Ticketmaster is the dominant primary ticketing company in the live entertainment industry. Founded in 1976, it sells tickets for concert, sports, and theater events on behalf of event organizers worldwide. Ticketmaster has faced criticism over the years for its fees and market control, leading to calls for more competition in the ticketing industry. There are several companies that aim to compete with Ticketmaster.
Major Competitors
AXS
AXS is one of Ticketmaster’s biggest competitors in the primary ticketing market. AXS was launched in 2011 by AEG, one of the largest event promoters in the world. AXS sells tickets for AEG’s venues and events as well as for third-party venues and promoters. It has ticketing deals with over 300 venues and promoters globally. Some major venues that use AXS include the Staples Center and O2 Arena.
Eventbrite
Eventbrite is an online ticketing and event management platform founded in 2006. In addition to primary ticket sales, Eventbrite offers tools for event organizers to manage registrations, promote events, and analyze data. Eventbrite tends to focus on smaller music venues, independent promoters, community events, and niche festivals. It has sold over 500 million tickets in over 190 countries.
See Tickets
See Tickets is a UK-based ticket seller that competes with Ticketmaster in Britain and Ireland. It was founded in 2008 and later acquired by Vivendi Group. See Tickets is the official ticket partner for major venues like Wembley Stadium and the O2 Arena in London. It also sells tickets for festivals like Creamfields and community events.
Ebay
Ebay Classifieds Group includes the StubHub resale marketplace. StubHub competes indirectly with Ticketmaster by providing a secondary market for ticket sales. StubHub has exclusive secondary ticketing partnerships with some major sports teams and leagues. It provides Ticketmaster with significant competition in the secondary ticket market.
Newer Competitors
SeatGeek
SeatGeek is a mobile-focused ticket marketplace founded in 2009. It enables users to buy and sell primary and secondary tickets to sports, concert, and theater events. SeatGeek uses an interactive seat map display and does not charge fees above the ticket face value. It has primary ticketing partnerships with the Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints, and Brooklyn Nets.
ATOM Tickets
ATOM Tickets is a mobile-based primary ticketing platform created in 2016 through a partnership between cinema advertising company National CineMedia (NCM) and live event ticketer Spectra. ATOM offers fee-free ticketing on its mobile app and website for movie theaters, live entertainment, and more.
TicketNetwork
TicketNetwork is a secondary ticket marketplace that allows buyers and sellers to trade tickets for sold out events. Founded in 2002, it competes with StubHub in the secondary ticket resale market online. TicketNetwork has faced some controversy around speculative ticket selling and price gouging.
Ticketfly
Ticketfly was a primary and secondary ticket market acquired by Eventbrite in 2017. Before being purchased, Ticketfly sold over 60 million tickets competing directly with Ticketmaster for concert venues and promoters. Eventbrite gained Ticketfly’s key partnerships with music festivals and venues.
How They Compete with Ticketmaster
Company | Competitive Advantages |
---|---|
AXS | Partnerships with major venues, Promoted by event promoter AEG |
Eventbrite | Lower fees, Tools for organizers, Strong niche presence |
SeeTickets | Official partner for top UK venues, No booking fees |
StubHub | Large secondary ticket marketplace, Sports league deals |
SeatGeek | Mobile-focused, Interactive maps, Primary partnerships |
ATOM Tickets | Mobile ticketing, Fee-free model |
TicketNetwork | Large secondary ticket inventory |
Ticketfly | Lower fees than Ticketmaster, Relationships with venues |
Lower Fees
One of the biggest complaints against Ticketmaster is its high fees, often adding 25-30% to the base ticket price. Many competitors aim to differentiate themselves by offering lower or no ticketing fees. Eventbrite, SeeTickets, and ATOM Tickets market themselves as more affordable alternatives.
Direct Venue & Promoter Relationships
Several of Ticketmaster’s challengers have established direct partnerships with major event venues, sports teams, and entertainment promoters. These exclusive relationships allow them to sell primary tickets for top venues and festivals. AXS, SeeTickets, SeatGeek, and Ticketfly have used this strategy to take business from Ticketmaster.
Innovative Technology
Newer competitors have focused on mobile ticketing and other technological innovations to improve the ticket buying experience. ATOM Tickets and SeatGeek offer fee-free ticketing through their mobile apps. SeatGeek and StubHub provide interactive seat mapping technology. These features aim to differentiate them from Ticketmaster.
Secondary Ticket Marketplaces
StubHub and TicketNetwork allow buyers to purchase tickets resold by other fans on a secondary exchange. For high demand events with limited primary tickets, these secondary marketplaces offer Ticketmaster competition. However, some also accuse them of enabling ticket scalping.
Challenges Facing Competitors
While these companies have made inroads competing with Ticketmaster, there are still significant barriers they face:
Established Ticketing Agreements
Ticketmaster has maintained long-term exclusive contracts with many major venues, sports franchises, and entertainment promoters. These existing deals make it hard for competitors to take away their ticketing rights.
Consumer Habits
Ticketmaster benefits from strong brand recognition and consumer ticketing habits. Many ticket buyers start their search on Ticketmaster by default due to its dominant market position.
Economies of Scale
Ticketmaster’s large size provides economies of scale in areas like technology, operations, and marketing. This makes it challenging for smaller ticketing companies to compete on costs.
Invested Resources
As a division of Live Nation, Ticketmaster has the financial backing and resources of the world’s largest live entertainment company. Competitors must scramble to match its investments in R&D, sales, and promotions.
Conclusion
While Ticketmaster retains its commanding market position, competitors like AXS, SeatGeek, and Eventbrite have found success in niche areas of the live entertainment ticketing industry. As consumers demand more choices and transparency around fees, these alternatives should continue making small dents in Ticketmaster’s control. However, Ticketmaster’s entrenched venue contracts, brand dominance, operational scale, and corporate resources remain significant advantages over its challengers in the primary and secondary ticket sales market.