Archive for September, 2007
Fans beaten to seats through high-tech back door
By DAVID HAYES
Tuesday, 25 Sep, 2007
“RMG offered online software and technical advice on computer hardware, high-speed Internet equipment and other tools to enable me to quickly enter Ticketmaster’s Web site and to obtain a large number of tickets in a short period of time.”
“In the high-tech world of computer security, RMG is allegedly using automated software programs, called bots, to quickly enter Ticketmaster’s system and seek and purchase tickets.” MORE DETAIL >>
30 September, 2007 at 8:54 pm Tim Roberts ARTS Australia 2 comments
Twisted industry makes hot tickets hard to get
By DAVID HAYES and STEVE PAUL
22 September 2007
“The simple act of buying a ticket to a concert has become so convoluted, so twisted by competing economic interests, critics contend that the average music fan is being forced to become his own ticket broker.“
““Up to 80 percent” of online ticket requests for some events come from a single Ohio software company and the customers who pay for its services, according to a lawsuit filed last month by Ticketmaster in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.” “Ticketmaster alleges that RMG Technologies developed an automated system to allow ticket brokers to “cut in line in front of human consumers to buy tickets,” according to Kevin McLain, a security specialist for Ticketmaster.” “Ticketmaster contends RMG’s automated system was used to purchase at least 65,800 tickets — and perhaps many more — in the first seven months of 2007 alone.” MORE DETAIL >>
25 September, 2007 at 5:33 pm Tim Roberts ARTS Australia Leave a comment
Live Nation moving toward ticketing
By Steven Zeitchik
19 September 2007
Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino says they have “found some great options” that could allow it to get into the ticket biz dominated by Barry Diller‘s Ticketmaster. “Rapino offered another bit of logic for expanding beyond the events biz. “The middle man has gotten squeezed,” he said, referring to the difficulty of attracting consumers to concerts on the one hand, while artists, on the other hand, want more of a cut.” “The question is, How do we extend our model?” MORE DETAIL >>
24 September, 2007 at 7:34 pm Tim Roberts ARTS Australia Leave a comment
Many find online booking stressful
http://www.eyefortravel.com/print.asp?news=57415
30 August 2007
I often find air travel interesting to watch for trends for live entertainment. Now this is not just because both use tickets to sell seats (well used to). Although, the fixed inventory of seats of seats on a plane and a venue are analogous, as is the fact that when a plane takes off the seats are lost, just like when the curtain goes up in a venue.
One half (1/2) of adults consider booking travel online stressful! Are we sure that booking entertainment online is not considered stressful by a significant portion of the potential audience?
It is worth entertainment paying attention to the cited issues: too many options, anxiety of the best deal and issues around research. MORE DETAIL >>
9 September, 2007 at 11:24 am Tim Roberts ARTS Australia Leave a comment
Free Seats = Yield Maximisation?
Orchestra’s free seating boosts … attendance
By Peter Dobrin
4 September 2007
“In fact, if you count overall attendance, the number of people hearing the orchestra at the center dropped, to 37,987 from last summer’s 44,520. Fewer people at fewer concerts = fuller houses.“
“On average we sold more than we did in the last few years. And 80 percent of those [concertgoers asking for free tickets], we have no record of them ever having gone to the Mann,” he said. “It exposed a lot of people to the Philadelphia Orchestra in a fun way.” MORE DETAIL >>
4 September, 2007 at 11:39 pm Tim Roberts ARTS Australia Leave a comment
