Carrie Underwood to return to Albany in March

CBS 6 Albany - WRGB

Country-pop singer Carrie Underwood is returning to the Capital Region for another concert show in March, the Times Union Center announced Monday.

Underwood will be performing in support of her newest album "Play On," and is expected to perform old favorites as well as new singles "Cowboy Cassanova" and "Mama's Song."

The concert is scheduled for Friday, March 12 at the Times Union Center. Tickets go on sale Friday, Dec. 18 at 10 a.m. at tickets.com, timesunion.com, the Times Union Center box office and by phone at 1-800-30-EVENT.

The concert will also feature Craig Morgan and Sons of Sylvia.

Underwood previously performed in Albany in February 2008.

A Christmas Story at the Crest

Shelley Blanton-Stroud
Sacramento Press

Downtown's Crest Theater will screen A Christmas Story, the retro comedy classic based on Jean Shepherd's novel, in the third annual Christmas Story at the Crest event Saturday, December 19. Beginning at noon, guests will enjoy several tables of home-baked sweets and hot chocolate in the lobby of the gorgeous art deco theater, while awaiting their turn to meet a real-bearded Santa, available to take gift requests and photos with hopeful children and adults. The film begins at 1 p.m. Ten dollar tickets will benefit Jesuit High School.

For the uniquely uninitiated, A Christmas Story is the campy cult classic about 1940's school kid, Ralphie Parker, who wants nothing more than for Santa to deliver an "Official Red Ryder, Carbine-Action-Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle" on Christmas morning, in spite of all the tyrannical, short-sighted adults who can only obsessively respond "You'll shoot your eye out!"

En route to this goal, of course, hilarity ensues. Ralphie is regularly chased by the neighborhood bully, watches his buddy freeze his tongue to the school flagpole, and has his own mouth washed out with soap (Lifebouy, to be exact) for uttering words he learned from his father, who "wove a tapestry of obscenities that as far as we know is still hanging in space over Lake Michigan."
The film, which airs on television throughout the holiday season, is only seen once a year locally on the big screen, and then at the only local theater with the proper historical street cred to do it justice. The Crest lobby and big theater set the right tone -- a little bit old fashioned, a little bit edgy, a little bit sweet, a little bit tongue-in-cheek.

Tickets can be purchased at the theater box office or online at tickets.com.

TESLA Members To Take Part In 'Pat Martin's All-Star Jam'

Blabbermouth.net

Frank Hannon (TESLA), Jeff Keith (TESLA), Brian Wheat (TESLA) and Jeff Watson (NIGHT RANGER) are among the musicians who will take part in Pat Martin's All-Star Jam to benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. On Saturday, December 19, at 8:00 p.m., Pat Martin and tons of "all-stars" are taking over The Boardwalk's stage in Orangevale, California. Tickets are only $25, and can be purchased at Tickets.com, MusicToday.com and BoardwalkRocks.com.

Doors Open: 7:30 p.m.
Show Starts: 8:00 p.m.
$25.00 advance

Proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. There will also be items being raffled off, including two guitars signed by Ronnie Montrose and TESLA as well as many others.

Top CEOs to Speak at Keynote Session at Ticket Summit

Ticketmaster, Tickets.com, TicketFly and Veritix CEOs to Provide Insight on the Future of the Primary Ticket Market
Ticket Summit, the leading conference and trade show for ticketing and entertainment executives, today announced its notable roster of top CEOs slated to speak at the event's Keynote session. The Ticket Summit January conference -- a three-day event scheduled January 13-15, 2010 at The Waldorf-Astoria in New York City -- will include a Keynote session Friday, January 15 featuring Sean Moriarty (Former CEO, Ticketmaster), Larry Witherspoon (CEO, Tickets.com), Andrew Dreskin (CEO, TicketFly), and Jeff Kline (President, Veritix).

The Ticket Summit Keynote session is scheduled to be among the culminating events of the three-day conference, following a variety of sessions ranging from ticket pricing strategies and event promotion, to brand-building, and sports and entertainment. "The Ticket Summit Keynote Session on January 15 is bound to be the conference's most paramount event yet," said Dr. Molly A. Martinez, Executive Director, Ticket Summit. "With ticketing agents, event promoters, venue managers, and primary ticket distributors all in the same room, the dialogue on the state of the industry will be extremely insightful."

More than five-hundred attendees from the United States and throughout the world are expected to attend the upcoming conference. TicketNetwork CEO Don Vaccaro observed: "Ticket Summit is by far the must-attend conference where all the key players in the ticket industry come to network. And with the addition of such a notable keynote session, attendees are going to get to be part of a dialogue that's truly one-of-a-kind."

About Ticket Summit
Ticket Summit is the world's leading conference and trade show for ticketing and entertainment. This event attracts hundreds of global business leaders, entrepreneurs, and entertainment experts in the ticket community. Past attendees and sponsors include: Billboard, eBay, Forbes, Google, Live Nation, NBA, NFL, NHL, StubHub, Ticketmaster, among others.

Ticket Summit was founded in 2006 by host company TicketNetwork, Inc. The upcoming Ticket Summit conference and trade show is scheduled to take place at The Waldorf-Astoria in New York, NY, January 13-15. For information, visit www.TicketSummit.org.

Xanadu On Sale at The Paramount

Zee Grega
Seattle MetBlogs

Despite the fact that Xanadu, the 1980 movie musical starring Olivia Newton-John as a roller-skating muse to struggling artist Michael Beck and the legendary Gene Kelly in a reprisal of sorts of his role in 1944’s Cover Girl. is a seriously bad movie, I’ve always liked it. Not because of its badness, but in spite of it. Most people who like it–and there are quite a few, despite barely breaking even at the box office and being soundly panned by critics, Xanadu later went on to cult film popularity–see it the other way around, which is totally understandable to anyone who has ever seen it. Still, I wasn’t the only one to see some potential in it; Douglas Carter Beane (whose playwriting credits include The Country Club, 2007 Tony Award for Best Play nominee The Little Dog Laughed and As Bees in Honey Drown) wrote Xanadu into a stage musical which went on to be a big hit on Broadway, earning Tony nominations and winning Outer Circle Critics and Drama Desk awards as well as selling out show after show after show.

The show plays up the campy and ridiculous aspects of the movie, but it’s not all snark–it’s a colorful spectacle of story, song and skating. The play includes the ELO and Olivia Newton John songs that made the original film soundtrack a smash hit and throws in a couple extra by Jeff Lynne and John Farrar.

Xanadu hits the stage at Seattle’s Paramount Theater for a week in January, opening January 19 and closing January 24 as part of the ongoing Broadway Across America series. Tickets are going to be a hot commodity, so you’ll want to get yours as early as you can.

Tickets are available at the Paramount box office, by phone at 877.STG.4TIX (4849) or online at Tickets.com, STG Presents or Broadway Across America. Ticket prices range from $20 to $60.

Larry Witherspoon to Speak on Panel at 2010 Ticket Summit

Come see Tickets.com, CEO, Larry Witherspoon at the Ticket Summit – New York City! Larry is currently one of four executive panelists participating in the ‘Then & Now: The Primary Market’ panel on January 15, 2010 at the famous Waldorf – Astoria, NYC. For more information on this conference visit http://www.ticketsummit.org

Eric Clapton to play Tulsa's BOK Center

BOK Center officials announced that Eric Clapton and special guest Roger Daltrey will perform at the downtown arena.

The concert is scheduled for Tuesday, March 2nd. Tickets go on sale Saturday, December 12th at 10 a.m. Prices are $57, $77 and $97.

Tickets will be available online at www.bokcenter.com, Arby’s Box Office, Tickets.com, or by calling 1-866-7-BOKCTR.

Globetrotters, Tay Fisher Coming to Times Union Center

Pete Iorizzo
TimesUnion.com

Tay Fisher will be playing with the Harlem Globetrotters on Feb. 7 at Times Union Center.

Tickets for the event start at $16.00 and are available at select Price Chopper outlets or online at www.tickets.com or www.timesunioncenter-albany.com. Individual ticket information can also be found on the Harlem Globetrotters’ official Web site: www.harlemglobetrotters.com.

Hello, Technology Calling

Tulsa Performing Arts Center Newsletter - Dec 2009
Nancy Hermann

Life used to be much simpler, in some ways, before we were all a-Twitter — Facebooking our every move, getting Google alerts galore, texting votes, or timing to the second a strategic buy on eBay. While technology might, on the surface, seem to complicate things, it can make life easier overall, and has certainly revolutionized marketing and customer service.

On the Cutting Edge Then and Now
The Performing Arts Center has been at the forefront of advancing technology for years. Did you know that TulsaPAC.com was among the first 20 performing arts center websites in the country? And when some people suggested that no one would divulge their credit card number to purchase via computer, the PAC was using the magic of the “Ticket Wizard” to sell tix in “real-time.” We are still the only performing arts center in the country running a regional ticketing operation (MyTicketOffice.com), launched in 2006.

Print Your Own — Tickets@Home
Two years ago the PAC added Tickets@Home to its ticketing options. You’ll see it listed when you’re buying tickets online. For an additional $2 per order charge, you can opt to have a link that contains a printout with a barcode e-mailed to your computer. Our ushers scan this printout in the same way they scan traditional tickets.

Website Wherever — TulsaPAC.mobi
Last year we became one of the first performing arts centers to have what is known as .mobi. This means that we have formatted our website so when it is viewed on a cell phone, the information we provide fits the phone’s space parameters. Recently, our ticketing partner, Tickets.com, has given our .mobi visitors the ability to buy tickets on that site. With this enhancement, the PAC will once again be ticketing technology pioneers.

Your Phone is Your Ticket — Tickets@Phone
We hope you’ll try purchasing tickets through your cell phone, especially now that we have Tickets@Phone. If you choose this option during the final phase of buying an online ticket, you will receive a text message that contains ticket information. When the text message is scanned by one of our ushers, a printer on the usher’s belt then creates your ticket. This option also costs $2 per order.

What’s Next? — Text!
Coming right up is our ability to send text messages to your cell phone. In the future, we’ll let you know about special deals, insider news and advance ticket on-sale dates —all through your cell phone. If you are not currently receiving our half-price offers and monthly news bulletin through an e-mail broadcast, please sign up on our homepage at TulsaPAC.com. And if you’d like to provide your cell phone number to receive text messages, please share that with us too. We will safeguard your information and we won’t bombard you either.

If you need anything from the PAC, please e-mail us at tulsapac@cityoftulsa.org. We’ll answer you by the next business day. In addition, sign up to follow the PAC on Facebook and Twitter. We’re here to help you enjoy the many events at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center. We want you to have the best possible experience, from obtaining information, to buying a ticket, to your comfort and enjoyment in our theaters. Just make sure to turn off everything but your enthusiasm once you’re inside!

Nancy Hermann is Director of Marketing for the Tulsa Performing Arts Center.

Tulsa Performing Arts Center Goes Live With ProVenueMobile™ from Tickets.com

ProVenueMobile Now Available for December 7 On-Sale Date for January 2010 Run of Legally Blonde–The Musical.

Tickets.com—a leading global provider of integrated, high-performance ticketing solutions—has added its proprietary mobile platform ProVenueMobile™ to the Tulsa Performing Arts Center (TPAC). TPAC’s decision to offer ProVenueMobile differentiates them by allowing patrons to complete a ticket transaction on any Internet enabled mobile phone with the option of Tickets@Phone® delivery. TPAC patrons can utilize ProVenueMobile to purchase tickets for Legally Blonde—The Musical; on-sale December 7, 2009.

ProVenueMobile™ allows full-circle ticket purchases to be made 24/7 from any Internet-enabled mobile phone, directly through a client’s branded, mobilized website. The mobile platform set a new standard in the ticketing industry in early 2009 by being the first technology to allow real-time ticket transactions from a mobile phone that also offers Tickets@Phone; the delivery of a digital, bar-coded ticket via MMS or picture message.

“Mobile ticketing has arrived and we are delighted to be one of the first organizations to offer the user-friendly ProVenueMobile to our customers,” said John Scott, director, TPAC.

TPAC presents outstanding cultural events and performances spotlighting artists—ranging from international stars to local favorites—touring shows, arts organizations, and community-based programming. In addition to Legally Blonde, other shows on sale include The Nutcracker, performed by the Tulsa Ballet, David Sedaris’ The Santaland Diaries and Tony Award winner August: Osage County.

“We’re thrilled that TPAC has embraced ProVenueMobile,” said Larry Witherspoon, chief executive officer, Tickets.com. “It’s so gratifying to work with clients that integrate new technologies into their ticketing services portfolio.”

Tickets can also be purchased through the venue’s website (http://www.tulsapac.com) or box office.

The national U.S. touring company of Legally Blonde runs January 5 – 10, 2010 at TPAC’s Chapman Music Hall, the largest of the Tulsa, OK-based Center’s four theaters.

"The Wizard of Oz" Tickets On Sale Now

Tickets go on sale Monday for “The Wizard of Oz,” which is headed to Memorial Auditorium 7:30 p.m. Jan. 18. NETworks Presenta­tions brings this national touring production to the auditorium.

It is based on the Royal Shakespeare Co.’s celebration of the 1939 MGM movie.

It is di­rected by director Nigel West, choreographed by Leigh Constantine and includes sets and cos­tumes by Tim McQuillen-Wright. Local talent will have a chance to audition for Munchkin roles, with de­tails forthcoming.

Tickets are $45 and $36.50 and are available online at www.tickets.com and www.wfmpec.com; charge by phone at 940-716-5555; or stop by the Kay Yeager Coliseum Box Office or the Shep­pard Air Force Base ITT Office.

CSUS choirs celebrate 25th year of 'Procession of Carols'

Bill Lindelof
The Sacramento Bee

CSUS choirs will be celebrating their 25th year of presenting the "Procession of Carols," an event that usually sells out fast.

The silver anniversary of the program of familiar and new carols, brass and organ music, and candlelight procession will be presented three times: 8 p.m. Dec. 5 and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Dec. 6. All performances will be at Sacred Heart Church, 39th and J streets in east Sacramento.

The choirs will be led by conductor Donald Kendrick. Selections include David Child's "O Magnum Mysterium," Robert Shaw's arrangement of "The Holly and the Ivy" and William Mathias' "Alleluia."

Tickets to the California State University, Sacramento performances are $10 general admission, $5 for students and seniors. Tickets are available at the CSUS ticket office, (916) 278-4323, or www.tickets.com.

Webinar: Mobile Commerce for the Holidays

Yankee Group recently organized a Webinar around the impending holiday m-commerce activity. According to one of their surveys, approximately 41% of participants claim they will purchase a smartphone as their next device, a statistic that renders mobile commerce increasingly significant. Another survey reveals that 14% of consumers are interested in mobile transactions and an additional 18% "may be interested." Yankee Group predicts that by 2013, 2.5 million U.S. consumers will participate in the mobile coupon market, generating $2.3 billion.

View the Webinar >

Youth Symphony Hits High Notes for Holiday Concert

Jump start your holiday celebration with Metropolis Youth Symphony’s Holiday Concert, December 15, 2009 at Metropolis Performing Arts Centre.

The holidays are the perfect time to enjoy the Metropolis Youth Symphony and their beautiful sound. Bringing extra cheer to the stage are top vocalists from The Metropolis Music School as well as several outstanding faculty members. Plus, everyone can join in a sing-a-long of classic holiday carols.

Metropolis Youth Symphony (MYS) creates an environment where students can achieve the highest standard of musicianship, comradeship, and professional communication. The Metropolis Youth Symphony fosters emerging leaders by engaging them in collaboration with professional guest artists and an experienced conductor, and providing them with opportunities for mentorship among their peer group. MYS offers a disciplined musical education that values students’ commitment and participation in school and the community.

Metropolis Youth Symphony’s Holiday Concert is at Metropolis on Tuesday, December 15, 2009 at 7 P.M. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased online at MetropolisArts.com or by calling the Box Office at 847.577.2121.

Metropolis Youth Symphony’s Holiday Concert is part of the Music series at Metropolis, dedicated to bringing big name artists into an intimate, acoustically perfect and exclusive venue. Other artists in the 2009-2010 season include Corky Siegel & Megon McDonough, Abba Salute, Liz Carroll, George Winston and Siegel-Schwall.

Metropolis receives generous sponsorship from American Airlines, Daily Herald, Doubletree Hotel of Arlington Heights, and FastSigns of Arlington Heights.

Metropolis is located in the heart of Chicago’s northwest suburbs in downtown Arlington Heights at the intersection of Campbell and Vail Avenue (111 West Campbell Street). Street parking is available. Free parking is available in the public garage behind the theatre. For more information about Metropolis and a complete 2009/2010 performance schedule, go to MetropolisArts.com or call the Box Office at 847.577.2121.

Facebook, Mobile Phones and the Future of Shopping

Forget the mall. Retailers are tapping Facebook and mobile phones to get closer to customers wherever they are.

CIO Magazine

At least 22 retailers have been driven into bankruptcy protection during this recession, including RedEnvelope and Eddie Bauer, or gone out of business altogether, like Circuit City. Blockbuster, Virgin Megastores and many more have closed stores. Survivors, suffering deflated profits and slow sales, warn of bleak holidays: The National Retail Federation predicts a 1 percent sales decline for the season compared to last year. Even Wal-Mart feels the slump, with same-store sales down 1 percent in its second quarter—its first such drop in years.

Baby, it's cold outside.

But smart retailers are going where it's warm: the hot little hands of cellphone—and laptop—toting consumers who want to shop right now, wherever they happen to be sipping their lattes or watching their kids' soccer games. Technology-backed projects to increase revenue include mobile e-commerce, coupons by text message, even storefronts on social networks. As enablers of these projects, CIOs are moving ever closer to the customer.

Social Shopping

E-mail marketing is in full swing now; the number of messages expected to be sent this holiday shopping season will far surpass last year's four billion, according to Experian Marketing Services, a consultancy. Of course, just a fraction of these will be opened. Even fewer messages will coax recipients to visit a website and buy something.

"Websites and e-mail—that's just too many steps now," says Brett Michalak, CIO with Tickets.com, which sells tickets to games, concerts and other events as well as its own ticketing technology.

______________________________________________________________________

Royal Oak Music Theatre, a Michigan music and comedy venue where acts such as Train and Bob Saget have played, started mobile ticketing three years ago and has adjusted its marketing to cover for finicky technology.

Anyone who's done self-check out at the supermarket knows that scanning takes a special, knowing touch. Still, scanning barcodes on the screens of mobile devices often requires extra wiggling of the phone and slanting it at different angles. It's slower than scanning paper tickets. To avoid ticking off patrons lined up to run in and grab general-admission floor spots, Royal Oak created a separate VIP entrance for the mobile customers. There, staff use the newer model scanners required for reading mobile barcodes, and it's not so apparent that the scanning takes longer, says Diana Williams, box office manager.

Mobile customers are also allowed to get into the theater a few minutes before traditional customers, which encourages more people to buy their tickets by cell phone, she says. That's cheaper for the theater than handling paper tickets—saving money and hassle time is Williams' goal. But it also positions the theater well for collecting future revenue.

Mobile ticketing skews young, Williams observes. The theater does shows for all ages, and for a typical adult event, 16 percent of tickets sold are through the mobile channel. But for a recent show by the boy-band Hansen, popular with tween girls, mobile accounted for nearly 40 percent of tickets.

"There's an age—around 22 or younger—where it would never occur to patrons that you couldn't buy a ticket from your phone," Williams says.

Impulse Buys

Mobile and social commerce projects will change the business of any company that invests in it, says Russ Stanley, managing vice president of ticket services and client relations for the San Francisco Giants.

For example, instead of being a long-planned activity, a Major League Baseball game can become an impulse buy, Stanley says, bringing in more sales for the organization.

Every game day, the Giants have 40,000 seats to sell. If they've sold only 30,000, 10,000 spoil every bit as badly as old pears. Last year, the team changed prices daily on about 2,000 seats. Stanley imagines the day when he'll have a database of fans who, say, live within a mile of the ballpark to whom he can text last-minute offers. "Hey, the Giants have $5 tickets left for tonight. For $5, I'll walk down there," he says. "As they're walking up to the entrance, they're buying on the mobile."

The Giants started to offer mobile tickets midway through the 2008 season, when they sold about 100 tickets that way per game. In 2009, it was about 200 and Stanley expects to do about 400 per game in the coming year. "Fans who use it love it. It's getting the people to use it," he says.

Like hot dogs and cold beer, holding a ticket is part of the rite of baseball, he says. Plus, there's the souvenir value. When pitcher Jonathan Sanchez threw a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres in July, about 50 mobile fans, as well as people who had bought tickets online and printed them on plain paper at home, later requested the team print "real" tickets for them to commemorate the event. "We did that for them. It's good relations," says Stanley. And, he adds, it could turn into a money-making service in the future.

Start small and expand gradually, Stanley advises. He could outfit all 42 entryways at AT&T Park with scanners to read mobile tickets, but the Giants just don't sell enough of them yet to make that cost worthwhile. Not until about 1,000 mobile tickets are sold per game—81,000 in a season—does he expect to see real labor savings compared to handling paper tickets. Ramp-up may be slow, but commerce in these new outlets is a commitment these early adopters say they will keep.

"Eventually there will be far more things that are accessible via your phone," Williams says. "I would rather have our box office be on the forefront of that than scrambling to catch up years down the line."

Today the payoff comes in other ways, she says. The novel technology makes retailers who use it more memorable among consumers and no paper—or less, anyway—makes it a greener way to do business.

Read more >

Happy Thanksgiving from Tickets.com!

Wishing you a happy Thanksgiving from your friends at Tickets.com.

The Cranberries reunite, will bring their tour to Seattle 12/7/09

Maria Christensen
CultureMob in Music, Seattle

Although The Cranberries never actually used the words “breaking up,” they certainly haven’t released a new album in eight years – the last being ‘Wake Up and Smell the Coffee’ in 2001 – or been on tour together for the last seven years.

While each band member has had plenty to keep them busy with new projects and solo acts, apparently the time is right for some kind of new iteration of The Cranberries. Lead singer Dolores O’Riordan has been quoted as saying, “I’ve decided to reunite with my former band members in The Cranberries and we will be writing new songs and performing tracks off my new album as well as our greatest hits during the shows.”

The new tour brings them to Seattle to perform at The Moore Theatre on December 7. Tickets are $33 and can be bought through STG Presents.

Nickelback returning to Tulsa’s BOK Center

Brandy McDonnell
BAM's Blog

Nickelback, along with special guests Breaking Benjamin and Shinedown, will return April 24 to the BOK Center.

Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. Dec. 5. Price are to be determined. They will be available online at www.bokcenter.com, www.livenation.com, Arby’s Box Office, all Tickets.com outlets, or by phone at (866) 7BOKCTR.

Nickelback also played an April show this year at the Tulsa arena.

The Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum rock band has announced the 2010 North American leg of their “Dark Horse World Tour,” a Live Nation-produced event. The tour will feature special guests Breaking Benjamin and Shinedown with the opening act and additional dates to be announced.

The newly confirmed dates are hot off the heels of summer and fall dates in which the band played to sold-out crowds around the world.

Nickelback fan club members will have access to presale tickets beginning Nov. 27 in select markets. Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets beginning Nov. 30 at 10 a.m. local time through Citi’s Private Pass Program. For complete presale details, tgo to www.citiprivatepass.com. For more information on the tour, ticket on sales, fan club membership and VIP packages, go to www.Nickelback.com or www.LiveNation.com.

Find tour dates and more info after the break.

NICKELBACK DARK HORSE 2010 TOUR DATES:

April 6 London, ON John Labatt Centre

April 8 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre

April 9 Montreal, QC Bell Centre

April 11 Ottawa, ON Scotiabank Place

April13 Washington, DC Verizon Center

April 14 Hampton VA Hampton Coliseum*

April16 Greenville, SC BI-LO Center*

April 17 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum Complex*

April19 Orlando, FL Amway Arena*

April 21 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena

April 24 Tulsa, OK BOK Center

* Shinedown not included.

“Never Gonna Be Alone,” the newest single from Nickelback’s latest album, “Dark Horse,” is already top 15 at Hot A/C and heating up quickly at Top 40. Last week also saw the premiere of the video for “Never Gonna Be Alone.” Added out of the box at VH1 and Fuse, both channels will start airing it Nov. 23. The video can currently be seen via Nickelback.com, RoadrunnerRecords.com and YouTube. The video was shot by veteran director and longtime Nickelback friend Nigel Dick.

Nickelback is one of the biggest rock bands in the world, with more than 35 million albums sold. The band’s latest album, “Dark Horse,” produced by the legendary Mutt Lange, debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart and has remained on the Top 200 for 50 weeks, selling more than 2.4 million albums in the United States alone. Nickelback is currently nominated for a 2009 American Music Award in the Pop/Rock category for Favorite Band, Duo or Group.

Nickelback has enjoyed unprecedented success with their last album, “All The Right Reasons,” which has been RIAA certified eight-times platinum. The six singles from the album totaled 12 million downloads and 6 million ringtones. All proceeds of digital single and video sales for “If Everyone Cared” between Feb. 1 and July 31, 2007 were donated to charity, equally distributed between Amnesty International and International Childrens’ Awareness Canada. Each of the five videos from “All The Right Reasons” has reached No. 1 on VH1’s playlist, “Photograph,” “Savin’ Me,” “Far Away,” “If Everyone Cared” and “Rockstar.”

In 2006, Nickelback was awarded a World Music Award for World’s Best Rock Group, a Billboard Touring Award for Breakthrough Artist, an American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Album and a People’s Choice Award for Best Rock Group.

MLBAM's Bob Bowman Named "Ultimate Game Changer" by Huffington Post

Eric Fisher
SportsBusiness Journal

Readers of HuffingtonPost.com have selected MLBAM President & CEO Bob Bowman as the Ultimate Game Changer in sports. The Web site conducted a reader survey to select Ultimate Game Changers in 10 different categories, including business, politics and philanthropy, drawing more than 1.7 million votes. Within sports, Bowman beat out other nominees such as ESPN's Bill Simmons, Citizen Sports Network executives Jeff Ma and Mike Kerns, StubHub President Chris Tsakalakis, CBSSports.com Senior VP & GM Jason Kint, Cavaliers C Shaquille O'Neal and tennis star Serena Williams.

Albany River Rats to Offer $5 Tickets This Wednesday

Rats offering $5 tickets on Thanksgiving Eve

Pete Dougherty
TimesUnion.com

The Albany River Rats announced today that tickets for their game next Wednesday night — the day before Thanksgiving — against the Syracuse Crunch will be available for $5 apiece.

Single-game tickets generally run $17 ($13 for children 12 and under and seniors 65 and older).

Tickets can be purchased by visiting or calling the Times Union Center box office (487-2000), at http://www.tickets.com (1-800-30-EVENT), or at select Price Chopper stores.

Tickets@Phone® Mobile Ticketing Technology

Send paperless, barcoded tickets directly to your customers’ mobile phones. Tickets@Phone tickets are redeemed at your venue directly from their mobile phone display through the use of a barcode scanner.


Tickets@Phone is an innovative ticket delivery method that expands your options of how your customers receive their tickets. With Tickets@Phone, your customers’ tickets are delivered to their mobile phones.

If you would like to learn more about mobile ticketing technologies, please contact Tickets.com at sales@Tickets.com or 888-397-3400.

Shawn Mullins Set to Perform, Teach at Metropolis

Platinum-selling rocker Shawn Mullins is at Metropolis Performing Arts Centre for one night only, November 21, 2009.

Shawn Mullins has had two number one songs, sold over a million albums and been nominated for a Grammy. Now, this legend of Americana rock and pop and former U.S. Army officer brings his old hits, new album, stories, personality and charm to Metropolis’ intimate theatre for one night only. It’s the perfect evening for anyone who loves music.

Shawn Mullins comes to Metropolis November 21, 2009 at 8 P.M. Tickets are $35, Stage Tables $45, and can be purchased online at MetropolisArts.com or by calling the Box Office at 847.577.2121.

Shawn Mullins is part of the Music series at Metropolis, dedicated to bringing in big name artists to an intimate, acoustically perfect and exclusive venue. More music shows in the 2009/10 season include performances by The Illinois Brass Band, The Lakeside Singers, Corky Siegel & Megon McDonough, Abba Salute, Liz Carroll, George Winston and Siegel-Schwall.

Mullins leads special songwriting class

It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity – learning the unique skill of songwriting from one of its masters. Shawn Mullins will be teaching a master songwriting class at Metropolis on Sunday, November 22. Call the Metropolis School of Performing Arts Education Office at 847.577.5982 x221 to register. Limited to 20 participants and is filling fast.

Metropolis receives generous sponsorship from American Airlines, the Daily Herald, Doubletree Hotel of Arlington Heights, FastSigns of Arlington Heights, and Stella Artois.

Metropolis is located in the heart of Chicago’s northwest suburbs in downtown Arlington Heights at the intersection of Campbell and Vail Avenue (111 West Campbell Street). Street parking is available. Free parking is available in the public garage behind the theatre. For more information about Metropolis and a complete 2009/2010 performance schedule, visit MetropolisArts.com or call the Box Office at 847.577.2121.

Tickets.com Partner Usablenet in the News

Mobile Commerce Daily called on Usablenet's Nick Taylor to provide thought leadership on the m-commerce space. Taylor argues, "It's vital for retailers to provide a mobile Web presence for shoppers. Customers are already trying to make purchases through their phones, so why not let them have a successful experience?"

Read more >

Tickets.com offers two industry-leading mobile ticketing solutions:

ProVenueMobile, in partnership with Usablenet, for mobile ticket purchasing and Tickets@Phone, in partnership with Mobiqa, for mobile ticket delivery.

Bon Jovi Ticket Sales Announced

KTUL News Channel 8

Tulsa, OK - Bon Jovi has announced that their 2010-2011 “The Circle World Tour,” will arrive at BOK Center in Tulsa on April 13th, 2010. The GRAMMY Award-winning band will spend much of the next two years on the road, performing 135 shows in 30 countries.

Tickets go on sale Monday, November 16th at 10:00AM and can be purchased at the BOK Center Box Office and all Tickets.com outlets, on Tickets.com, charge by phone at 1-866-7-BOK-CTR or online at www.bokcenter.com. Tickets are subject to applicable service charges and event time and date are subject to change. Log on to www.bonjovi.com for the most up to date concert and ticket on-sale information.

With the grounds of New Meadowlands Stadium as their backdrop, the band’s Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, David Bryan and Tico Torres announced their two-year global trek with an exclusive performance for a group of more than 5,000 lucky contest winners, fan club members, and on-site construction workers currently building the venue. Following in the footsteps of their hugely successful “Lost Highway Tour—Billboard’s #1 top-grossing tour of 2008—Bon Jovi will draw fans around the world into The Circle, with a residency at London’s O2 Arena in June 2010 before returning to America in the fall for an additional nationwide leg, and further dates well into 2011.

The November 10th release of the GRAMMY Award winning band’s new album, The Circle, and subsequent world tour, provides a powerful reassertion of Bon Jovi’s commitment to the hard-hitting rock & roll that has been the band’s indelible signature since it began more than 26 years ago.

Don Vappie and the Creole Jazz Serenaders to Perform at Caltech

Don Vappie and the Creole Jazz Serenaders will perform on Saturday, December 5, at 8 p.m. in Caltech’s Beckman Auditorium.

The repertoire of this classic jazz orchestra from New Orleans includes Creole jazz from the early years, as well as music from Jelly Roll Morton, King Oliver, Louis Armstrong. Duke Ellington. McKinney’s Cotton Pickers, Mills Blue Rhythm Band, Jabbo Smith, The New Orleans Owls, The Astoria Hot Eight, and many others.

The Creole Jazz Serenaders had the honor of performing the world premier of Jelly Roll Morton’s lost manuscripts and received acclaim for a classic jazz program of Jelly Roll Morton, Creole, and other classics performed with the Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestra. Their CD In Search of King Oliver was the subject of a PRI radio program of the same name. The CD Creole Blues is one of Offbeat Magazine’s essential 100 CDs of the 20th century from Louisiana and has been featured on Delta Airlines in-flight music program, as well as Nick Spitzer’s American Routes radio program on NPR.

Tickets to this performance are priced at $26.00, $21.00, and $16.00; youth (high school age and younger): $10.00. Senior rush tickets will go on sale for $10.00, beginning one-half hour before the performance (subject to availability). Tickets can be purchased at the Caltech Ticket Office, 332 S. Michigan Avenue, Pasadena.

Parking for Beckman Auditorium is located at 332 South Michigan Avenue, Pasadena (south of Del Mar Boulevard). For information, call (626) 395-4652.

Tickets.com® Signs Long Term Agreement to Provide Ticketing System for International Speedway Corporation Racetracks

Thirteen racing venues will move ticketing operations to Tickets.com's ProVenue® platform

Tickets.com, Inc., a leading provider of integrated ticketing solutions, has signed a long term agreement with ISC.com, LLC a subsidiary of International Speedway Corporation (ISC), to provide a ticketing platform and related services to all ISC properties. ISC owns and/or operates 13 of the nation's major motorsports entertainment facilities, including Daytona International Speedway® in Florida, home of the Daytona 500®. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Following an extensive research effort in which all major ticketing providers participated, ISC selected Tickets.com’s ProVenue® platform to replace their current in-house ticketing system used at 11of the 13 facilities. The other 2 facilities, Chicagoland Speedway® and Route 66 RacewaySM, were operating on Ticketmaster’s Archtics software. Chicagoland Speedway®, Route 66 RacewaySM, and The Kansas Speedway®, were the first tracks converted to the ProVenue System under the new agreement.

ISC and its subsidiaries promote more than 100 racing events and sells millions of tickets annually. Consequently, the company required a ticketing platform capable of handling high volume transactions for major events. “Our goal was to find a solution that will provide a positive ticket-purchasing experience for our fans, with the technology to handle our significant sales volume,” said ISC Vice President, Multi-Channel Marketing and Chief Information Officer Craig Neeb. “The ProVenue ticketing system has the capabilities we were looking for. It also offers interactive seat maps, browser-style interfaces and complete system scalability.”

“ISC's position as a world leader in motorsports entertainment with demanding ticketing requirements makes this partnership extremely rewarding for us,” said Larry Witherspoon, Chief Executive Officer, Tickets.com. The company’s selection of ProVenue, after an intense assessment of all other product offerings in the market, confirms that ProVenue is the most technologically advanced ticketing system currently available.”

By selecting Tickets.com, ISC will be able to retain centralized ticketing operations for its properties.

Metropolis Spreads Holiday Cheer with a New (and Still Traditional) Christmas Carol and Dysfunctional Revue

There is no better way to celebrate the holidays than with Metropolis Performing Arts Centre’s family classic A Christmas Carol, running November 27 – December 24, 2009. Metropolis is proud to present its annual holiday tale, one of the only professional adult productions in the region. This year’s production features 19 new actors and two returning standouts, redesigned special effects, new costumes and big, new musical dance numbers. It’s perfect for the whole family.

Metropolis freshens up its holiday production, of the traditional family tale written by Charles Dickens, with adaptation by Krista Scott and musical arrangements by George Maurer. Don’t miss Tiny Tim, the Cratchit family and everyone’s favorite old miser Scrooge in this fun, bright, musical retelling of the beloved holiday tale. It’s perfect for the whole family. Appropriate for all ages.

Director Brad Dunn works with an amazing cast, many of whom call the northwest suburbs home. Steve Lehtman of Buffalo Grove moves to the lead role of Ebenezer Scrooge, having spent the past four years playing The Ghost of Bob Marley. The production also includes rising stars Michael DeMarco (Peter Cratchit) of Arlington Heights and Amy Rapp (Martha Cratchit/Past) of Schaumburg, and Alexander Denniston of Arlington Heights, Victoria Tchalakov of Kildeer and Emily Turner of Sleepy Hollow, all sharing the role of Tiny Tim. The cast also includes a children’s chorus comprised of over 45 young actors from the northwest suburbs.

"Christmas Carol at Metropolis has truly become a part of the holiday tradition for families in the Northwest suburbs," said Jarvis. "We're really excited about this year's production. We still have the wonderful music, the colorful period costumes, great special effects for the ghosts and it still snows on the audience at the end of the show, but we also have an almost all new cast and new (yet seasoned) director who bring a fresh perspective to the show. It's a great combination that will result in yet another fun, memorable outing for kids young and not so young."

Preview performances of A Christmas Carol are November 27 – November 28, 2009. Opening day is Sunday, November 29 at 4 P.M. The show runs through December 24, 2009. Specific dates and times listed below. Tickets are $28.50, 12 & under $15.50. Half price tickets are available at the Box Office the day of the performance to students presenting a valid student ID. A Christmas Carol is proudly sponsored by The Peoples’ Bank of Arlington Heights.

A Christmas Carol is directed by Brad Dunn, Music Director is Ken McMullen, and choreography is by Kristen Gurbach Jacobson. Designers are Bill Franz (Resident Sound Designer), Vicky Strei (Resident Costume Designer), Micky York (Resident Properties Designer), Joe Mohammed (Resident Lighting Designer) with Mike Wagner as assistant lighting designer. . Robin M. Hughes is the Artistic Director/Director of Production, Resident Technical Director is Mike Gehmlich, The Executive Director of Metropolis is Jim Jarvis.

Second City delivers big holiday laughs

The Second City returns to Metropolis with their famed, hilarious, Exceedingly Dysfunctional Holiday Revue. A few pieces of classic, favorite material, lots of new scenes, all funny, and NOT seen downtown at Second City. Metropolis’ presentation of the The Second City’s Dysfunctional Holiday Revue has been a favorite holiday stop for adults looking to find the humor amidst the stress of the holidays. Irreverent, insightful and legendary, seeing The Second City at Metropolis means a great show at a great price, in a cool urban setting with free parking and great restaurants all around.

Let’s face it, no holiday is perfect. Now, The Second City takes the awkwardness of family get-togethers, kookiness of office parties and general madness of the holiday season and turns it all into laughs with their Exceedingly Dysfunctional Holiday Revue. We can all relate to shopping woes, annoying carolers and burnt turkey dinners; and now we can enjoy The Second City’s hilarious take on the holidays. Contains adult language and content. Not recommended for children or young teens.

A preview performances of The Second City’s Exceedingly Dysfunctional Holiday Revue is November 27, 2009 at 10 P.M. Opening night is November 28 at 7 P.M. The show runs through December 30, 2009. Specific dates and times listed below. Tickets are $29.50, Stage Tables $34.50. The Second City’s Exceedingly Dysfunctional Holiday Revue is proudly sponsored by Fuego Mexican Grill and Margarita Bar.

There will also be New Year’s Eve performances of The Second City’s Exceedingly Dysfunctional Holiday Revue at 6 & 10 P.M., including a champagne toast, party favors and, at the late show, a balloon drop. Tickets for the New Year’s Eve shows are $50, Stage Tables $60.

A Christmas Carol and The Second City’s Exceedingly Dysfunctional Holiday Revue are part of Metropolis’ Holiday series. Holiday performances begin the week of Thanksgiving and continue through the end of the year, making the holidays some of the most exciting times at Metropolis. More Holiday performers include The Illinois Brass Band, The Lakeside Singers, Metropolis Youth Symphony’s Holiday Show and Corky Siegel & Megon McDonough.

The title sponsor for A Christmas Carol is The Peoples’ Bank of Arlington Heights. The title sponsor for The Second City’s Exceedingly Dysfunctional Holiday Revue is Fuego Mexican Grill & Margaritas. In addition, Metropolis receives generous sponsorship from the Daily Herald, American Airlines, FastSigns of Arlington Heights, and Doubletree Hotel of Arlington Heights and Stella Artois.

Metropolis is located in the heart of Chicago’s northwest suburbs in downtown Arlington Heights at the intersection of Campbell and Vail Avenue (111 West Campbell Street). Street parking is available. Free parking is available in the public garage behind the theatre. For more information about Metropolis and a complete 2008/2009 performance schedule, go to MetropolisArts.com or call the Box Office at 847.577.2121.

Mobile Devices and Shopping: Shop.org Research Results

Shop.org
Fiona Swerdlow

According to research conducted by Shop.org that interviewed nearly 7,000 people, approximately half of the 18 to 34 year-old participants enjoy product and price comparisons, store information, in-store events and specials, product availability, and coupons via their mobile phones. Scoring only slightly lower, female respondents also view similar shopping functionality as very useful.

Read more >

Retailers Are Learning to Love Smartphones

As apps have improved, m-commerce—buying all kinds of things via iPhone and BlackBerry—is rising

Business Week
By Reena Jana

People are using their smartphones for more than just making calls, sending e-mails, or watching YouTube (GOOG) videos. The fastest-growing cell-phone activity is shopping directly from a handset, reports market researcher Gartner (IT). Retailers from Amazon (AMZN) to CVS (CVS) to Sears (SHLD) have recently launched "m-commerce" sites or software applications that allow shoppers to browse and buy books, medicine, or even lawn mowers from their iPhones and BlackBerrys. "It's in-and-out, surgical-style shopping behavior" influenced by the recessionary need to focus on necessities, says Thomas Emmons, head of the mobile innovation group at Sears.

Some of the iPhone apps enable mobile shoppers to do even more. While strolling among the bookcases at a brick-and-mortar Barnes & Noble (BKS) store, people can use the Apple (AAPL) smartphone to snap a photo of the latest Jim Collins management title, for example. Image-recognition software triggers an algorithm to recognize the product in a database. The software then pulls up user reviews from Barnesandnoble.com on the handset's screen almost instantly to help shoppers decide whether to buy or pass. "We've seen a huge uplift in reservations of books for purchase in physical stores, as well as buying, from the iPhone app since we launched it," says Douglas Gottlieb, the retail chain's vice-president for digital devices.



In the travel industry, companies are using m-commerce to target businesspeople who need to purchase plane tickets and book hotel rooms while in transit. In the first four months after Marriott International (MAR) launched an m-commerce application for all smartphones, in August 2008, customers used it to spend $2 million even as overall travel expenditures slumped.

Why is m-commerce suddenly capturing the attention of retailers and consumers? "Shoppers now have the ability to buy on their phones easily as retailers are starting to get the design of iPhone and other applications right," says Gartner analyst Hung LeHong. Shop-by-phone consumers can pick up purchases in stores or have them shipped home or to a hotel without logging on to computers or interacting with salespeople.

M-commerce software specialists say business is surging. Jason Taylor, senior vice-president for mobile products at New York's Usablenet, which created m-commerce sites for Sears, Limited Brands (LTD), American Eagle Outfitters (AEO), and CVS, says it has signed three times more contracts in the past quarter than in previous periods. With more people buying smartphones—Gartner's latest worldwide sales data show a 12.7% increase in units sold in the first quarter of 2009 from a year earlier—the m-commerce market is likely to keep growing.

Austin Technology Incubator's Qcue Receives $1 Million Investment From State of Texas

The State of Texas has awarded $1,000,000 to Qcue, a member company of the Austin Technology Incubator, through the Texas Emerging Technology Fund (ETF). The investment was announced today at the Gulf Coast Regional Center of Innovation and Commercialization.

Qcue develops dynamic pricing software that helps sports and entertainment organizations adjust ticket prices to evolving market conditions. In early 2009, Major League Baseball’s San Francisco Giants became the first professional sports franchise to implement Qcue’s dynamic pricing solution. The success of the Giants’ dynamic pricing initiative has led to deals with other major league organizations, including a recent announcement with the National Hockey League’s Dallas Stars.

“This investment from the State of Texas makes a big statement about the positive impact innovative pricing strategies can have on consumers and local economies,” said Barry Kahn, CEO of Qcue. “We look forward to helping more organizations implement creative, cost-effective pricing strategies to get more fans out to ballparks and stadiums across the country.”

Qcue joined the Austin Technology Incubator in May 2008. “Qcue is what the Emerging Technology Fund is all about: taking innovation from the university environment and getting it into companies where it can have a breakthrough impact,” said Isaac Barchas, Director of The Austin Technology Incubator.

The ETF is a $200 million initiative created by the Texas Legislature in 2005. Qcue was awarded the funds after an in-depth analysis of the company’s market and financial opportunity, technology potential, management team and economic impact to Texas.


About Qcue
Qcue is reinventing the primary ticket marketplace with the world’s only dynamic pricing engine for live entertainment events. Sports teams, concert promoters and venues use Qcue ‘s patent-pending technology to set the right price at the right time and provide the best value for fans, from the date of on-sale to the date of the event. Customers and partners include the San Francisco Giants, Dallas Stars, Major League Baseball Advanced Media, and Tickets.com. Founded in 2007, Qcue is based in Austin, Texas. For more information on Qcue, visit www.qcue.net.

About The Austin Technology Incubator
The Austin Technology Incubator is a nonprofit unit of The University of Texas at Austin that harnesses business, government and academic resources to provide strategic counsel, operational guidance and infrastructure support to its member companies to help them transition from early stage ventures to successful technology businesses.

Since its founding in 1989, ATI has worked with over 200 companies, helping them raise close to $750 million in investor capital. ATI is a key program of the IC² Institute at The University of Texas at Austin. For more information, visit www.ati.utexas.edu.

About The Gulf Coast RCIC
HTC serves as the Gulf Coast Regional Center of Innovation and Commercialization (Gulf Coast RCIC) for Texas Governor Rick Perry’s Emerging Technology Fund, assisting small to mid-size technology firms expediting the commercialization of new life-changing inventions and improving research at Texas universities. To date, the Gulf Coast RCIC helped 16 Gulf Coast region companies raise nearly $15 million in grants from the Fund.

Jewel Concert Tickets Now on Sale for Show at Bottleneck Blues Bar

Ameristar Casino Hotel Vicksburg announces the appearance of renowned recording artist Jewel performing at the Bottleneck Blues Bar on Saturday, November 7.

Ameristar Casino Hotel Vicksburg announces the appearance of renowned recording artist Jewel performing at the Bottleneck Blues Bar on Saturday, November 7. Concert tickets are on sale now for Jewel, a folksy story teller and entertainer. Don’t miss Jewel’s performance at Vicksburg’s own Bottleneck Blues Bar. This is a one-night only performance.

Hailed as a “New Woman of Rock” by Time magazine, singer Jewel combines rock and country music to create her own unique niche as a songwriter. Jewel’s big hits include “Who Will Save Your Soul,” “You Were Meant For Me,” and “Foolish Games.” Jewel concert tickets are available at tickets.com, Jeweljk.com, or the Ameristar Casino Hotel Vicksburg's Bottleneck Blues Bar.

• Singer Jewel solo and acoustic
• Saturday, November 7 ,Bottleneck Blues Bar-Vicksburg, MS
• Doors open 6:30 show begins 7:30
• Ticket Prices $45.50-$50.50
• Purchase Jewel concert tickets at tickets.com
• Special VIP backstage package available at Jeweljk.com

Vicksburg Bottleneck Blues Bar Welcomes Singer-Songwriter Jewel

Jewel concert tickets are on sale now for her performance at Ameristar Casino Hotel Vicksburg’s Bottleneck Blues Bar. A perfect weekend getaway, Ameristar Casino Hotel Vicksburg is a full-service hotel. Guests can enjoy Vegas-style shows, live music entertainment at the Bottleneck Blues Bar and delicious Southern-style cuisine. The newly renovated Ameristar Casino Hotel Vicksburg offers guests many amenities including LCD flat screen televisions, wireless high speed Internet access, and a 70,000 square-foot riverboat casino keeps the action going.

Don’t delay, purchase your Jewel concert tickets for her live and acoustic performance on Saturday, November 7, at the Bottleneck Blues Bar. Plan your weekend excursion of fun and excitement at Ameristar Casino Hotel Vicksburg today! For more information about upcoming shows at Bottleneck Blues Bar and Ameristar Casino Hotel Vicksburg, Miss., visit: http://www.ameristar.com/Vicksburg.aspx

Tickets.com partner Usablenet makes inroads into the mobile ticketing arena

TicketNews
Kelly McWilliams

Usablenet's mobile platform, a tool long familiar to travelers and commuters, is beginning to make its mark in the mobile ticketing world.

Launched in 2000, Usablenet sought to translate web material into a mobile-friendly product for consumers. The company, with offices in both New York City and Udine, Italy, worked first with Amtrak to offer passengers cutting edge web-to-mobile service. Initially, it remained in the service of the traveling population, soon starting accounts with air travel providers such as Jet Blue and hotel chains such as Hilton Hotels. Next was a foray into the world of commuters, translating the Web sites of transit companies into mobile for their daily riders.

Most recently the company has been working with retailers such as CVS, Staples, Victoria’s Secret and American Eagle, and in the past year, it has added two major ticketers, Telecharge and Tickets.com, to its list of clients.

As Jason Taylor, Usablenet’s VP of Mobile Products, explained: “What Usablenet mobile allows our clients to do is to…identify anything on their Web site that they want to offer to their mobile users. Usablenet then goes about extending that and becoming the client’s mobile partner.” Much of the company’s technology has come from its earlier efforts to provide web-to-mobile service for the disabled, which the company now markets as a separate package entitled Usablenet Assistive.

Taylor highlighted four qualities of Usablenet’s platform that defines it as unique in today’s mobile and ticketing markets. “First, it requires no IT development or backend coding, so all [the client has] to have is a website. Second, it supports all mobile phones worldwide, as long as a phone is web-enabled. Third, we have a very fast delivery mechanism of 6-8 weeks. And fourth, there is no functionality (of a website) that we can’t make mobile.”

Discussing the relatively new relationship that Usablenet enjoys with Tickets.com and Telecharge, Taylor said, “The general idea is that, especially with Tickets.com, [we are] a vehicle for two specific things. One is last minute tickets, to take advantage of deals when you are not near a computer. Also, if you are on the road or visiting a town, you can buy tickets for that town. Moments when you’re not near your computer make mobile a powerful solution.”

When asked about the transferability of tickets from Tickets.com and Telecharge through Usablenet mobile services, Taylor noted that Usablenet provides the technology only and has no control over the nature of services offered by the web client: “The way that our platform works is it extends the business features of our clients. Whatever those sites offer in terms of benefits or transfer options, then those are available to the mobile customer.”

Derek Palmer, Chief Commercial Officer for Tickets.com, notes that Usablenet has been providing web-to-mobile services for the company since November of 2008, and that Tickets.com has been pleased with the relationship.

“What they offer is not just a generic flow but also a customized look and feel, the same look and feel as the website. It’s a real advantage from a branding perspective. [It leaves the] consumer feeling comfortable that they are dealing with the organization’s site,” Palmer said.

As for transferability of tickets, that is still a work in progress. “Nobody’s doing that currently,” Palmer added, “though there’s nothing from a technology standpoint that would prevent someone from doing that, as long as there was an integration with a reseller and the primary ticketing provider. We have an integration with StubHub [in their relationship with] Major League Baseball, but we have not gone down the path of doing mobile with them.”

After starting discussions with Usablenet a year and a half ago, Telecharge came on board this past summer. Jennifer Tattenbaum, Interactive Services Director for Telecharge, has also seen the benefits of going mobile.

“I had been focused on [use of] the mobile site for customer service, to check the address of your venue, to get info about an event. I thought that people would be hesitant to input their credit card number into a mobile device, so I didn’t picture it as something that would generate ticket sales. A lot has changed in a year and a half, and it’s turned into a sales channel.” As for transferability, mobile tickets from Telecharge are bound by the same restrictions as those purchased on the Telecharge Web site, and so are non-transferable. Tattenbaum declined to comment on the reasons why Telecharge does not offer a transferable product at this time.

Chicago Cubs Convention tix go on sale Nov. 4

By Carrie Muskat / MLB.com

Need a baseball fix this winter? Weekend passes for the 25th annual Cubs Convention to be held in January go on sale Nov. 4, at 10 a.m. CT.

Passes will be available for purchase through two methods: Visiting cubs.com or by calling tickets.com at 1-800-THE-CUBS.

The Cubs Convention will be held from Jan. 15-17 at the Hilton Chicago, on 720 South Michigan Ave. Each fan can purchase up to four weekend passes. The convention pass, valid for entry during the entire weekend, costs $60 plus convenience fees.

The convention runs from 3-9 p.m. on Jan. 15; 9 a.m. to midnight on Jan. 16; and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Jan. 17. Included with each pass is access to all autograph/photo sessions, question and answer sessions, the memorabilia and vendor booths as well as new interactive areas for fans of all ages.

Rooms at the Hilton are still available for the weekend and fans can call (312) 922-4400 for reservations. Fans with room reservations under the Cubs Convention rate can purchase weekend passes for $20 each. There is a limit of four per room.

Proceeds from the Convention benefit Cubs Care, a fund of the McCormick Foundation. The 2009 Cubs Convention raised more than $250,000. To date, the Cubs Convention has raised nearly $4 million for Cubs Care.

Carrie Muskat is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

More seats on sale for Alan Jackson’s Nov. 7 Tulsa show

BAM's Blog
Brandy McDonnell

The BOK Center announced today that additional seats are on sale for Alan Jackson’s Nov. 7 concert at the Tulsa arena, 200 S Denver.

“These are seats near the side of stage and allow for a great view,” according to the press announcement from the BOK Center.

The concert, featuring up-and-coming band Gloriana as the opening act, is almost sold out, according to the release.

The show will start at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 7. Doors will open at 6 p.m.

Tickets can be bought online at www.bokcenter.com, at Tickets.com, at the venue’s Arby’s Box Office, at all Tickets.com outlets, or by phone at (866) 7BOKCTR.

Mobile Web growing beyond the traditional boundaries

Mobile Marketer
Chris Harnick

According to Nielsen, unique mobile Web users increased by 14.4% this past year. Youths between the ages of 13 and 17 who now use the mobile Web grew by 45% and 67% for seniors over age 65. Lead analyst of mobile media at Nielsen added, "This [interactive medium] affords brands the opportunity to integrate mobile into their broader campaign efforts to forge the personalized experience that uniquely comes with mobile by providing the right message at the right place."

Read more >

AQHA’s World Championship Show returns to Oklahoma City on November 6.

The American Quarter Horse Journal

For 16 days in November, Oklahoma City will host the top American Quarter Horses from around the world that will be competing at the American Quarter Horse Association’s Bank of America Amateur and FedEx Open World Championship Show. The competition gets underway November 6 at State Fair Park. American Quarter Horses will display their world-renowned versatility as they vie for 94 world championship titles.

The 2009 World Show entries are complete and working orders are now available. This year, AQHA received 3,464 entries for the 2009 World Show compared to 3,498 in 2008. Entries were received from 46 states, six Canadian provinces, Brazil, France, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom. With 2,102 horses slated to compete, the Oklahoma City economy will see a boost of more than $30.9 million from exhibitors and spectators.

Through the generosity of Bank of America, FedEx and other AQHA corporate partners, $600,000 of added money is up for grabs. The horses will compete for world champion titles and a share of more than $2.7 million in cash and awards. Building on the success of last year, the 2009 World Show will utilize the Performance Arena for preliminaries in some classes. All finals will be contested in Jim Norick State Fair Arena.

Back by popular demand, the spotlight will shine on the equine stars at this year’s World Show as AQHA crowns the Most Valuable Horses in six divisions. The MVH Awards recognize the highest point-earning horses in the open divisions of Western (western pleasure, western riding and trail classes); Roping (heading, heeling and tie-down); English (hunter under saddle, hunter hack, working hunter, pleasure driving and jumping); Pattern/Cow (cutting, reining and working cow horse); Speed (barrel racing and pole bending) and Timed (ranch sorting and team penning). MVH winners will each receive $5,000 cash and special recognition at the show.

The Featherlite All-Around Amateur and Superhorse awards remain the most prestigious honors and will be presented to the horse earning the most points in a minimum of three events in two categories in amateur and open competition, respectively. The winners will receive a $25,000 certificate toward the purchase of a Featherlite trailer and other prizes.

AQHA is concerned about the health and well-being of its membership and is teaming with the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center to provide free health screenings on November 17 in Barn 3 by the Sales Pavilion. For the third year, AQHA and OUHSC are also hosting Saddle Up For Life, an event that recognizes cancer survivors and raises money for cancer care. This year, Saddle Up For Life will be held Friday, November 13.

From horsewares to housewares, this year’s AQHA Trade Show is sure to fulfill all your holiday shopping needs. The trade show features more than 130 booths with unique items and is too big for just one building. Visit the free trade show 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. November 6-10 and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. November 11-21 in the Travel & Transportation Building and the Cox Pavilion at State Fair Park.

The American Quarter Horse Journal, the ultimate source for American Quarter Horse information, will provide extensive online coverage of the World Show. Along with exclusive feature stories about world champions and unique competitors, The Journal will stream live video from State Fair Arena via the Fort Dodge Web cam and provide up-to-the-minute show results. Be sure to stop by the SmartPak Internet Café from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day in Conference Room C in the Super Barn, where show attendees can check their e-mail and view the latest Journal show coverage.

America’s Horse.TV, AQHA’s online television network also will feature highlights from the World Show. Be sure to check americashorse.tv for World Show coverage and other features from the American Quarter Horse industry.

Tickets are on sale now. General admittance tickets are available for $7 and reserved seating for $10. For more information about purchasing tickets through State Fair Park, call OK Tickets at (405) 948-6827. Tickets also may be purchased online at tickets.com. Limited individual box seat tickets are available for $12. For individual box seat sales, call (405) 948-6807.

The Bank of America Amateur and FedEx Open World Championship Show is the largest single-breed world championship horse show in the world. The exciting competition begins November 6 and continues through November 21 at State Fair Park. For the latest information including schedules and details of special events, visit www.aqha.com.

AQHA news and information is a service of AQHA publications. For more information on The American Quarter Horse Journal, The American Quarter Horse Racing Journal or America’s Horse, visit www.aqha.com/magazines.

How Brands Can Build a Successful App Strategy

12 Lessons From Benjamin Moore, Bank of America, Kraft and Others

Advertising Age
Kuner Patel

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- More than a year into the age of the iPhone app, brands are starting to get on board -- and best practices are emerging. At Wednesday's Apps for Brands event in New York, marketers taught other marketers what's worked for them. Here are 12 lessons culled from the day, during which MLB.com CEO Bob Bowman and marketers from Kraft, Bank of America, Benjamin Moore and AKQA convened to talk about what they've learned from their early, successful forays into the space.

Apps must be real-time
People's expectations of apps, especially paid ones, are high. When it comes to streaming video or stats, don't provide content on mobile that's inferior to what the web or TV offers. It must update in real time. "The notion of the one-minute delay is unacceptable," said Bob Bowman, president-CEO, MLB.com. "If you don't have real-time content, you're dead."

Make it easy for consumers to pay
Take advantage of properties such as iTunes and mobile providers such as Verizon that have the infrastructure and back-end know-how to take payments from app users. When it comes to MLB.com's paid app, the vast majority of purchases come through tried-and-true mobile-commerce providers instead of directly through MLB.com. "Partner with people who know how to collect money," said Mr. Bowman. And when it comes to figuring out how much to charge, it's easier to drop the price than to increase it, or move from free to paid. "If it doesn't work, take it down, rework it, try it again," he said.

Integrate feedback quickly
People will point out flaws in your app on the web. That feedback is an asset. Adjust your app as quickly as possible and send through an update. "All feedback is important, but on our app it's especially valuable," said Mr. Bowman. "When we went from offering two free [live-streamed] games to one, we heard about it immediately. We went back to two games the next day."

'This is not the wired web'
Mr. Bowman urges that marketers and publishers to not make the same mistakes in mobile that have been made on the internet -- and that means forcing ads into every spot they can. On mobile, click-through isn't the only metric that matters. Are people recommending your app? Or trashing it on Twitter? "We measure click-throughs, but we don't measure pissed off," said Mr. Bowman, referring to when MLB put an intrusive ad into its At Bat app.

People will pay for value...
Zagat's iPhone app is the 77th top-grossing app in the Apps Store, out of 58,000. MLB charges $9.99 to download the At Bat app, 99 cents to watch streaming video of games; it has 400,000 users. And Kraft charged 99 cents for its iFood app, promoting the notion that what it's offering was something of value. Additionally, pointed out Ed Kaczmarek, Kraft's director of innovation and new services, making an app paid allows you to offer future in-app commerce and subscription opportunities that just aren't available in a free app.

...But free works to drives sales for your endemic product
Benjamin Moore's Ben Color Capture app was built to build brand awareness for its subbrand Ben, as well as to drive traffic to stores. "We haven't accomplished anything until we sell paint," said Carl Minchew, director of product development, Benjamin Moore. The app lets users snap a photo of something in the world and than matches colors in the photo to paint shades in the brand's library. If that inspires a paint purchase, the app uses GPS to direct users to the nearest retailer.

Apps need to be part of an integrated message
AKQA, a digital agency that has created apps for clients such as Gap, Nike and Smirnoff, sells apps as part of marketing ideas and integrated campaigns, instead of as one-off projects, said Rei Inamoto, the agency's chief creative officer. The app then becomes integrated with the agency's thinking or larger programs, instead of something a freelancer or developer could do cheaper.

Utility, frequency and viral distinguish long-term success
They are the qualities that get an app noticed in the new app economy, said Aileen Lee, of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Partner, who works with the firm's $100 million iFund. For apps to become a sustainable business, they need to provide instant utility, have a high frequency of use and encourage word of mouth and network pass-along. How rare these qualities? IFund has funded only seven mobile ideas out of more than 3,300 proposals. Kraft's Mr. Kaczmarek is also valuing frequency: "Engagement is better than downloads," he said. "I'd rather have 100 engaged consumers than 1,000 downloads."

People find apps through other people
"Word of mouth is powerful in the app world," said Matt Galligan, CEO and co-founder of SimpleGeo, formerly CrashCorp. "If you talk to someone with similar interests, you can find the right app for you." Similarly, Mr. Kaczmarek said that word of mouth, social media and PR made up the most successful marketing for the brand's iFood app. Kraft also used e-mail, traditional print and online banners to drive app downloads. "Your point of differentiation is so important to cut through the clutter," he said. "No matter how small that point may be, it's important to highlight it."

Use existing assets to market your app
Reach out to your existing customers to trial your app using proprietary media, as both Kraft and Bank of America did. The latter promotes its iPhone app on BankofAmerica.com and via its phone-based customer service force, which advises callers to use the app to access 24/7 information on their accounts.

App marketing needs to be targeted
"We're not doing big blowout campaigns for our app," said Jen McDonald, digitial marketing exec, Bank of America. "We're being very targeted on mobile." And that kind of advertising -- such as targeting mobile ads to particular types of handset users -- has resulted in at least 50,000 downloads of Bank of Amercia's mobile app, she said. As the number of apps in the App store has grown, that strategy won't change. And rather than spread the ad dollars allocated to promoting an app out over a longer period of time, do shorter marketing blitzes, advised Tony Nethercutt, VP-sales at AdMob. That will create surges in downloads. "Getting ranked in the app store is critical -- it's the No. 1 way people discover new apps, but that ranking is based on downloads," he said.

Don't discount the iPod Touch
"It's a sleeping giant," said Kraft's Mr. Kaczmarek. According to AdMob metrics, for example, iPod Touch users download 16.4 free apps and two paid apps per month; the average iPhone user downloads 7.6 free and 2.6 paid apps.

~ ~ ~
Abbey Klaassen contributed to this report.

The Carolina Opry Christmas Special - The Holiday Show of the South – Myrtle Beach, SC

The first nightly Christmas Special on the Grand Strand – and still the grandest of them all. The Carolina Opry has been a family tradition for 23 years, bringing the spirit of Christmas to life with music, comedy and dance. As one patron said, “I feel like I glow when I walk out.”

Award winning producer, director, and performer Calvin Gilmore says, “Right now, families need light-hearted entertainment more than ever before. We are pulling out all the stops to make this the most amazing, funny, warm, and wonderful show that you have ever seen.”

Since 1986, The Carolina Opry Christmas Special has been voted Best Holiday Show in every poll at the beach, and it reigns supreme as the “Christmas Show of the South.” Look for new music, fresh comedy, and stunning costumes to amaze and delight in the 2009 edition of the show, as well as the traditional holiday music that you know and love.

The excitement begins on November 2 and will run through January 2, 2010, with regular evening performances and selectively scheduled matinees. Make sure that your group sees the real thing – the 24th annual Carolina Opry Christmas Special.
For The Carolina Opry group information, call 800-633-1508 or visit the website at www.TheCarolinaOpry.com.

Tickets.com Partner Mobiqa Named in Tech Media Invest Top 100

Mobiqa are chosen as one of Tech Media Invest 2009’s Top 100 Companies

Mobiqa, world leader in mobile ticket, mobile boarding pass and mobile coupon technology, has been listed in the prestigious Tech Media Invest Top 100. Tech Media Invest Top 100 identifies the most innovative technology companies in the UK. Sponsored by Pricewaterhouse Coopers and Kemp Little, the list showcases entrepreneurial companies that are developing innovative ways to serve businesses and consumers, and have the potential to radically change the shape of the technology and media industry.

Recently Mobiqa has demonstrated the superiority of its products and services by winning key contracts, especially within the airline sector. Mobiqa is currently providing mobile boarding pass solutions to Delta/Northwest Airlines, the world’s largest carrier, plus SWISS, Qatar Airways and Spanair. Within the live events industry, Mobiqa supplies Ticketmaster; Tickets.com and Major League Baseball.

Tech Media Invest 2009 aims to address the funding gap particularly prevalent in the technology sector and to showcase a wide spectrum of innovative companies – from fresh start-ups with next generation technologies through to fast growing, investor-backed platforms. Tech Media Invest 2009 presented the top 100 technology and media companies, including Mobiqa, in a dedicated Guardian supplement.

On being listed, Nick Rankin, CEO, Mobiqa comments, “Everyone at Mobiqa is delighted and privileged to have been listed in Tech Media Invest Top 100. Mobiqa continually strive to push the boundaries of innovation, offering our customers the best user-experience through cutting-edge mobile technologies. We’re proud to be named alongside other top UK companies in the industry and fully endorse Tech Media Invest 2009 in giving a huge amount of exposure to a sector that would benefit greatly from increased funding.”

Tickets.com congratulates Mobiqa on this prestigious achievement.

Nov. 5, Support the Arts and Win a 2009 Smart Car from The Alys Stephens Center

Support the arts in Birmingham and win one of the smartest vehicles on the planet Nov. 5 when the Alys Stephens Center (ASC) will give away a 2009 smart® fortwo pure coupe worth nearly $14,000.

“Get smART, Support the Arts” is an Alys Stephens Center Junior Patrons’ two-month fundraising campaign to support ASC programs and art education initiatives. The “Get smART” campaign will culminate at a party when one lucky donor will become the new owner of their very own smart® fortwo, the most fuel efficient, non-hybrid vehicle on sale in the United States.

There are three ways to win the car: donate $50 to the ASC, join the ASC Junior Patrons (ASC-JPs) Sept. 17 or after, or purchase a ticket for $50 to the “Get smART” finale party set for Thursday, Nov. 5 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets may be purchased through the Alys Stephens Center Box Office at 1200 10th Ave. South, Birmingham, on the ASC Web site at www.AlysStephens.org, at any Birmingham-area RBC Bank branch and at Crown Automotive in Hoover.

The smart® car will be unveiled at the Alys Stephens Center’s interARTive patio party Thursday, Sept. 17. Then, join the fun as it speeds through Birmingham making stops at new locations each week. “Get smART” sponsor Mental Floss magazine has created a new Web site, www.wheresmysmartcar.com, which will feature clues about the car’s weekly location and prizes to be given away at each stop.

At the “Get smART” party, enjoy live music from one of Birmingham’s best bands, The White Oaks, and a blind beer tasting with complimentary hors d’oeuvres, beer and wine. Buy an ASC Smart Mystery Box for $25. All boxes will contain prizes, and some will include big prizes including tickets to shows, dinner packages, weekend getaways and more.

To win the car, three finalists will be drawn at random from all entries to compete in a test of skill. The smart® car will be on display in the lobby. Click here for “Get smART” rules and regulations.

All aspects and events in association with the campaign will be engaged in “green” practices, including the use of environmentally-friendly products and local vendors to reduce the event’s carbon footprint. “Get smART, Support the Arts” is sponsored by Crown Automotive, RBC Bank, Mental Floss magazine, UAB, the ASC-JPs, Fox 6, smartwater and Commercial Printing.

About the Alys Stephens Center
Located on the UAB campus, the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center is one of the Southeast’s premier performing arts centers, hosting the best in international, national and local performance. Home to the UAB departments of theatre and music and the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, the ASC also presents its own season, bringing the world’s best music, dance, theater, comedy and family entertainment to Alabama. For more information on all Alys Stephens Center events and programs, visit www.AlysStephens.org.

Kathy Griffin to appear at The Paramount

Kathy Griffin returns to Seattle for two shows in January, 2010.

By Marian Liu
Seattle Times staff reporter

The famous D-lister is back.

Kathy Griffin returns to the Paramount Theatre for two shows, Jan. 28 and 29. Tickets are $45.50 to $75.50 at LiveNation.com, Tickets.com, 24-hour kiosks at the Paramount and Moore Theatres or charge by phone (877-STG-4TIX).

The last time the popular comedian came around to Seattle, her tickets went fast.

Griffin is known for her Emmy-Award winning series for Bravo, "Kathy Griffin: My Life On The D-List." She also won "Celebrity Mole" on ABC, hosted the NBC reality series "Average Joe" and the MTV series "Kathy's So-Called Reality." Kathy is also well known for playing Brooke Shields' colleague on the NBC sitcom, "Suddenly Susan."

Venues Today Industry News: Regional Ticketing

Ticketing companies get aggressive for regional business

Venues Today
Dave Brooks

History has a funny way of repeating itself. In 2002 when Daren Libonati and his group at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, launched their own in-house ticketing system, many wondered if the Paciolan-powered platform could hold its own against uber-robust Ticketmaster.

Fast forward to 2009, and Libonati is again asking if the provider is up for the job. Despite nearly seven years of impeccable functionality in a building that consistently ranks among the top 10-grossing facilities worldwide, changes in the marketplace have put another question mark around the Irvine, Calif.-based company.

After being purchased by Ticketmaster in 2007, Paciolan has changed its name (it’s now Ticketmaster Irvine) and slowed the development of its enablement software system, directing its engineers to focus their attention on the newest version of Ticketmaster’s Archtix platform; a potentially powerful, but largely unknown application, said former Paciolan Chairman Jane Kleinberger, now the executive VP of College Athletics for Ticketmaster. But what Archtix lacks in details, it makes up for with marketing punch. Ticketmaster has one of the largest consumer databases in the world.

“We love our distributor clients and continue to want to re-earn their business,” Kleinberger said. “We understand that some might not be comfortable with the Ticketmaster acquisition, but we’re here to help our partner venues with whatever they decide.”

While the Paciolan legacy system still dominates the regional market, the momentum seems to be behind Cleveland-based Veritix, which has scored two huge regional deals with the Denver Nuggets and the Utah Jazz. Not to be left out is Tickets.com, Major League Baseball’s ticketing wing that hired a former Paciolan executive to help Veritix develop its own regional business plan.

And that’s perhaps where history diverges. Where there once stood only one leader, now stand several.

“For us, we’ve come to the end of our seven years and we owe it to ourselves to evaluate and do our own due diligence on what else is out there,” said Libonati, who began accepting bids for his system in October and hopes to award a contract by the new year.

REBEL NO MORE
Libonati partnered with Paciolan in 2002 for one of the company’s first regional ticketing projects. The contract would cover the Thomas and Mack Center, a collegiate arena home to Rebels basketball and some of the biggest events in Sin City.

The move also allowed UNLV to collect its own consumer data and more importantly, the creation of UNLVtickets shifted the revenue models for both the venue and the ticketing company, he said.

“Vendors that go after the regional ticketing companies have to employ a different model, such as low flat transaction fees or annual subscriptions,” said Steve Demots of Tickets.com, a former Paciolan executive who has made regional ticketing contracts a top sales priority for its ProVenue platform.

Of course there are tradeoffs. Promoters are familiar with Ticketmaster’s reporting system and few can challenge the company’s marketing database. Not signing a full-service ticketing deal could also leave doubts about one’s throughput capabilities and whether their system could handle 20,000-40,000 transactions in a matter of seconds.

When the Utah Jazz’s 10-year-old ticketing contract with Ticketmaster expired earlier this year, Dee Dee Hill found herself in an odd position. Her regional Salt Lake City ticketing company Datatix had previously held the Jazz’s ticketing contract, and she desperately wanted them back.

“When I was with Paciolan, I could have gone to them and said, ‘Hey, let’s work on getting this client. Paciolan would have sent their sales force out and we would have gone to meet with the Jazz,’” she recalled. “When Ticketmaster bought Paciolan, I couldn’t call the Ticketmaster office and say, ‘Hey, I’m going to be bidding against you.’”

Using Ticketmaster software while competing against the company is nothing new. TicketAlternative, a regional ticketing group out of Atlanta, powers its platform with Paciolan. That hasn’t stopped the startup from going after Ticketmaster’s clients; in September, TicketAlternative signed over the Black Cat night club in Washington, D.C., a former longtime Ticketmaster client.

In Salt Lake, Hill needed a strong technology partner to make her pitch to the Jazz attractive, so she turned to Veritix, which already had ticketing deals with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Houston Rockets. Working with Veritix CEO Jeff Kline, Hill developed a sales pitch that had Datatix branding and marketing the platform, while Veritix provided the backend technological support and retained exclusive rights to the team’s secondary market through its Flash Seats platform.

It’s the second such move for Veritix; the company recently signed a deal with the Denver Nuggets and owner Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, which partnered with Veritix to power the TicketHorse system for the Pepsi Center, Infinity Park, Dick’s Sporting Goods Park and the Paramount Theater, all in the Denver area.

“We started thinking about doing our own ticketing because with that much volume, you could afford the infrastructure that would be required, and the investment levels,” said Paul Andrews, director of Kroenke Sports and Entertainment. “We should be able to staff and run a pretty efficient ticketing operation for what we we’re paying a third-party vendor.”

BACK TO THE FUTURE?
Still, many regional operators taking a wait-and-see approach to how the market develops.

“We’re not hitting any type of panic button,” said Jack Lucas of TicketsWest, one of the country’s oldest regional ticketing companies, currently operating on the Paciolan platform.

Next year could provide a much better picture of where innovation in the enablement model lies. Ticketmaster will launch the latest version of its Archtix platform, which takes software updates originally slated for the Paciolan system and combines them with updates from Ticketmaster. It will also allow Archtix users to list their events on Ticketmaster.com and take advantage of the company’s huge marketing database.

“It makes more sense in the long run to have one superior platform rather than two,” Kleinberger said,

Tickets.com is also working on developing its own updates to its ProVenue suite to make it more suited to the regional model. Demots said he wants to develop the ability for any venue client within a regional model to put their own events on sale; most regional clients rely on a central administrator to update the system.

Meanwhile, many regional ticketing companies are content to sit back and wait to see what goes to market in the next 12-24 months

Who makes the next move is anyone’s guess, although many eyes are on New Era tickets, the Comcast-Spectacor owned ticketing company. The group recently put out a bid for its ticketing system — since 2004, the platform has been powered by Paciolan.
“All of the regionals talk with each other, and I think a few of us plan to wait and see what New Era does,” said Iain Bluett, TicketAlternative cofounder. “We’re not in any big hurry, except we’re always worried about keeping up with the latest technology and not getting left behind.”

Interviewed for this story: Daren Libonati, (702) 895-3727; Jane Kleinberger, (949) 823-1679; Steve Demots, (714) 327-5550; Dee Dee Hill, (801) 467-1055; Jamie Dwyer, (404) 897-2371; Jeff Kline, (216) 466-8055; Paul Andrews, (303) 405-1133; Fred Maglione, (610) 854-1100; Iain Bluett, (404) 897-2379