LIVE NATION: CONCERT PROMOTER IS TAKING OVER ITS TICKET SALES

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By Joan Anderman, The Boston Globe

Published: January 7, 2009

Entertainment powerhouse Live Nation has become even more powerful. The live music promoter has ended its longstanding relationship with Ticketmaster and is launching its own in-house ticketing service, which means concertgoers will be surfing a new website, dialing a different phone number, and visiting Blockbuster stores to buy tickets to many shows.

For Live Nation, taking ticketing in-house means gaining control over a coveted revenue stream in a struggling industry; while CD sales continue to plunge, the global concert business grew by 13 percent this year. It also gives Live Nation a more direct connection with fans as the company expands from concert promoter to full-service entertainment force, with superstars like Madonna, Jay-Z, and Shakira signed to 360 degree deals that involve CD sales, merchandising, and concert tickets.

What's in it for fans? Now that Live Nation and Ticketmaster are becoming rivals, some have floated the possibility that competition will drive ticket prices and extraneous service charges down. Live Nation has no firm plans to lower either, according to Nathan Hubbard, CEO of Live Nation Ticketing, but consumers can expect greater transparency and convenience.

”Let's get over this false notion that the fan pays $75 for a ticket and then $25 in fees,” says Hubbard. ”The fan looks at it as a $100 transaction, so let's present it that way. We're moving to a single fee upfront, and if the experience is worth that price the fan will decide.”

In other words, service charges will appear as one lump sum rather than as a series of variable fees. And in a long-overdue reversal of what many consider the most egregious extra, Live Nation ticket buyers won't be charged to print their tickets at home.

Blockbuster will be the exclusive retail outlet for Live Nation Ticketing, with 500 stores nationwide. Special blocks of seats will be available at stores during the first four hours of sales, leveling the purchasing field for retail customers who are often squeezed out by online customers. While physical sales make up only 10 percent of overall ticket sales, Hubbard says that partnering with Blockbuster makes sense on a number of levels.

”First and foremost, the fan who buys their tickets ((in stores)) overlaps with consumers who rent DVDs offline. The stores are located where people live. And there are opportunities to creatively promote our artists and their products to people who come through those turnstiles.”

There may be more changes down the line, as Live Nation considers the prospect of instituting a sliding scale for service charges, with the priciest seats commanding higher fees, and building a broader ticket distribution network, possibly to include social networking sites and mobile devices.