Archive for February, 2011
Does Facebook & Social Media really fuel ticket sales?
Some interesting stats by way of a case study in Ticketfly: Facebook really does fuel ticket sales
- “In Jan 2011, Ticketfly sold 3.25 tickets for every Facebook share/tweet
- Facebook is Ticketfly’s top referrer at roughly 9% of total traffic“
However, I am not so sure of the liklihood of the following ‘giant killer’ analogy … “San Francisco startup Ticketfly aims to take on concert ticketing giant Ticketmaster. Its main weapon? Social networking.“
On the subject of proof of Facebook and other Social Media to impact ticket sales refer to an earlier FULLHOUSES post Proof: How social media sold a theatre ticket on Facebook
28 February, 2011 at 9:34 am Tim Roberts ARTS Australia Leave a comment
Convenience Fees – convenient for whom and for what?
I am mystified by Cirque du Soleil charging fees on top of ticket prices.
On the website it states “Convenience fees and Delivery fees apply“. One does have to 
ask why?!
Cirque du Soleil own the show, they own the venue (the tent) and they have their own ticketing system. So why are the prices not all in?
Is it that it purely convention (courtesy of Fred Rosen and Ticketmaster in the 70′s & 80′s) to fleece the consumer with added outside charges?
I would have thought a company reknowned for innovation like Cirque du Soleil (even OutBox is described as a “ground-breaking platform“) would have taken the opportunity to innovate in pricing, let alone break some new ground with customer service.
As mentioned previously in A not so well kept secret has been let ‘out the box’, Fred Rosen the CEO of Outbox used to be CEO of Ticketmaster.
Fred Rosen has stated “Simply put, there is no longer a need for a middle man in this business“, but why is there still a ‘need’ for archaic opportunistic price gouging with additional fees that are of “convenience” to the middle man the ticket seller?
By way of example, looking at the Cirque du Soleil show OVO in Frisco (Dallas Area), TX
If you buy 2 seats near the front that is US$125.00 each. That totals, US$250.00 BUT on top of that is $32 fees!
This comprises 2 x “Convenience Fees” @ US$13.50 = US$27.00
Then “Delivery Fees” on top of that e-Ticket add US$5.00 and for Will Call add US$7.00
That is 12.8% added on top.
You will be pleased to know that taxes are included!
Read more about Cirque du Soleil, AEG and Outbox – AEG, Cirque du Soleil and Jean-Francoys Brousseau-owned Outbox Technology and Fredric D. Rosen to Form Joint Venture to Provide Electronic Ticketing Solutions
8 February, 2011 at 1:12 pm Tim Roberts ARTS Australia 4 comments
Is Ticketmaster pinning its hopes for survival on international growth?
On the back of the AEG split from using Ticketmaster, more evidence that Ticketmaster sees its best option at survival with the domination of international markets. Ticketmaster Acquires ServiCaixa, Spain’s Largest Ticket Retailer.
Back in March 2007 FULL HOUSES posited this move with Moving market forces are changing Ticketmaster’s global growth strategy
At that time one of the international ticketing operators that Ticketmaster absorbed was Tick Tack Ticket of Spain. Now Ticketmaster is back to clean up the rest of the Spanish market with the acquisition of ServiCaixa.
7 February, 2011 at 9:16 am Tim Roberts ARTS Australia Leave a comment
A not so well kept secret has been let ‘out the box’
We always expected Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) take the opportunity to go its own way with ticketing. Particularly as it is #2 to Live Nation, now owners of Ticketmaster.
It is not surprising that AEG chose not to Ticketmaster’s system, surely this is an endictment of the decision and logic of the antitrust regulators?
AEG has entered a joint venture called Outbox Enterprises. Fred Rosen, former Ticketmaster CEO who steered Ticketmaster to dominance in the 80′s and 90′s, is the new venture’s CEO. Outbox originates from Canada and is responsible for the sexy Cirque du Soleil online ticketing interface written about in FULLHOUSES last year.
It will be interesting to see how the rest of the industry takes to the ‘white label‘ model that Outbox offers, removing the need for a central ticket agent online brand selling directly from the venue or event owners website. Is it the end of the agent middleman?
“This isn’t about trying to go out there and build a whole new brand around the name Outbox, … This is about service.” AEG Chief Executive Tim Leiweke
4 February, 2011 at 12:52 pm Tim Roberts ARTS Australia 3 comments
