TixTrack, the popular online ticket marketplace, was recently acquired in a major deal that shook up the event ticketing industry. TixTrack provided a platform for buyers and sellers to trade tickets for concerts, sports events, theater shows, and more. The company had seen rapid growth since its founding in 2012, becoming one of the largest secondary ticket marketplaces in just a few years. However, despite TixTrack’s success, the competitive landscape of the ticketing world led the company to eventually be bought out.
The Rise of TixTrack
TixTrack was founded in 2012 by two college friends, Alex Martin and Tyler Jones, who saw an opportunity in the secondary ticket market. They sought to create a user-friendly online marketplace for ticket holders to resell unwanted tickets and for buyers to purchase tickets sometimes at lower prices than primary sites.
The founders’ timing was ideal, as the secondary ticket market was growing rapidly, fueled by increasing ticket prices and the convenience of online ticket transactions. TixTrack’s platform provided an easy way for everyday people to buy and sell tickets, along with key features like integrated digital ticketing to prevent fraud.
Within two years of its launch, TixTrack was already processing over $50 million in ticket sales annually. By 2015, that figure had grown to $125 million as the site attracted hundreds of thousands of monthly users. TixTrack took a small commission on all ticket sales, allowing it to quickly become profitable.
Competitive Pressures
While TixTrack saw amazing early growth, the competitive landscape in the ticket resale market was heating up. StubHub had been acquired by eBay back in 2007, providing the resources for it to become a ticketing giant. Ticketmaster also rolled out its own resale site, TradeDesk, in 2012, leveraging its primary ticket inventory.
With these larger rivals competing for market share, TixTrack would need to scale up significantly to maintain its growth trajectory. By 2016, traffic growth was starting to slow on TixTrack as competitors lured users with aggressive promotions and exclusive ticket inventory.
TixTrack attempted to keep pace by investing heavily in marketing and product development. It struck advertising deals with major sports teams and launched an upgraded mobile app. However, the efforts proved costly, cutting into TixTrack’s once-healthy profit margins.
Facing an uncertain future, TixTrack’s founders began having acquisition talks with several players in the ticketing industry.
The Acquisition by TicketFly
In October 2016, TixTrack announced it had been acquired by TicketFly for $275 million in cash and stock. TicketFly was a smaller but fast-growing ticketing service focused mainly on live music events. By acquiring TixTrack, TicketFly gained an immediate expansion of its secondary ticket resale capabilities and user base.
TicketFly’s Strategy
TicketFly had been founded in 2008 with the aim of using technology to improve event promotion and ticketing. It initially focused on contracts with small music venues and festivals. But it saw the potential to expand into sports and arts events by acquiring TixTrack.
The deal was backed by TicketFly’s majority owner, Pandora Media. Pandora saw it as a strategic move to create a more comprehensive ticketing service. By combining TicketFly’s strength in primary event ticketing with TixTrack’s resale marketplace, the combined business could offer clients a full-service platform.
The acquisition aligned with TicketFly’s broader goals of bulking up its operations to compete with giants like LiveNation and Ticketmaster. TixTrack provided an instant infusion of technology, users, and talent to accelerate TicketFly’s growth.
Benefits for TixTrack
On TixTrack’s side, the TicketFly acquisition provided a lifeline after its challenges competing independently in a crowded market. Becoming part of TicketFly offered several advantages:
– Access to more resources and capital for technology, marketing, and expansion initiatives.
– Opportunities for growth by tapping into TicketFly’s existing music venue and festival clients.
– Support from a larger parent company in Pandora Media.
– Ability to leverage TicketFly’s strengths in primary ticketing.
By joining TicketFly, the TixTrack founders were able to ensure the survival and continued growth of the business they had built. While no longer independent, access to TicketFly’s greater scale helped resuscitate TixTrack’s fortunes.
Integrating the Two Companies
Following the buyout, work immediately began on integrating TixTrack into TicketFly’s operations. TicketFly CEO Andrew Dreskin took over as CEO of the combined business. But TixTrack’s founders were retained in management roles, with Alex Martin becoming Chief Technical Officer.
Early Growing Pains
Blending together two fast-paced ticketing companies proved challenging from a technical and cultural standpoint. In early 2017, TixTrack’s site experienced intermittent outages during peak sales times as its infrastructure was overhauled. Some of TixTrack’s customer service staff also chose to leave during the transition.
Despite these hiccups, TicketFly’s leadership remained bullish on the deal. They felt the disruptions were temporary adjustment pains as the two platforms were merged. Pandora also reaffirmed its support, providing $50 million in additional funding to accelerate the integration process.
Integration Milestones
By mid-2017, major milestones were being hit in combining operations:
– TixTrack’s sales inventory was fully integrated into TicketFly’s system.
– TixTrack’s mobile app was phased out and replaced with TicketFly’s upgraded app.
– Customer service teams were consolidated and strengthened.
– Marketing efforts were aligned under joint branding as “TicketFly featuring TixTrack.”
– Pandora user data was leveraged to enhance ticket recommendations and targeting.
By 2018, the assimilation of TixTrack into TicketFly’s ecosystem was largely complete. The joint business was now positioned to make a run at challenging the top players in ticketing. TixTrack’s founders also seemed reassured by the renewed stability and resources.
Ongoing Brand Integration
In 2019, TicketFly announced that TixTrack would be rebranded and marketed simply as TicketFly Resale. The TixTrack name had strong brand equity, but the company decided to consolidate operations under the TicketFly banner.
The TixTrack URL now redirects to TicketFly Resale. However, TixTrack’s old website and app design remains in use, having been adopted as the template for TicketFly. This preserves much of the look and feel of the TixTrack platform that tens of thousands of buyers and sellers were accustomed to.
While the TixTrack name has been retired, the acquisition successfully saved and integrated the technology, people, and processes that made TixTrack a trailblazing startup. Both buyers and sellers can still enjoy the marketplace experience that TixTrack pioneered.
The Impact on the Ticketing Industry
The acquisition of TixTrack by TicketFly had ripple effects across the event ticketing landscape. Some of the notable impacts include:
More Competition for StubHub and Ticketmaster
By combining forces, TicketFly and TixTrack created a stronger rival to industry giants like StubHub and Ticketmaster. The integrated company brings together technology and inventory to compete for more ticket sales and venue clients.
While still smaller, TicketFly’s ticketing business has expanded enough post-acquisition to pressure the incumbents. Its technology in some ways outpaces the larger competitors, introducing innovation to the market.
Greater Focus on Mobile and User Experience
A key aspect of TixTrack’s early success was its well-designed mobile apps and website. Keeping TixTrack’s UX DNA helped prod the entire industry to optimize better for mobile users.
Other ticketing players realized they needed to elevate their mobile presence and user experience. Post-acquisition, Ticketmaster has made its apps and site far more mobile-friendly. StubHub has also invested more in mobile functionality.
More Strategic Acquisitions
The TixTrack purchase also likely inspired other strategic acquisitions aimed at gaining share in ticketing:
– In 2017, StubHub acquired secondary ticket vendor Ticketbis to boost its international resale operations.
– In 2019, StubHub was itself acquired for $4.05 billion by Swiss-based Viagogo.
– Ticketmaster has purchased secondary ticket market companies like TicketsNow and GetMeIn to boost its resale capabilities.
The various deals demonstrate how consolidating through acquisitions has become key for ticketing companies seeking scale and market power. TixTrack helped kick off the trend.
Pressure for Lower Fees
With more intense competition, the major ticketing platforms have been forced to restrain their fees somewhat to attract buyers and sellers.
TixTrack’s low fees were always a differentiation point from StubHub and Ticketmaster. Maintaining that fee structure has compelled the larger players to offer more competitive pricing.
While ticketing fees are still high, the cost is slightly less onerous than it could have been without the presence of TixTrack and TicketFly. Their combined force helps counterbalance the leaders’ pricing power.
Conclusion
The acquisition of TixTrack marked a notable shift in the event ticketing landscape. The once-rising startup found itself struggling to compete with more established rivals. Joining forces with TicketFly gave TixTrack renewed strength and viability.
For TicketFly, absorbing TixTrack’s talent and technology enabled its evolution into a more prominent player. Though no longer independent, TixTrack’s spirit and innovation lives on through its acquirer. And concert, sports, and theater fans continue benefiting from the thriving secondary ticket marketplace that TixTrack helped create.