More changes coming from "the merge"
As the Live Nation Ticketmaster merger is still underway and surprisingly will remain incomplete for the next 2-4 weeks, we have already seen several changes within ticket prices and the consumption of tickets in general. Most of us have become familiar with the no service fee Wednesdays. When you buy tickets for certain shows (usually listed on the Live Nation website or included in their newsletter), the service fee is simply waved when you buy the tickets between 12:01am to 12:00am on Wednesdays. This small promotion seems to have helped alleviate the fear of the monopolistic merger.
In the mean time, Live Nation continues to plan and carry out new ways the sale of tickets will pan out in the future. According to their mission statement, they are committed to transforming the concert business by integrating the experience between artists and their fans. To help complete this mission, Live Nation is promoting Triple-Play Wednesday tomorrow October 28th. Not only will service fees be waved but fans will automatically be entered into a drawing to win Ultimate Access passes to the venue in which their tickets are purchased. The Ultimate Access will give winners at each venue admission to every single show in 2010. The triple part of triple play will have bands like Anvil, Five Finger Death Punch, Hellogoodbye, LMFAO and Taking Back Sunday selling the no service fee tickets at specified venues across the country. Giving fans a more intimate experience as artists become more engaged with concert-goers.
I applaud Live Nation for attempting to make the concert experience more based on artist to fan relations. When an artist is in tune with their fans its obvious they will be able to deliver more of a distinct presence. Do I think most shows are over priced? Of course I do but things change and prices will never remain the same on any type of tangible good or experience.
As the details continue to be ironed out across the merger of the largest concert promoter and largest ticket seller on the planet, it seems as though Live Nation has their eye on the prize. They are slowly trying to lure in more people by gaining trust like an old brand should. The concert experience is a very delicate area of being an artist and to some, it is the only thing keeping them afloat from the sinking trends of music consumption. It will be interesting to see the final touches on the merge. Funny thing is, this press release surfaced yesterday…I can’t imagine hardly enough people have heard about this to take advantage of triple-play Wednesday if they even wanted to!
