TicketOne chief surveys the Italian market

Italy’s live music market has already grown by a third in value since the pandemic, according to the CEO of leading ticket platform TicketOne.

Stefano Lionetti has shared his observations to coincide with the publication of the latest edition of IQ‘s International Ticketing Report (formerly the International Ticketing Yearbook), which is now available in print, digitally, and on the dedicated year-round mini-site.

“Before the pandemic the concert market value was about half a billion euros, but this figure has been significantly exceeded by about 30% in 2022,” Lionetti tells IQ. “The same will happen in 2023.”

CTS Eventim-owned TicketOne celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, and is the country’s market leader. Lionetti suggests much of the growth in the live sector is being driven by homegrown acts.

“National artists are very popular with a strong hardcore fanbase,” he says. “International events decreased this year from more than 30% to about 25% of the total. Pop and rock are evergreen, but also local rappers are more than a temporary trend.”

While Lionetti notes that Covid-19 has accelerated the shift towards print at home and digital tickets, Eventim’s bespoke “FanTicket” collectables remain a popular alternative.

“TicketOne enjoys successful volumes on its FanSale reselling platform where fans who cannot attend a show can easily and quickly sell the tickets”

“Web plus mobile penetration is permanently between 80% and 90% of the total,” he says. “Print at home is the preferred choice so far, but mobile tickets are catching up as well. Hard tickets by post/courier remains popular in the ‘Fanticket’ version as a kind of souvenir.”

Earlier this year, Italy’s Communications Regulatory Authority AGCOM fined Viagogo more than €12 million for breaking the country’s laws on secondary ticketing. The Switzerland-headquartered platform has been sanctioned three other times in Italy since 2020 for breaking the law against ticket touting.

TicketOne previously criticised AGCOM for its lack of action against secondary sites, although Lionetti stresses that the firm’s own face value resale marketplace FanSale has been well-received.

“New legal resale platforms, introduced by law to prevent scalping, are more and more popular and appreciated,” he points out. “TicketOne enjoys successful volumes on its FanSale reselling platform where fans who cannot attend a show can easily and quickly sell the tickets and recoup their money, while fans who didn’t find tickets before, can buy a precious ticket for sold out event at the same price of the primary market in a 100% safe environment.”

Since it was first published in 2015, the International Ticketing Report has been the only global guide to the live entertainment ticketing market.

The eighth instalment features in-depth profiles of the top 40+ live entertainment markets around the world, as well as insights and information from the most important companies in each market.

IQ subscribers can read the digital magazine here, or access the mini site here. To purchase a print copy of the report, email [email protected].

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