Tickets go on sale for the March 14 Mega Music Fest at 10 a.m. Saturday
By SANDRA OKAMOTO
Ledger Enquirer
CD Entertainment brings the Mega Music Fest at 7 p.m. March 14 in the Bill Heard Theatre, RiverCenter for the Performing Arts, 900 Broadway.
The event includes Slim, Tank, Silk, Ken ford and Kevon Edmonds of After 7, with emcee Tight Mike.
Tickets are $29.50, $36.50 and $39.50, and go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Tickets are available in the RiverCenter Box Office or by going to www.tickets.com, www.rivercenter.org or www.cdentertainment.net or call 706-256-3612.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Tickets.com Client Spotlight: Wrigley Field
Elton John, Billy Joel to play Wrigley
Concert to be held July 21; tickets go on sale Saturday
By Carrie Muskat / MLB.com
CHICAGO -- Imagine the Rocket Man, Piano Man and Sweet Lou together at Wrigley Field. On July 21, Elton John and Billy Joel will make a stop on their Face 2 Face tour at the Cubs' home park.
It will be the third summer concert to be staged at Wrigley Field since Jimmy Buffett performed in 2006. Sting followed with a concert in 2007.
John and Joel will open each concert with a series of duets, playing twin pianos and trading vocals. Each will then perform a set with his own band. The grand finale will have both on stage together for the encore.
The concert will include some of their greatest hits as well as an unpredictable selection of rock and roll classics.
Tickets will go on sale Saturday, Feb. 14, at 10 a.m. CT. Tickets are $175, $95 and $55 plus fees and service charges, and will be available at tickets.com or calling 1-800-THE-CUBS. Tickets will not be sold at the Wrigley Field box office. There is a six-ticket limit per customer.
"Wrigley Field is to baseball what Billy Joel and Elton John are to music -- institutions that transcend time and bring inspiration to their fans around the globe," said Cubs chairman Crane Kenney. "In addition to its status as a baseball cathedral, Wrigley Field has shown its grandeur as a football gridiron, an outdoor hockey palace and a majestic concert hall that next July will host two of the all-time musical greats. The Cubs are honored to have Billy Joel and Elton John grace Wrigley Field's stage next summer."
Joel and John played the first date of their Face 2 Face tour on July 8, 1994, at the 62,000-capacity Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. That began a run of 21 sold-out performances in 13 cities. The duo last toured together in 2003.
Chicago manager Lou Piniella and the team will miss hearing John sing "Rocket Man" or Joel belt out "The Piano Man" because they will be in Philadelphia, part of the Cubs' six-game, post-All-Star break road trip that begins in Washington on July 16.
Get tickets online at Tickets.com >
Concert to be held July 21; tickets go on sale Saturday
By Carrie Muskat / MLB.com
CHICAGO -- Imagine the Rocket Man, Piano Man and Sweet Lou together at Wrigley Field. On July 21, Elton John and Billy Joel will make a stop on their Face 2 Face tour at the Cubs' home park.
It will be the third summer concert to be staged at Wrigley Field since Jimmy Buffett performed in 2006. Sting followed with a concert in 2007.
John and Joel will open each concert with a series of duets, playing twin pianos and trading vocals. Each will then perform a set with his own band. The grand finale will have both on stage together for the encore.
The concert will include some of their greatest hits as well as an unpredictable selection of rock and roll classics.
Tickets will go on sale Saturday, Feb. 14, at 10 a.m. CT. Tickets are $175, $95 and $55 plus fees and service charges, and will be available at tickets.com or calling 1-800-THE-CUBS. Tickets will not be sold at the Wrigley Field box office. There is a six-ticket limit per customer.
"Wrigley Field is to baseball what Billy Joel and Elton John are to music -- institutions that transcend time and bring inspiration to their fans around the globe," said Cubs chairman Crane Kenney. "In addition to its status as a baseball cathedral, Wrigley Field has shown its grandeur as a football gridiron, an outdoor hockey palace and a majestic concert hall that next July will host two of the all-time musical greats. The Cubs are honored to have Billy Joel and Elton John grace Wrigley Field's stage next summer."
Joel and John played the first date of their Face 2 Face tour on July 8, 1994, at the 62,000-capacity Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. That began a run of 21 sold-out performances in 13 cities. The duo last toured together in 2003.
Chicago manager Lou Piniella and the team will miss hearing John sing "Rocket Man" or Joel belt out "The Piano Man" because they will be in Philadelphia, part of the Cubs' six-game, post-All-Star break road trip that begins in Washington on July 16.
Get tickets online at Tickets.com >
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Tickets.com Launches Germany B2B Site
Tickets.com launches new business-to-business website for Germany to enable clients, media, partners, and potential clients in Germany to find the information they need about Tickets.com ticketing solutions.
Tickets.com is a growing global company with thousands of entertainment, sports, and arts clients worldwide. The new Germany B2B website features a user-friendly interface that allows users to view the site content in German and provides convenient access to information about Tickets.com products and services.
Visit the Tickets.com Germany B2B site >
Tickets.com is a growing global company with thousands of entertainment, sports, and arts clients worldwide. The new Germany B2B website features a user-friendly interface that allows users to view the site content in German and provides convenient access to information about Tickets.com products and services.
Visit the Tickets.com Germany B2B site >
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Tickets.com Client Spotlight: Roanoke Civic Center
Keith Urban to play Roanoke concert May 29th
Roanoke City news release
Published: February 6, 2009
As if a night together with Grammy Award winner Keith Urban, one of the industry’s most explosive and critically hailed live acts isn’t enough, now comes word that Urban’s “Escape Together World Tour” together with KC Masterpiece® and Kingsford® will feature Dierks Bentley as its opening act for its Roanoke Civic Center tour stop. Ticket prices for the concert event start at $20 and are set to go on-sale for the show at Roanoke Civic Center on Friday, February 13 at 10am. They can be purchased at the Roanoke Civic Center ticket office, charge by phone at 888-397-3100 or http://www.tickets.com.
“Dierks will be a great addition to the show and I know that we are going to give our fans in Roanoke a night to remember,” said Urban. “A night where they’ll be able to leave their cares at the door and just let loose for a few hours.”
2009 is already shaping up to be a busy one for Urban. Not only will May mark the launch of a North American concert tour that will visit fifty-eight cities, March 31st will see the release of a new album, Defying Gravity. The CD’s first single “Sweet Thing,” has already become his 18th Top 5 Country single.
February 3rd marks the release of Dierks Bentley’s 4th studio album Feel That Fire. Bentley invested nearly two years of writing and recording into this album and the title track “Feel That Fire” is the fastest rising single of his career. In 2008, Bentley found himself at home playing multiple shows outside the United States. Whether headlining sold-out shows in England, Ireland, Norway and France, playing Country Gold Festival in Japan or making a second trip to Norway within a year to perform on the Nobel Peace Prize Concert, he has won over crowds across the globe.
Due to the anticipated demand for tickets for this concert, the civic center will utilize a lottery system for the initial on sale.
Wristbands will be drawn from 8:30 AM until 9:30 am on Friday Feb. 13. At 9:30 am, patrons are asked to be back at the Civic Center to line up according to number. If a wristband is not received in advance, those ticket buyers will line up on a first come first serve basis after those with wristbands. A wristband does not guarantee tickets. Tickets will be on sale at 10 AM.
To order tickets online, please visit tickets.com or roanokeciviccenter.com. To charge tickets by phone please call tickets.com at 888-397-3100, a toll free number for your convenience. The Roanoke Civic Center Ticket Office, charge by phone and Internet accept MC, Visa, Discover and Amex. All tickets purchased by phone, at the outlets and via the Internet are subject to convenience charges.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
Ticketing Industry News: Room for More?
Room For More?
AudienceView makes a case to end exclusive deals
Venues Today
By Dave Brooks
Is neutrality an option in 2009?
Live Nation is close to launching its new ticketing platform, a much-anticipated move that has it severing ties with Ticketmaster. Using a system powered by German-based CTS Eventim, the new platform is being rolled out this month and has already gained headlines following a major deal with venue operator SMG.
The Live Nation ticketing formula seems simple. The world’s largest concert promoter can now tie its ticketing system to its concert series, giving it leverage over buildings in highly competitive markets which rely on Live Nation content. Want a concert for your building? Then agree to use the ticketing platform, at least for individual Live Nation concerts seems to be the theory.
It’s a proposition that is both simple and terrifying to primary ticketing giant Ticketmaster, which has staked its decades old business model on signing long-term exclusive contracts with venues. Well aware that Ticketmaster is entrenching itself to fight against per-event Live Nation ticketing contracts, one Canadian company is touting its long-established policy to not require contract exclusivity. Kevin Kimsa, CEO of Toronto-based AudienceView, said his venues are free to use whatever ticketing system they like when they sign an AudienceView contract.
“It’s become attractive because Live Nation and Ticketmaster are no longer working in partnership,” said Kimsa, whose six-year-old company represents 120 venues and 80 clients including the Toronto Blue Jays and Churchill Downs, Louisville, Ky.
“Venues are asking themselves, ‘If I go with Ticketmaster, am I limiting myself with regards to what Live Nation content exists for me in my future?’” Kimsa said. “We’re just taking advantage of the fact that we don’t hurt anybody in the middle. We’re a neutral play for organizations.”
Is this the death of the exclusive ticketing contract? Not likely. Ticketmaster’s Mike McGee said non-exclusive contracts are akin to “telling your girlfriend that you want to take someone else on a date,” during a panel at the Sport, Entertainment and Venues Tomorrow Conference in Columbia, S.C. Fred Maglione of the New Era Tickets told an audience at the Arena Managers Conference in Kansas City that “ticketing companies need to stand up against these type of contracts because they threaten the millions of dollars we invest to enable a venue.”
Not to be outdone, Ticketmaster has its own ace in the hole — Irving Azoff. The artist management megastar recently sold a $123-million stake in his Front Line Management firm to Ticketmaster prompting a name change to Ticketmaster Entertainment and the installation of Azoff as CEO. Now both Ticketmaster and Live Nation have tickets, software and performers. Is AudienceView’s strategy going to be essential for smaller ticketing firms hoping compete?
“You wonder if building managers are going to come together and say, “We have a promoter who wants to do our tickets. They have all the functionality that you currently have and there’s nothing you can do they can’t do, so we’re going to have them handle the tickets for this current event,” said Jack Lucas of Spokane, Wash.-based TicketsWest, powered by Ticketmaster. “Or, are the building managers going to come to me and say, “You know Jack, we don’t want to lose the show; you’re going have to work with these guys.”
So while Kimsa’s business model allows for non-exclusivity for new ticketing contracts, many are wondering how building managers are going to make exceptions for Live Nation concerts using existing Ticketmaster contracts.
“It really depends on what position you’re into to negotiate,” said John Fuhrmann of the Neal Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. Top buildings in must-play markets will be less susceptible to pressure from Live Nation or Ticketmaster, “but if you’re in the situation to fight hard for a concert — which the majority of buildings are — then there’s a good chance you’ll be calling your ticketing company and trying to find a way to make the two work together.”
And when venues’ ticketing contracts do come up for renewal, will they be rushing to sign non-exclusive deals with companies like AudienceView?
“I think many are going to resist going in that direction because they all know that, in the case of TicketsWest, we bring some stability and fiduciary responsibility,” said Lucas. “That’s especially important to municipally-owned facilities.”
Lucas said cancelled shows are a major concern for publicly-owned facilities. If a 10,000-ticket concert gets cancelled, it’s the fiduciary duty of the contracted ticketing company to have the available capital on hand to issue refunds.
“When you have non-exclusive deals, typically a lot of that fiduciary responsibility flies out the door and there’s real potential to get people in a lot of trouble,” Lucas said.
And without an exclusive ticketing agreement, facilities should not expect a lot of upfront cash or investment, said Derek Palmer, chief commercial officer at Tickets.com
“It’s very contrary to what traditional ticketing relationships are right now. Ticketing companies pay a lot of money for that exclusivity, whether it’s signing bonuses, hardware or investing in suites and tickets,” Palmer said. “An organization would have to be interested in walking away from a lot of upfront capital from a ticketing company to be able to do that.”
But Kimsa questions how much infrastructure investment is really required to get a ticketing system running.
“To be honest with you, the cost of infrastructure isn’t that much,” Kimsa said. “Ticketmaster may lead you to believe that’s the case because it is opportunistic. An exclusive five-or-seven year term deal was necessary back in the 80s or early 90s when it did require a lot of hardware, a lot of infrastructure, and a lot of call center technology but, in today’s world, the need for infrastructure isn’t really that great.”
It’s an assertion that is not agreed upon by a majority of Kimsa’s ticketing contemporaries, many of whom contend that the high cost of infrastructure, upfront capital and implementation make ticketing a very low-margin business. At the end of the day, Palmer said few ticketing companies will allow their ticketing contracts to be ignored but there is always one incentive that will get any businessperson’s attention — cold hard cash.
“If an organization came to us wanting to use another ticketing system and we could work out a deal where we could still make a fair margin, then they could have the freedom to sell tickets to whomever they want,” Palmer said. “Ultimately it is about the money.”
Kimsa said his firm wouldn’t require a quid pro quo — in fact part of his formula is tied to a trend nearly all other ticketing companies have tackled: Venue-branded ticketing services. As Tickets.com, New Era and other ticketing companies allow their venue clients to sell tickets on private label platforms, venues will be hesitant to exercise their non-exclusive options for Live Nation shows as they invest more and more marketing capital into their own ticketing platforms.
“And if they choose not to use their AudienceView-based system, they’ll also forgo control over their marketing, service fees and data collection,” Kimsa said. “So even if we offer our clients the option to use the Live Nation platform, many will want to keep as many events as possible on their own ticketing brand.”
Interviewed for this article: Kevin Kimsa, (416) 356-4121; Jack Lucas, (509) 459-6100; Derek Palmer, (714) 327-5400
AudienceView makes a case to end exclusive deals
Venues Today
By Dave Brooks
Is neutrality an option in 2009?
Live Nation is close to launching its new ticketing platform, a much-anticipated move that has it severing ties with Ticketmaster. Using a system powered by German-based CTS Eventim, the new platform is being rolled out this month and has already gained headlines following a major deal with venue operator SMG.
The Live Nation ticketing formula seems simple. The world’s largest concert promoter can now tie its ticketing system to its concert series, giving it leverage over buildings in highly competitive markets which rely on Live Nation content. Want a concert for your building? Then agree to use the ticketing platform, at least for individual Live Nation concerts seems to be the theory.
It’s a proposition that is both simple and terrifying to primary ticketing giant Ticketmaster, which has staked its decades old business model on signing long-term exclusive contracts with venues. Well aware that Ticketmaster is entrenching itself to fight against per-event Live Nation ticketing contracts, one Canadian company is touting its long-established policy to not require contract exclusivity. Kevin Kimsa, CEO of Toronto-based AudienceView, said his venues are free to use whatever ticketing system they like when they sign an AudienceView contract.
“It’s become attractive because Live Nation and Ticketmaster are no longer working in partnership,” said Kimsa, whose six-year-old company represents 120 venues and 80 clients including the Toronto Blue Jays and Churchill Downs, Louisville, Ky.
“Venues are asking themselves, ‘If I go with Ticketmaster, am I limiting myself with regards to what Live Nation content exists for me in my future?’” Kimsa said. “We’re just taking advantage of the fact that we don’t hurt anybody in the middle. We’re a neutral play for organizations.”
Is this the death of the exclusive ticketing contract? Not likely. Ticketmaster’s Mike McGee said non-exclusive contracts are akin to “telling your girlfriend that you want to take someone else on a date,” during a panel at the Sport, Entertainment and Venues Tomorrow Conference in Columbia, S.C. Fred Maglione of the New Era Tickets told an audience at the Arena Managers Conference in Kansas City that “ticketing companies need to stand up against these type of contracts because they threaten the millions of dollars we invest to enable a venue.”
Not to be outdone, Ticketmaster has its own ace in the hole — Irving Azoff. The artist management megastar recently sold a $123-million stake in his Front Line Management firm to Ticketmaster prompting a name change to Ticketmaster Entertainment and the installation of Azoff as CEO. Now both Ticketmaster and Live Nation have tickets, software and performers. Is AudienceView’s strategy going to be essential for smaller ticketing firms hoping compete?
“You wonder if building managers are going to come together and say, “We have a promoter who wants to do our tickets. They have all the functionality that you currently have and there’s nothing you can do they can’t do, so we’re going to have them handle the tickets for this current event,” said Jack Lucas of Spokane, Wash.-based TicketsWest, powered by Ticketmaster. “Or, are the building managers going to come to me and say, “You know Jack, we don’t want to lose the show; you’re going have to work with these guys.”
So while Kimsa’s business model allows for non-exclusivity for new ticketing contracts, many are wondering how building managers are going to make exceptions for Live Nation concerts using existing Ticketmaster contracts.
“It really depends on what position you’re into to negotiate,” said John Fuhrmann of the Neal Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. Top buildings in must-play markets will be less susceptible to pressure from Live Nation or Ticketmaster, “but if you’re in the situation to fight hard for a concert — which the majority of buildings are — then there’s a good chance you’ll be calling your ticketing company and trying to find a way to make the two work together.”
And when venues’ ticketing contracts do come up for renewal, will they be rushing to sign non-exclusive deals with companies like AudienceView?
“I think many are going to resist going in that direction because they all know that, in the case of TicketsWest, we bring some stability and fiduciary responsibility,” said Lucas. “That’s especially important to municipally-owned facilities.”
Lucas said cancelled shows are a major concern for publicly-owned facilities. If a 10,000-ticket concert gets cancelled, it’s the fiduciary duty of the contracted ticketing company to have the available capital on hand to issue refunds.
“When you have non-exclusive deals, typically a lot of that fiduciary responsibility flies out the door and there’s real potential to get people in a lot of trouble,” Lucas said.
And without an exclusive ticketing agreement, facilities should not expect a lot of upfront cash or investment, said Derek Palmer, chief commercial officer at Tickets.com
“It’s very contrary to what traditional ticketing relationships are right now. Ticketing companies pay a lot of money for that exclusivity, whether it’s signing bonuses, hardware or investing in suites and tickets,” Palmer said. “An organization would have to be interested in walking away from a lot of upfront capital from a ticketing company to be able to do that.”
But Kimsa questions how much infrastructure investment is really required to get a ticketing system running.
“To be honest with you, the cost of infrastructure isn’t that much,” Kimsa said. “Ticketmaster may lead you to believe that’s the case because it is opportunistic. An exclusive five-or-seven year term deal was necessary back in the 80s or early 90s when it did require a lot of hardware, a lot of infrastructure, and a lot of call center technology but, in today’s world, the need for infrastructure isn’t really that great.”
It’s an assertion that is not agreed upon by a majority of Kimsa’s ticketing contemporaries, many of whom contend that the high cost of infrastructure, upfront capital and implementation make ticketing a very low-margin business. At the end of the day, Palmer said few ticketing companies will allow their ticketing contracts to be ignored but there is always one incentive that will get any businessperson’s attention — cold hard cash.
“If an organization came to us wanting to use another ticketing system and we could work out a deal where we could still make a fair margin, then they could have the freedom to sell tickets to whomever they want,” Palmer said. “Ultimately it is about the money.”
Kimsa said his firm wouldn’t require a quid pro quo — in fact part of his formula is tied to a trend nearly all other ticketing companies have tackled: Venue-branded ticketing services. As Tickets.com, New Era and other ticketing companies allow their venue clients to sell tickets on private label platforms, venues will be hesitant to exercise their non-exclusive options for Live Nation shows as they invest more and more marketing capital into their own ticketing platforms.
“And if they choose not to use their AudienceView-based system, they’ll also forgo control over their marketing, service fees and data collection,” Kimsa said. “So even if we offer our clients the option to use the Live Nation platform, many will want to keep as many events as possible on their own ticketing brand.”
Interviewed for this article: Kevin Kimsa, (416) 356-4121; Jack Lucas, (509) 459-6100; Derek Palmer, (714) 327-5400
Friday, February 6, 2009
Check out the ProVenueMobile Microsite!
ProVenueMobile is a fast, secure and cutting-edge solution that mobilizes your existing website to enable your tickets to be purchased using mobile devices.
Key benefits include:
- Increase ticket sales
- Gain a competitive advantage
- Give customers the ultimate convenience
Mobilizing your website – including event listings, venue information, and purchase process – offers your customers the ultimate convenience: the ability to buy your tickets anytime, anywhere!
Learn more about ProVenueMobile >
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