Before Ticketmaster, the dominant ticketing company was Ticketron. Founded in New York City in the 1960s, Ticketron pioneered the use of computerized ticketing systems and dominated the live event ticketing industry in the 1970s and 1980s. However, in the late 1980s, Ticketmaster emerged as a rival and eventually overtook Ticketron to become the largest ticketing service provider in the world.
The Early Days of Ticketron
Ticketron was founded in New York City in the mid-1960s by computer engineers Nathan Block and Albert Leffler. They recognized the potential for computer technology to modernize and streamline the ticketing process. At the time, most ticketing was done manually through box office sales. This was inefficient, prone to errors, and made it difficult to track inventory and sales data.
Ticketron’s new computerized system allowed clients like sports teams and concert venues to manage their ticket inventory and sales centrally. The system printed ticket stock with ticket details and seat assignments. It also generated sales reports and other data to help clients set prices and manage operations. Ticketron leased these newfangled mainframe computer systems to clients and charged a per-ticket service fee.
Throughout the 1970s, Ticketron expanded rapidly as performing arts centers, stadiums, theaters, and other venues adopted their systems. By the late 1970s, Ticketron had secured over 80% market share of major entertainment events ticketing. It had also expanded internationally, especially in Australia. For most major concerts and sporting events, if you wanted to get tickets without going directly to the box office, you had to go through Ticketron.
The Rise and Fall of Ticketron
Ticketron’s dominance began to crack in the 1980s with the emergence of Ticketmaster. Founded in 1976 in Phoenix, Ticketmaster aimed to compete directly with Ticketron by offering superior technology and service. In particular, Ticketmaster focused on making tickets easier to obtain through retail outlets and phone centers.
Throughout the 1980s, Ticketron and Ticketmaster battled fiercely for market share. While Ticketron still held sway with many major venues, Ticketmaster aggressively courted clients by offering state-of-the-art inventory management tools, lower service fees, and wider retail distribution. They also built partnerships with brands like MTV to reach younger audiences.
A major blow came in 1989, when Ticketron’s largest customer, Billboard Music Awards promoter Bill Graham, switched his business to Ticketmaster after a falling out over service fees. Within a year, most other major venues followed suit. Unable to compete with Ticketmaster’s momentum, Ticketron’s parent company Control Data sold the company to Ticketmaster in 1991 for $18 million.
For a time, Ticketmaster maintained the Ticketron brand and infrastructure as a secondary ticketing service. But by the mid-1990s, the Ticketron name and systems were retired completely in favor of Ticketmaster’s model. After 30+ years of dominance, Ticketron became a distant memory, overtaken by its hungry young rival.
The Legacy of Ticketron
While Ticketron eventually lost its ticketing empire, the company played an important role in pioneering event ticketing technology. Some of Ticketron’s major innovations and impacts include:
- First major centrally computerized ticketing system
- Introduction of an alternative to manual box office sales
- Ability to sell tickets remotely via retail outlets and phone centers
- Sophisticated inventory management and sales reporting data
- Established the per-ticket service fee model still used today
- Proved viability of non-box office distribution at scale
Ticketron also trained a generation of ticketing professionals and set the stage for the modern event ticketing industry. Although Ticketmaster has dominated for the past 30 years, there are still echoes of Ticketron in everything from layout of tickets to structure of sales reports. The pioneering company may have lost out to its rival in the end, but it kickstarted an industry that remains vital today.
Conclusion
For over 20 years, Ticketron pioneered and dominated computerized event ticketing. Its centralized systems and remote sales capabilities transformed a previously manual process and established standards still followed today. Although it was eventually bested by rival Ticketmaster, Ticketron’s innovation and influence can still be felt across the industry it helped create.
Key Points
- Ticketron was the major event ticketing service from the 1960s through 1980s.
- They introduced computerized inventory and sales systems adopted widely across the industry.
- In the late 1980s, rival Ticketmaster overtook Ticketron with superior technology and service.
- Ticketron’s legacy remains in shaping the modern ticketing landscape.