Ticketmaster is the dominant ticketing agency in the United States today, but tickets were sold in many different ways before Ticketmaster came to power in the 1980s. Understanding how ticketing worked before Ticketmaster requires looking at the history of live entertainment and events in America.
The Early Days of Ticketing (1800s-Early 1900s)
In the early days of live entertainment in America, there were no standardized systems for selling tickets. In the 1800s, tickets were sold directly at the venue box office on the day of the event. This meant people had to line up and wait to purchase tickets in person. There were no online sales or pre-sales. Sometimes tickets would be sold at other physical ticket offices run by the venue or performance organizers as well.
For very popular events, tickets needed to be rationed out carefully to prevent riots or danger. When the renowned Swedish singer Jenny Lind toured the US in the 1850s,tickets to her shows were auctioned off to the highest bidder.
In some cities like New York, independent ticket brokers and scalpers would buy up tickets for popular events and then resell them at a premium. There was little regulation of these practices. Fights would sometimes break out between brokers trying to buy up the best tickets.
As live entertainment became more popular into the early 1900s, more organizing and infrastructure developed around ticketing. Venues had permanent box offices to handle sales, and some utilized mail orders for remote purchases. Professional ticket printing companies emerged to make official tickets. antes, there were no standardized formats. Tickets could be as simple as index cards or scraps of paper.
The Rise of Local Ticketing Agencies (1900s-1960s)
In major cities, dedicated ticket sales companies started to appear to service venues and theaters. This allowed for more centralized sales through an agency rather than just direct sales at each venue’s box office.
One of the first such companies was the Keith-Albee Ticket Agency in New York, which opened around 1900 and serviced many theaters producing vaudeville shows. The Keith-Albee agency helped theaters sell tickets evenly across performances and brought more organization to the business.
In Chicago, the Schubert Brothers agency opened in 1904 to coordinate ticketing at over a dozen theaters they managed. At its height, it was selling over 12 million tickets per year. Other cities like Philadelphia and Boston had similar centralized agencies emerge.
Many early ticketing agencies focused on handling advance mail orders for tickets. This allowed shows to sell tickets ahead of time before the box office opened. Mail orders were handled through payment by check or money order. They required a lot of manual labor to process orders and mail out tickets.
Local agencies eventually started using phone orders as telephone adoption grew. However, each agency was limited to servicing its particular region and venues. There were no national ticketing chains yet.
The Computerization of Ticketing (1960s-1970s)
In the 1960s and 70s, ticket agencies started using computers to organize sales and inventory. One of the first was New York’s Ticketron system, created by IBM in the early 1960s. Theater tickets were encoded onto punched cards. Customers could go to Ticketron booths around the city to have cards printed with their ticket info.
Other similar computerized systems emerged, like TICKETS in Chicago, BASS in the Bay Area, TICKETLINE in Cleveland, and INTIX in Indiana. The computer systems were still regional, but allowed for more convenient outlet sales in multiple locations around each city.
Computerization also enabled new conveniences like being able to pick your specific seat. Inventory control improved as well. However, these systems required users to go to an outlet for sales – there was no ability to order remotely by phone or mail.
The Ticket Industry Goes National (1976-1980s)
In the 1970s, the major regional ticketing companies started to expand and consolidate into national chains. Companies recognized the opportunity to bundle together ticketing across entertainment venues and sporting events across the country.
Ticketron and Ticketmaster (founded in 1976) emerged as major national players. They started striking deals to sell tickets for major concerts, Broadway shows, pro sports leagues, and more. Venues contracted out their ticketing to these larger agencies.
Having a national footprint allowed Ticketmaster and Ticketron to sell tickets remotely by phone. Customers could call centralized call centers and order tickets around the country. More convenient outlet sales also expanded to major department stores and supermarket chains.
Through acquisitions, mergers, and partnerships, Ticketmaster eventually outpaced and eliminated most competitors. It sold over 100 million tickets by the mid 1980s. While Ticketmaster became dominant, some major venues like Madison Square Garden retained their own in-house ticketing that integrated with the national systems.
The Internet Ticketing Revolution (1990s-2000s)
The rise of the internet in the 1990s and 2000s transformed ticketing once again. Ticketmaster and other agencies quickly moved to introduce web sales. Customers could now purchase tickets online from anywhere.
Online ticketing also enabled interactive seat maps that allowed fans to pick their exact seat. Secure digital ticket delivery emerged so tickets could be downloaded to customers’ devices.
The internet drove rapid growth, leading to over 500 million tickets sold by Ticketmaster alone by 2008. It also opened up more opportunities for secondary market resellers like StubHub that functioned as online ticket exchanges.
Today, Ticketmaster sells over 485 million tickets per year. They can handle up to 200,000 tickets per minute during high demand on-sales. The digital transition now allows fans around the world to easily buy tickets online to top live events.
Key Developments
Some key developments as ticketing evolved in America:
1800s | – Venue box office sales only |
Early 1900s | – Local ticket agencies emerge in major cities |
1960s/70s | – Computerized regional ticketing systems |
1976 | – Ticketmaster founded, begins national expansion |
1980s | – Ticketmaster becomes dominant national agency |
1990s | – Internet ticketing transforms industry |
Conclusion
Ticketing has evolved from disjointed box office sales in the 1800s to the high-tech systems of Ticketmaster and other agencies today. Regional ticketing agencies first brought central organization within major cities in the early 1900s. Computerization in the 1960s enabled wider outlet sales and seating selection.
The national consolidation of the industry in the 1970s and 80s through Ticketmaster and others allowed for large-scale coordination of sales and remote purchases. Finally, the internet revolutionized ticketing once again in the 90s and 2000s by enabling fully online global sales.
While Ticketmaster enjoys a dominant position today, the ticketing landscape continues to change and adapt with new technology. Mobile ticketing, dynamic pricing, and increased competition from mobile-first startups show the industry is still innovating. Understanding the long evolution of ticketing in America provides perspective on how live events sales could continue transforming in the future.