Eli5: why do bands have to use Ticketmaster?
In: 8635
They either own the venue or they own the ticketing rights to venues they don’t own. Very few good venues are not in this situation sonan artist can’t put together their tour without hopping on board. And let’s be honest the artist generally want to make as much possible as well.
If you are a manager for a band and do not want to use Ticketmaster, you have to go out of your way to find venues that aren’t owned by Ticketmaster or a subsidiary and don’t have an exclusivity contract with Ticketmaster. Then for each of these that you find you need to spend time negotiating and signing contracts. These independent venues have their own quirks that result in challenges and frustrations in touring.
Or you can sign a single contract that will allow you to tour at all of the best venues anywhere in the world. Not only is it easier to do it gives you access to the best venues. The better the venue the more tickets you can sell and at higher prices.
So it comes down to this proposition for the band:
“Do you want to make a lot more money, play at all the best venues and not deal with constant headaches or do you want to make a lot less money, play in dumpy third-tier venues and deal with all kinds of frustrations and things not working right?”
The biggest acts don’t even have that choice. They simply can’t find venues that can support the number of fans that want to see them which don’t have exclusivity contracts or are not owned by Ticketmaster.
It’s not so much about the band, it’s the venue. Bands have a fee that they charge to play a show. The venue pays the band their fee. The venue then turns around and sells tickets to the show. Ideally, for the venue, the revenue they receive from the sale of tickets, food, drinks, and anything else is more than the band’s fee + other expenses.
Since tickets are mostly sold online now, it requires software and web services to process those transactions. Most venues won’t employ the staff necessary to create their own individual websites capable of processing those transactions so they hire a third party. Ticketmaster has more or less cornered the market on this service, which gives the them leverage to put contracts in place, own their own venues, and more. All of which gives them more control over the market, driving competitors out.
When Pearl Jam tried at their height to bypass Ticketmaster for their fans, it did not work out. So many of the stadiums they could fill would not cooperate due to the signed exclusive contracts with Ticketmaster. Setting up alternatives was far harder than they thought.
Actually Last Week Tonight/John Oliver did a [show](https://youtu.be/-_Y7uqqEFnY) on the US ticket market where they adress why so many bands/events use Ticketmaster.
The bands I see aren’t at places related to Ticketmaster. Tickets are $10-20, but they’re at dive bars and not huge venues. It’s an amazing experience. 🙂
It’s probably a bit harder to do this if you’re a band that draw a massive crowd though.
First off, they don’t. There are numerous ticketing companies aside from Ticketmaster.
Second, it’s not the bands. It’s the venues and promoters.
So why do most venues and promoters use Ticketmaster? Because it’s the largest ticketing provider, which makes it easier to use and makes it cost less. Also, many venues are owned or operated by Live Nation, which owns Ticketmaster, so they obviously use their own company.
They don’t, but it looks good to sell tickets cheap and let ticketmaster and the scalpers get the flak for the high prices.
Make no mistake, ticketmaster splits those “fees” with the band, either directly or indirectly.
Our local symphony orchestra tried to set up a box office without going through Ticketmaster.
TM said:
a) They could not use Ticketmaster for *ANY* events in that venue. That means that artists who come into town and have been selling through TM can’t use the venue.
b) The venue cannot – under ANY circumstances – book artists who are represented by TM in other cities.
c) An artist who is not represented by TM CANNOT perform at a TM-managed venue.
So if you’re an artist who wants to avoid TM, you’re fucked; and if you’re a venue who wants to avoid TM, you’re fucked.
They’re an evil, corrupt, illegal monopoly who should be shot in the head. But it’s not happening.
I don’t understand how they can get away with treating tickets like a commodity. Not just a commodity but one rigged with their own algorithm that drives prices up when there are more than one person looking.
If I buy a steak it’s one price. It doesn’t increase because two of us are looking at buying it! It’s complete and utter crap that they are allowed to do this.
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