Market Report: Türkiye

The live event market here, for music in particular, remains a challenging landscape for ticketing companies.

Covid left a lasting impact that, along with well-documented sociocultural and political turmoil and a seriously devalued lira, hit the sector hard. Demand to see music’s A-list superstars remains.

And while domestic acts, especially Turkish hip-hop, and a number of smaller festivals are doing well, the middle ground, particularly indie, alternative, and rock/pop, is struggling.

“We anticipate that larger production shows from both international and local artists will continue to energise the Turkish live scene”

Karaoğlan Taşçı, MD of Ticketmaster Türkiye, is upbeat about the future despite challenging economic conditions. “We anticipate that larger production shows from both international and local artists will continue to energise the Turkish live scene,” he says.

Primary ticketing
The market leader by far is Ticketmaster, which operates as Biletix and has something of a hegemony. But other companies remain significant in their own chosen field. Bugece is an indie ticketing firm that primarily covers electronic music events and parties, while Iticket does its own events.

The market leader by far is Ticketmaster, which operates as Biletix and has something of a hegemony.

Mobilet is an online-only, social-media-led platform, and Passo is one of the country’s most visited e-commerce sites.

Secondary ticketing
Scalping and resale are not such an issue in Türkiye, mainly due to supply outstripping demand for all but the biggest shows. But it remains prevalent for football and large sporting events. Viagogo and TicketSwap are the sites to visit for fans looking to buy or sell.

Cultural analysis
With digital adoption now at 99% according to Taşçı, Ticketmaster have innovated in other ways.

“Our Spotify integration now allows fans to purchase tickets directly within the app, making it super convenient, and we’ve also partnered with major companies like Turkish Airlines, Nestlé, and McDonald’s to include ticket purchases in their reward programmes using our gift cards,” he says.

“Across all events, we’ve introduced Refund Protect, our ticket insurance product. This allows consumers to buy with peace of mind, plan ahead, and secure their tickets early,” he adds.