Due to the success of the secondary sale of tickets on the web, the line between ‘official’ (primary) ticket sellers and online ticket brokers (secondary sellers) has blurred. The two are now competing directly on a relatively level playing field: the internet.
[edit] Signs of Change
Signs of the new, mature online ticket business are cropping up.
Consultancy and training firms are increasingly focusing on this ‘cleaning up’ trend. Events such as Ticket Summit 2008 in the US, held by the Better Ticketing Association, are becoming more and more common. A look at the programme for this congress gives a good idea of the key indicators on the agenda of ‘professionalising’ online ticket brokering. Topics include: ‘Getting Legal’, ‘Media Relations’ and ‘Building Your Base: The Lost Art of Customer Service’. There are similar conferences in the UK, such as the ‘Ticket Touting: Going, Going…Gone?’ conference held in London on 19 March 2008. Live UK Summit is another event that draws together ticketing agencies and other sectors involved in the live entertainment industry together in an open discussion forum.[1]
Another sign of change is the increasing legitimisation of the internet as a free market environment for entrepreneurs. Many states in the US are repealing laws against ticket reselling. Five states have made the resale of tickets legal in 2007, with a Missouri senator stating, ‘It makes no sense that we would turn people into criminals for simply wanting to resell a ticket […].’[2]
While the internet is becoming an increasingly safer place to shop, it is still not the place for the overly-cautious buyer. Online ticket brokering is legal in most countries, such as the UK and other European countries, and it is a profitable business venture. Venue owners and secondary ticket sellers debated this issue at the ‘Ticket Touting: Going, Going…Gone?’ conference held in London on 19 March 2008, concluding that, for the time being, ticket resale is a legal and acceptable practice in the UK. [3] This seems to suggest that ticket reselling is increasingly ‘above board’, forcing online brokers to promise their customers the same service expected from primary sellers. This overall sea change presents a real challenge to corporate strongholds and is forcing sellers on both sides to try new things.
[edit] Signs of Change
Signs of the new, mature online ticket business are cropping up.
Consultancy and training firms are increasingly focusing on this ‘cleaning up’ trend. Events such as Ticket Summit 2008 in the US, held by the Better Ticketing Association, are becoming more and more common. A look at the programme for this congress gives a good idea of the key indicators on the agenda of ‘professionalising’ online ticket brokering. Topics include: ‘Getting Legal’, ‘Media Relations’ and ‘Building Your Base: The Lost Art of Customer Service’. There are similar conferences in the UK, such as the ‘Ticket Touting: Going, Going…Gone?’ conference held in London on 19 March 2008. Live UK Summit is another event that draws together ticketing agencies and other sectors involved in the live entertainment industry together in an open discussion forum.[1]
Another sign of change is the increasing legitimisation of the internet as a free market environment for entrepreneurs. Many states in the US are repealing laws against ticket reselling. Five states have made the resale of tickets legal in 2007, with a Missouri senator stating, ‘It makes no sense that we would turn people into criminals for simply wanting to resell a ticket […].’[2]
While the internet is becoming an increasingly safer place to shop, it is still not the place for the overly-cautious buyer. Online ticket brokering is legal in most countries, such as the UK and other European countries, and it is a profitable business venture. Venue owners and secondary ticket sellers debated this issue at the ‘Ticket Touting: Going, Going…Gone?’ conference held in London on 19 March 2008, concluding that, for the time being, ticket resale is a legal and acceptable practice in the UK. [3] This seems to suggest that ticket reselling is increasingly ‘above board’, forcing online brokers to promise their customers the same service expected from primary sellers. This overall sea change presents a real challenge to corporate strongholds and is forcing sellers on both sides to try new things.
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