Over the years, Ticketmaster has acquired several other companies in the ticketing and live entertainment industry. Here are some of the major companies that Ticketmaster has bought out:
What companies did Ticketmaster acquire?
Some of the key acquisitions by Ticketmaster include:
- Ticketron – In 1991, Ticketmaster acquired one of its early competitors, Ticketron. This helped Ticketmaster expand its market share in ticketing services.
- Paciolan – In 2008, Ticketmaster acquired Paciolan, a leading provider of ticketing and fundraising software for colleges, universities, and live entertainment organizations. This expanded Ticketmaster’s offerings to the college and university market.
- Front Line Management – In 2008, Ticketmaster also acquired Front Line Management, one of the world’s largest artist management companies. Front Line managed top artists like the Eagles, Jimmy Buffett, and Christina Aguilera.
- Live Nation – In 2010, Ticketmaster merged with Live Nation in a deal worth $2.5 billion. Live Nation was the world’s largest concert promoter and owner of venues. This created the live entertainment giant Live Nation Entertainment.
- Universe – In 2014, Ticketmaster acquired Universe, a self-service ticketing platform. Universe’s white-label ticketing platform expanded Ticketmaster’s DIY ticketing solutions.
- Ticketfly – In 2015, Ticketmaster bought Ticketfly for $450 million. Ticketfly sold tickets for concerts, sports games, and other live events and worked closely with independent music venues and promoters.
A brief history of Ticketmaster
Ticketmaster was founded in 1976 in Phoenix, Arizona by two computer programmers, Peter Gadwa and Gordon Gunn. It initially sold tickets for local venues in Phoenix using computerized ticketing systems.
In 1982, Ticketmaster began expanding nationally by providing ticketing services to major venues and promoters like Bill Graham Presents. It went public in 1983.
Over the 1980s and 1990s, Ticketmaster grew rapidly as concerts and live entertainment became a major business. It developed new technology like online ticketing and call centers for ticket sales.
In the 2000s, Ticketmaster solidified its hold on the primary ticket market through major acquisitions like Paciolan and Front Line Management. It also expanded globally during this time.
The 2010 merger with Live Nation created the world’s largest live events company Live Nation Entertainment. Ticketmaster and Live Nation remain separate subsidiaries but the deal gave Ticketmaster even greater dominance in event ticketing.
Why did Ticketmaster make these acquisitions?
There were several strategic reasons behind Ticketmaster’s major acquisitions over the years:
- Expand market share – Buying up competitors like Ticketron allowed Ticketmaster to expand its share of the primary ticket market. This reduced competition in the industry.
- Acquire technology and skills – Acquisitions like Paciolan and Universe gave Ticketmaster access to new ticketing technologies and platforms it could leverage across its operations.
- Expand into new markets – The Paciolan deal expanded Ticketmaster’s reach in ticketing for colleges and universities. Universe’s DIY ticketing solutions opened up small music venues and promoters as potential new customers.
- Expand services – The Front Line Management acquisition allowed Ticketmaster to expand beyond just selling tickets into managing music artists. The Ticketfly deal grew Ticketmaster’s services for concert venues and promoters.
- Block competitors – Buying emerging competitors like Ticketfly prevented them from growing into major threats to Ticketmaster’s business.
- Go global – Several deals helped Ticketmaster expand globally into new markets for live entertainment.
By acquiring key competitors, new technologies, and complementary businesses, Ticketmaster cemented its strong position in the live entertainment ticketing industry.
The Ticketmaster and Live Nation merger
The 2010 merger between Ticketmaster and Live Nation was a major deal that combined the two largest players in live entertainment:
- Ticketmaster had become the dominant primary ticketing services provider with over 80% market share of major venue ticket sales.
- Live Nation was the world’s top concert promoter and venue operator after spinning off from Clear Channel Communications in 2005.
The merger was intended to create a more seamless experience for fans by combining ticketing, promotions, and venue management under one roof. It also aimed to generate major synergies by cross-selling Ticketmaster’s ticketing services to Live Nation’s concert and venue clients.
However, the deal also raised significant antitrust concerns due to the combined company’s outsized market share and power over live entertainment. As a result, the U.S. Department of Justice approved the merger in 2010 only under certain conditions to promote competition.
One major condition was that Live Nation was required to license its ticketing software to competitors like AEG to allow other primary ticketing platforms to develop. The merged company also could not retaliate against concert venues that chose to use other ticketing providers.
| Year | Major Ticketmaster Acquisition |
|---|---|
| 1991 | Ticketron |
| 2008 | Paciolan |
| 2008 | Front Line Management |
| 2010 | Live Nation |
| 2014 | Universe |
| 2015 | Ticketfly |
This table summarizes some of Ticketmaster’s major acquisitions and the years they occurred in.
Controversies regarding Ticketmaster
Ticketmaster has faced some controversies and criticism over its business practices over the years:
- It has frequently been accused of monopolistic behavior and abusing its market power in ticketing.
- Ticketing fees charged by Ticketmaster are unpopular with many fans who feel they are exorbitant. Services fees often add 25-30% to the base ticket price.
- Some bands and venues have criticized Ticketmaster for not giving them access to customer data that could help them market directly to fans.
- Ticketmaster’s online ticketing systems have faced technical issues, outages, and security vulnerabilities affecting ticket sales for major events.
- The company has been criticized for ties between its reseller sites like TicketsNow and professional scalpers buying up tickets.
- Some promoters and venues argue that Ticketmaster’s contracts and fees make it harder for independent ticketing companies to compete.
Ticketmaster has defended its fees and market share by saying it invests heavily in ticketing technology and has to pay large sums to venues, teams, artists, and promoters it works with. However, the company’s dominance and business practices continue to be controversial in the industry.
Conclusion
Through major acquisitions and its 2010 merger with Live Nation, Ticketmaster cemented itself as the dominant player in the live event ticketing market. It bought out competitors like Ticketron and new technologies like Paciolan’s ticketing systems to fuel its growth. The Live Nation deal combined the world’s top ticketing company with the world’s top concert promoter. However, this level of market control has also led to ongoing controversies and antitrust concerns around Ticketmaster’s power, fees, and business practices.
