A Serious Competitor for TicketMaster?
12 October, 2010 at 8:15 am Tim Roberts ARTS Australia 3 comments
Outbox Technology Inc. plans to announce, former Ticketmaster Chief Executive (1982-98), Fred Rosen as the CEO of a new U.S. subsidiary, Outbox Enterprises LLC. You may remember the seven part interview with Rosen that was featured on FULL HOUSES last year.
The new company is a partnership among the Canadian company, Mr. Rosen and Cirque du Soleil Inc., for which Outbox has provided the ticketing technology for several years.
“Instead of listing and selling tickets for thousands of events on a single, centralized website, the new company plans to offer a so-called white-label service that will enable clients such as concert venues, festivals and sports teams to sell tickets to consumers directly from their own websites.“
“The middle-man model is dead, … You have to evolve.” says Rosen
Whilst it is great to see another option that is allowing producers to deal directly with their customers and via a pretty sexy interface as well, the challenge is still to get past the barrier of venue exclusive ticketing contracts. It was easier for Cirque du Soleil to get past that handicap as they controlled the venue, in many instances their own tent.
READ FULL ARTICLE ONLINE Ticketmaster Ex-CEO to Lead a New Rival>>
Entry filed under: box office, LiveNation, Ticketmaster. Tags: Agency, Fred Rosen, live nation ticketmaster agency, Ticketmaster Live Nation.
1.
Tim Roberts | 13 October, 2010 at 2:09 pm
Ticketmaster exec to head Outbox
It must be remembered that we can blame Rosen for the introduction of the contradictory term “Convenience Fees”.
2.
Tim Roberts | 13 October, 2010 at 2:25 pm
Newly Appointed Outbox CEO Rosen Talks Ticketmaster, Strategy and More
“Ticketmaster was created in a manner where the buildings were the clients and the company clearly was in position to protect the building,” ex-Ticketmaster Chief Executive Rosen says. “In all of the different deals that have evolved today, Ticketmaster’s role is significantly different. It is much more on the side of the acts. The smartest guy in the music business is Irving [Azoff], he’s the best manager in the business. But Ticketmaster’s role as a protector of the buildings has clearly shifted.”
Rosen seems to leave organisations and producers out of the equation and is focussing only on the venues. This is intriguing as the greatest barrier to Outbox is likely to be existing venue exclusive ticketing contracts.
3.
Tim Roberts | 14 October, 2010 at 8:24 am
Outbox Lands Rosen; Should Ticketmaster Worry?
“the biggest challenge for Outbox … is luring clients away from Ticketmaster, which has many entertainment providers under contract. In addition, Outbox faces competition from others in the business, including Tickets.com and Veritix, which operate in similar fashion to Outbox. None of them have put much of a dent in Ticketmaster’s business, however.“