Front Gate Tickets is a ticketing company that has a business relationship with Ticketmaster. While Front Gate Tickets operates independently, they utilize Ticketmaster’s ticketing platforms and services to sell tickets to events. So in that sense, Front Gate Tickets is associated with Ticketmaster in terms of ticketing operations and technology.
What is Front Gate Tickets?
Front Gate Tickets is a ticketing solutions provider based in Austin, Texas that specializes in large-scale live entertainment events. The company was founded in 2008 by Charlton Roberts as an independent ticketing platform to provide tailored services to specific live event clients. Some of the major events that Front Gate Tickets sells tickets for include music festivals like Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits, and Lollapalooza.
In addition to partnering with promoters and festival organizers, Front Gate Tickets also works closely with venues, theaters, performing arts centers, and other entities to handle their ticketing needs. The company offers clients consulting services, data analytics, marketing tools, fraud prevention, and other resources to optimize the ticket buying experience.
Front Gate Tickets’ relationship with Ticketmaster
In 2014, Front Gate Tickets was acquired by Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster is the largest primary ticket outlet in the world and the dominant ticketing service for major concerts, sporting events, and live entertainment. Even though Front Gate Tickets operates as a separate brand after the acquisition, it now has access to Ticketmaster’s technology, platforms, and services.
Specifically, Front Gate Tickets leverages Ticketmaster’s API (application programming interface) and ticketing engine to power its operations. The Ticketmaster API allows Front Gate Tickets to integrate Ticketmaster’s inventory system, checkout flows, delivery methods, and client data tools into its own platform and apps. So when you buy a ticket to an event through Front Gate Tickets, the actual ticket processing is handled through Ticketmaster’s systems.
Key ways Front Gate Tickets relies on Ticketmaster:
- Inventory management – Front Gate Tickets pulls the available ticket inventory for events directly from Ticketmaster’s database.
- Shopping cart/checkout – The checkout process when purchasing tickets on Front Gate Tickets goes through Ticketmaster to complete the transactions.
- Ticket delivery – Tickets bought via Front Gate are delivered through Ticketmaster’s delivery systems, whether via mobile ticket, print-at-home, or mail.
- Client data/analytics – Front Gate Tickets uses Ticketmaster’s data tools to analyze sales patterns, demand forecasting, and consumer behavior.
So in summary, Front Gate Tickets leverages Ticketmaster’s API, ticketing engine, and various services to actually handle the ticket sales process on its platform, even though Front Gate Tickets operates as its own brand.
Differences between Front Gate Tickets and Ticketmaster
Despite the close relationship, there are some key differences between Front Gate Tickets and Ticketmaster:
Front Gate Tickets | Ticketmaster |
---|---|
Specializes in ticketing for live entertainment events like music festivals, conferences, and arts events. | Provides ticketing services for a huge range of events including sports, concerts, theater, family shows, etc. |
Caters specifically to organizers of large-scale events and festivals. | Works with a diverse client base including venues, promoters, sports leagues, theater companies, etc. |
Operates as an independent brand and company even though owned by Ticketmaster. | Ticketmaster is one of the leading major ticketing companies along with competitors like AXS and SeatGeek. |
Main headquarters located in Austin, Texas. | Headquartered in Beverly Hills, California and a division of Live Nation Entertainment. |
So in summary:
- Front Gate Tickets specializes in large-scale events and festivals.
- Ticketmaster has a wider reach across sports, concerts, theater, and other events.
- Front Gate Tickets positions itself as a separate brand from Ticketmaster.
- Ticketmaster is a major international ticketing company under Live Nation.
Purchasing event tickets through Front Gate Tickets
If you are looking to buy tickets for a music festival, conference, fair, or other event that uses Front Gate Tickets, the process will work as follows:
- Find your event on the Front Gate Tickets website or mobile app and select your desired ticket type/options.
- Enter your contact information and payment details into Front Gate’s checkout system.
- Your ticket purchase will be processed using Ticketmaster’s ticketing engine and inventory tools.
- Receive your tickets via the delivery method you selected at checkout (mobile, print-at-home, mail, etc.)
- If you need support, contact Front Gate Tickets customer service – do not contact Ticketmaster as they will not have record of the Front Gate Tickets purchase.
A few key things to note when purchasing through Front Gate Tickets:
- Your billing statement will show a charge from Front Gate Tickets, not Ticketmaster.
- If you want to sell or exchange tickets, you must do so through Front Gate Tickets.
- Front Gate Tickets sets the ticket prices and fees, not Ticketmaster.
Conclusion
In summary, Front Gate Tickets leverages Ticketmaster’s inventory system, checkout processes, and delivery methods to sell event tickets on its platform. So Front Gate Tickets is associated with Ticketmaster in that respect. However, Front Gate Tickets is an independent brand that specializes in large events and festivals. Purchasing tickets through Front Gate Tickets will provide access to events using Ticketmaster’s ticketing engine in the background.