickets were being sold. Music publications like Rolling Stone also ran concert ads and tour news.
Step 2: Find Out When Tickets Go On Sale
Once you heard about a concert, the next step was tracking down when tickets went on sale. Options included:
- Call the venue box office and ask.
- Call ticket vendors and ask.
- Check print ads in local newspapers.
- Look for posted flyers at record stores.
- Tune into the radio station sponsoring the concert.
Timing mattered since popular shows sold out quickly. Fans asked around to collect information on sales dates.
Step 3: Choose Your Purchasing Method
With tickets about to go on sale, fans chose from a range of purchasing options:
- Wait in line at the box office on the day of sale.
- Enter a mail order request in advance.
- Call the box office or ticket vendor right when tickets went on sale.
- Use a ticket broker or scalper to secure hard-to-get tickets.
Each option had pros and cons. Mail orders were more convenient but had no guarantee. Lines took effort but you walked away with tickets. Overall, getting tickets often took luck and perseverance.
Step 4: Buy the Tickets
Fans used their chosen method to purchase tickets:
- Box Office Line: Diehard fans camped out overnight to get the best spots. You waited in line for hours, and hopefully made it to the front before sell out. First come, first served.
- Mail Order: Mailed a money order and order form weeks in advance. Waited patiently for tickets to arrive in the mail, with no idea if your order was filled until envelopes were mailed out.
- Phone Sales: Called right at the moment tickets went on sale. Sat through busy signals for ages until getting through to an operator. Hoped not to get disconnected before completing the order.
- Ticket Brokers: Paid a premium to shady ticket brokers to secure hot tickets. Dealings were informal and risky, but often the only way to get seats for the biggest acts. You paid up front and just hoped the broker delivered actual tickets.
Getting through the purchasing process took persistence. But scoring those tickets made all the effort worthwhile.
Step 5: Wait for Your Tickets to Arrive
After securing tickets, there was still waiting involved:
- Box office purchases got tickets on the spot.
- Mail orders took weeks to process and deliver via postal mail.
- Broker tickets may or may not arrive, leaving you sweating it out.
Mail orders in particular created stress. With no way to track the status, you had to patiently wait and hope tickets showed up one day in your mailbox.
The Ticketing Landscape Before Ticketmaster
While the exact ticketing process evolved over time, some defining traits shaped the pre-Ticketmaster era:
Fragmented and Regional Systems
Each venue, promoter, and tour had autonomy over its own ticketing and promotion. There was no centralized system. Ticketron made some progress in networking regional vendors, but most operations remained local.
Less Selection and Availability
With no aggregated ticket inventory, fans had fewer options to purchase tickets. Buying was limited to what each individual box office, broker, or promoter offered in your specific region. Score the biggest shows often took luck.
Difficult to Track Sales Dates
No single source provided concert announcements, on-sale dates, and ticket availability. Fans had to hunt across radio, print ads, flyers, calling venues, etc. Tracking on-sale dates took real work.
Few Protections from Scalping and Scams
Shady ticket brokers and scalpers ran rampant. Fake tickets and price gouging were common with no oversight. Desperate fans got scammed buying hot tickets on the secondary market.
Less Fair Access to Tickets
First come, first served at box offices favored those who lived nearby or had flexible schedules. Informal queues were common, allowing line cutters to jump the line. Limited communication left many fans in the dark on when tickets went on sale.
Harder to Reach Customer Service
Each vendor had separate customer service. No unified support for problems or questions. Refunds and exchanges were near impossible in many cases. Fans had to complain locally instead of to a central company.
More Price Variations
With venues and promoters setting individual pricing, prices fluctuated widely. Two similar shows could have $5 or $15 tickets depending on the promoter. Premium shows saw high markups. No pricing standards existed across the industry.
The Rise of Ticketmaster
Ticketmaster aimed to solve many of the problems that plagued ticketing. It began from humble roots in Phoenix in 1976 as a computerized ticket inventory system. The founders wanted to bring high-tech efficiencies to the antiquated ticket market. Their innovations made Ticketmaster the dominant player by the 1980s:
- National call center network – Huge call centers could handle massive call volumes as tickets went on sale for arena tours.
- Real-time inventory tracking – Computer systems linked box office sales in real-time across sites to provide an accurate count of remaining tickets.
- Web of exclusive promoter contracts – Locking up exclusive deals with major venues and promoters gave Ticketmaster control over most ticket inventory.
- Online ticket sales – Early adoption of the web allowed online ticket sales by the mid 1990s.
- UPS partnerships – Deal with UPS allowed tracking numbers for all mail order tickets.
By uniting inventory across venues and ticketing under one roof, Ticketmaster created a national infrastructure for concert ticketing. It provided improved access to tickets while capturing huge fees in the process. For better or worse, it signaled the end of the fragmented, regional ticketing era.
The Good and Bad of Ticketmaster
Ticketmaster revolutionized the business. But its dominance and service fees also drew controversy:
Benefits
- Easier access to tickets nationally for more shows.
- Standardized on-sale dates across venues.
- Real-time view of remaining ticket availability.
- Processing and delivery efficiencies from volume.
- Refunds and exchanges through a central provider.
Criticisms
- Critics argued Ticketmaster stifled competition through exclusive deals.
- High services fees increased prices, earning Ticketmaster billions.
- Prevented venues from setting their own ticketing policies.
- Made tickets harder to get for high demand shows by funneling sales through limited pipelines.
- Customer service suffers from monopoly size.
While Ticketmaster solved problems for fans, it also drew antitrust lawsuits over its business practices. Regardless, it became the ticket giant we know today.
Conclusion
Buying concert tickets before Ticketmaster required luck, perseverance, and local legwork. Fans had limited avenues to track down tickets, often involving waiting in long lines or mail ordering far in advance. Shady brokers thrived due to lack of oversight. Ticketmaster certainly drove up fees and profit, but it modernized a system stuck in the stone ages. For better or worse, they made getting concert tickets immensely easier through aggregation, technology, and improved delivery infrastructure. They shifted power from local promoters to global corporate ticketing. The costs of convenience and efficiency came through their domination of the industry for decades. Buying concert tickets before Ticketmaster was difficult for fans but provided local control. After Ticketmaster, access improved at the cost of handing a monopoly total control. Their rise forged the modern ticketing era we know today.