In the modern era, Ticketmaster has become the dominant ticketing company for major entertainment events in many countries around the world. There are several key reasons why Ticketmaster has such a stronghold on ticketing and people often feel like they have no choice but to use their services.
Ticketmaster’s Market Dominance
Ticketmaster controls ticketing for a huge percentage of major venues and live events. They estimate that they sell 500 million tickets per year across 30 countries. This gives them enormous leverage when dealing with venues and event organizers. If an arena or concert promoter wants to host major acts and sell tickets at scale, they often have to go through Ticketmaster.
Some key stats about Ticketmaster’s market dominance:
- They are the exclusive ticketing service for over 200 major venues and promoters globally.
- In the US, they sell tickets for 70 of the top 100 arenas and stadiums.
- They sell tickets for over 12,000 music venues and festivals.
- Over 500 bands, sports franchises, theaters, and family entertainment clients use their services.
With this level of market control, many venues and events feel that Ticketmaster is their only option for selling tickets. Sports teams, concert venues, and event promoters rely on their massive infrastructure and reach to efficiently sell tickets and market events to millions of potential fans and customers.
Exclusive Ticketing Deals
In many cases, Ticketmaster has exclusive long-term contracts in place with venues and promoters to be the sole ticketing provider. This locks out competitors and forces customers to use Ticketmaster to gain access to events at those venues.
Some examples of major exclusive deals include:
- AEG venues – Ticketmaster has an exclusive deal for ticketing with AEG, one of the largest event promoters in the world. This includes major venues like The O2 Arena in London, Staples Center in LA, and Coachella festival.
- Live Nation venues – Ticketmaster was spun out of Live Nation, the world’s largest event promoter, and still maintains close ties. Most Live Nation venues exclusively use Ticketmaster for ticketing major concerts and shows.
- Many major sports teams – Ticketmaster has exclusive ticketing deals with the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLS and many of their teams. The NFL deal alone covers over 75 major stadiums and venues.
These exclusive deals make it mandatory for customers to use Ticketmaster when attending events at these popular venues across music, sports, and entertainment. This further strengthens their position and ubiquity in ticketing.
Lack of Competition
There is a relative lack of competition in the primary ticketing market, especially for major arena concerts and sporting events. Ticketmaster is far larger than the next biggest ticketing companies.
Some of their major competitors include:
- AXS – Owned by AEG, mainly used for their owned and operated venues.
- TickPick – An online secondary market reseller, does not have primary ticket deals.
- SeatGeek – Similar to TickPick, focuses on secondary market.
- Etix – Used by some venues, but has a much smaller market share.
None of these companies on their own have the scale, venue deals, and infrastructure to challenge Ticketmaster’s dominance. This lack of serious competition only strengthens the grip they have on ticketing and fans’ reliance on their services to gain access to live events.
Artist and Fan Presale Programs
Ticketmaster operates presale programs for major artists that give fans early access to buy tickets before the general public on-sale. These presales help lock in Ticketmaster as the main ticketing provider and build fan loyalty to using their services.
Some examples of major artist presales include:
- Beyonce – Beyhive fan club presale through Ticketmaster
- Taylor Swift – Verified Fan presale program
- BTS – Army fan club presale
- Harry Styles – Verified Fan presale
These programs reward loyal fans with exclusive ticket access before the crowds. But they require fans to use Ticketmaster rather than competitors. Once fans get used to buying presale tickets through Ticketmaster for major shows, they are more likely to turn to them first for all events.
Brand Recognition and Marketing Strength
Ticketmaster is a widely recognized and trusted brand in event ticketing. According to a MOTION Live survey, Ticketmaster ranked as the most popular ticketing company, with 85% awareness among consumers in North America.
Beyond brand recognition, Ticketmaster spends significantly on marketing across TV, digital, social media, and partnerships to solidify itself as the top ticketing destination.
With billions in annual sales, they have an enormous budget for customer acquisition and retention that weaker competitors cannot match. Their spending on advertising and marketing continually reinforces their market dominance.
Verified Resale Market
Ticketmaster operates an official resale marketplace for tickets called Ticketmaster Verified Resale. This provides a way for rights holders and initial buyers to resell event tickets at market value through Ticketmaster’s infrastructure.
Key features include:
- Tickets sold by Ticketmaster directly are 100% verified valid.
- Tickets can be instantly transferred digitally to buyers.
- Prices adjust to meet demand for high-interest events.
- Sellers can get paid electronically right after selling.
This official resale marketplace further enables Ticketmaster to dominate the secondary market. It offers convenience and peace of mind unavailable on unofficial resale sites. Fans prefer to stay within the Ticketmaster ecosystem for aftermarket tickets.
Consumer Habits and Familiarity
After decades dominating ticketing, consumers are now programmed to think “Ticketmaster” when purchasing tickets online. Their brand has become synonymous with ticket sales for major live entertainment events.
When fans go see their favorite musician, sports team, or city’s major arena concert – chances are high they reflexively go to Ticketmaster to buy tickets. It is the default, trusted source in their minds. This habitual use continues to drive Ticketmaster’s market position.
Their website and app also streamline the ticket buying process with familiar flows. Once consumers learn the Ticketmaster ropes for one event, they return for simplicity and convenience.
Loyalty Programs
Ticketmaster utilizes loyalty programs to retain and reward frequent customers. For example, Ticketmaster Rewards provides points to customers for ticket purchases that can be redeemed for discounts on future tickets.
Some benefits of their loyalty program include:
- 10% back on ticket purchases in reward points
- $5 reward for every 100 points earned
- Eligible for access to presales and preferred seating
- VIP packages and exclusive offers
These benefits encourage fans to purchase tickets directly through Ticketmaster repeatedly to earn rewards. The programs engender customer loyalty toward Ticketmaster services.
Vertical Integration
Ticketmaster is part of a larger vertically integrated company including major venues, promoters, artist management firms, and other live entertainment businesses. This gives them tremendous advantages in the ticketing market.
Some of their key entertainment properties include:
- Live Nation – The world’s largest event promoter and venue operator
- Front Line Management – Manages over 500 major artists
- TicketWeb – Provides ticketing software services to venues
- Universe – Sells merchandise and collectibles for artists
This extensive integration allows Ticketmaster to cross-sell ticketing directly with venues, promotions, merchandise, and artist relationships. Their umbrella company has tentacles throughout live entertainment that reinforce Ticketmaster’s positioning.
Other Factors
Some other secondary factors that play into Ticketmaster’s ubiquity include:
- Client inertia – Once venues get set up with their technology, it often takes too much effort to switch.
- Sunk costs – Their ticketing platforms require significant upfront investment that venues do not want to waste by changing providers.
- Tour deals – Ticketing is often negotiated as part of overall tour promotion and sponsorship packages.
- Promotional funding – Ticketmaster co-funds advertising for some events.
Conclusion
In summary, Ticketmaster’s dominance stems from several key factors:
- Market control over major venues and exclusive deals
- Lack of serious large-scale competitors in ticketing
- Artist partnership and fan presale programs
- Strong brand recognition and marketing budget
- Official resale marketplace
- Consumer habits and familiarity
- Loyalty programs
- Vertical integration across live entertainment
With these considerable advantages across scale, partnerships, infrastructure, and marketing – Ticketmaster has become deeply entrenched as the leading ticketing provider for major live entertainment events in many countries around the world. This leaves fans with little choice but to use their services to gain access to coveted events, shows, and concerts from top artists, teams, and venues.
