AEG launches ‘fair’ ticketing system with new venue
AEG Presents Rocky Mountain has announced the line-up of concerts for the opening week of its new Denver venue Mission Ballroom (2,200 to 3,950-cap.), in conjunction with the company’s Mission Fair Ticketing system, which gives equal access to tickets for all fans.
Hometown band the Lumineers open the flexible-capacity venue on Wednesday 7 August, with Trey Anastasio Band performing two dates over the weekend. Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals and Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue close out celebrations on Monday 12 August.
Fans can buy tickets for all concerts through new ticketing programme, Mission Fair Ticketing. The system offers every fan a fair chance to purchase tickets through AEG-owned ticketing company AXS.
Under the system, tickets are immediately available for pre-reservation. Fans can request up to four tickets, along with supplying credit card details, through the AXS purchase page until the conclusion of the registration period. All cards will be charged US$1 to ensure validity.
The ticket requests are then processed and requests selected at random. Fans whose requests prove successful will be charged for the tickets automatically and notified of their purchase.
“Buying tickets is still the most difficult, inconvenient part of the live experience”
“As a business, we’re phenomenal at putting on incredible events, but buying tickets is still the most difficult, inconvenient part of the live experience,” says AEG Presents Rocky Mountains co-president and senior talent buyer, Don Strasburg.
Rather than operating on a first come, first served basis, the system works as a ticket lottery, levelling the playing field for fans with jobs or commitments that prevent them from buying tickets immediately upon release.
Strasburg says that he hopes the system will allow AEG to “weed out the resellers in advance so that we don’t have to take tickets away after they’ve been sold.”
The Mission Fair Ticketing platform is similar to Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan initiative in asking fans to pre-register, giving promoters a chance to flag suspicious activity and potential touts. Unlike Ticketmaster’s platform, fans do not need to return to select seats and purchase tickets with Mission Fair Ticketing, as all is processed automatically.
Registration began at 8 a.m. MDT (2 p.m. GMT) on 19 March and ends on Sunday 24 March at noon (6 p.m. GMT). Any unsold or unrequested tickets will appear on the normal AXS ticketing page on Friday 29 March at 10 a.m. MDT (4 p.m. GMT).
Not all events at Mission Ballroom will use the Mission Fair Ticketing system. Participating shows will be clearly demarcated.
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AEG signs “beautiful” GRFA for new concert series
AEG Presents Rocky Mountains, AEG’s live entertainment operation in the western United States, has partnered with Aspen-based independent DDM Presents for the launch of a new concert series, Whistle Pig Vail, at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater in Vail, Colorado.
The 2,565-cap. outdoor venue (1,265 seated + 1,300 standing), nestled in the Rocky Mountains and described by AEG Presents co-president Don Strasburg as “one of the most beautiful venues in the world”, will with Whistle Pig Vail host “headliner rock and pop all summer long”, with artists and dates due to be announced in the coming months.
The amphitheatre (pictured) is currently home to a range of cultural and entertainment events, including classical music and dance shows, local theatre productions and the free weekly Hot Summer Nights concert series.
“We can’t wait to help bring more world-class music to the Colorado mountains”
“Our Vail Valley community loves music, and we couldn’t be happier to be bringing incremental, great music offerings to the beautiful Ford Amphitheater with the help of a legendary group like AEG Presents Rocky Mountains,” comments Mike Imhof, president and CEO of the Vail Valley Foundation, which owns and runs the venue. “Vail in Summer 2018 is going to be better than ever before, and will set the bar for many years to come in the mountain music scene.”
“The Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater is one of the most beautiful venues in the world, and we can’t wait to help bring more world-class music to the Colorado mountains with the Whistle Pig Vail concert series,” adds Strasburg.
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