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ILMC 36: The pros and cons of dynamic ticketing

Dynamic ticketing took centre stage during ILMC’s Ticketing: At What Price? panel, as leading executives debated whether the growth of market-based pricing in the US will be replicated in other major international markets.

Chaired by Kilimanjaro Live promoter Steve Tilley, the session brought together Eventim Norway and Sweden’s Marcia Titley, Ticketmaster UK’s Sarah Slater, AXS’ Chris Lipscomb and Arnaud Meersseman of AEG Presents.

Recalling going to see Bruce Springsteen at New York City’s Madison Square Garden last year, Tilley admitted he was prepared to pay “whatever it costs” to get into the show. However, Meersseman pointed out the practice was less established in territories like France, which made it harder to compete when booking top acts.

“We’re being pushed more and more by artists to incorporate dynamic pricing,” he said. “To them, it doesn’t make sense on a financial level to tour Europe compared to the US, where dynamic pricing is widely common.”

Meersseman speculated there would be “massive pushback” against the practice across France. “It’s also a question of accessibility, and fans are likely to end up wondering whether gigs will only be reserved for the rich in the not-too-distant future,” he warned.

Lipscomb added that dynamic pricing is already happening in several European markets, including the UK, and predicted it will increase in prominence sooner than most think.

“Ten percent of all UK shows may already be sold under dynamic pricing. In a couple of years, I’d expect that number will increase by 30%-40%”

“Ten percent of all UK shows may already be sold under dynamic pricing,” he said. “In a couple of years, I’d expect that number will increase by 30%-40% and maybe even rise higher to 70%-80%.”

The discussion segued into the secondary market, with Titley noting that while countries like Norway and Denmark put laws in place to prevent resales above face value, dynamic pricing was necessary to “drive higher revenue”.

“Ultimately, it’s all about protecting the fans, and I believe in combining tech and legislation to eradicate those excessive profit margins,” she said.

Ticketmaster has successfully introduced its own fan-to-fan resale service in the UK, and Slater said: “There are plenty of safe, face-value resale sites to sell your tickets to in the UK. We’ve heavily pushed the fact that tickets are transferable, but we always encourage customers to only buy from authorised sites.”

Sam Shemtob, director of Face-value European Alliance for Ticketing (FEAT), made a brief cameo to explain the role that the EU Digital Service Act will play in combating illegal ticket listings.

“If the ticket is being sold by a trader, that needs to be listed right at the front in a clearly accessible manner, and ticket resale sites will now be banned from using design tricks that manipulate consumers into decisions, such as “pop-ups” or giving prominence to specific choices,” explained Shemtob.

“Nailing the on-sale is absolutely critical, but marketing the shows via a long-term campaign with the artists up until the actual event is just as important”

Shemtob, who is collaborating with the European Commission on how to streamline a complaints mechanism for fans and promoters, launched ‘Make Tickets Fair’ last year — a campaign to educate and empower fans to avoid being ripped off by ticket touts.

“The platforms will also be required to make it clear throughout the buying process that the tickets listed are provided by a third party,” he said. “If a platform fails to do this and fans are led to believe that the tickets are provided by the platform itself, the platform can be held responsible for any tickets listed in contravention of national laws.

“All of these sites need to have a clear and simple complaint mechanism.”

Another major talking point was the perception that tickets must be bought as soon as they go on sale.

“Obviously, nailing the on-sale is absolutely critical, but marketing the shows via a long-term campaign with the artists up until the actual event is just as important,” Slater said, citing the concert industry’s shift towards post-sale engagement, which includes events integrations in collaborations with Spotify and TikTok, as well as creative marketing strategies to keep fans engaged.

“Most people think that if they can’t get tickets within the first hour, they’ll end up being scammed when attempting to purchase them at a later time,” added Meersseman. “It all ties to what we discussed earlier about properly educating customers on the ticket sale process.”

 


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Springsteen speaks out on ticket backlash

Bruce Springsteen has spoken out about the dynamic ticketing controversy for his 2023 tour.

Individual tickets reached more than $5,000 via Ticketmaster’s market-based platinum pricing model when the first wave of The E Street Band’s US tour dates went on sale in the summer.

The backlash prompted the 73-year-old’s manager Jon Landau to defend the pricing, insisting it was in line with shows for acts of a similar stature, while the average ticket price is around $250.

“Ticket buying has gotten very confusing, not just for the fans, but for the artists also”

Asked by Rolling Stone if he has any regrets regarding the decision, Springsteen says: ‘What I do is a very simple thing. I tell my guys, ‘Go out and see what everybody else is doing. Let’s charge a little less’ That’s generally the directions. They go out and set it up. For the past 49 years or however long we’ve been playing, we’ve pretty much been out there under market value. I’ve enjoyed that. It’s been great for the fans.

“This time I told them, ‘Hey, we’re 73 years old. The guys are there. I want to do what everybody else is doing, my peers.’ So that’s what happened.”

He continues: “Ticket buying has gotten very confusing, not just for the fans, but for the artists also. And the bottom line is that most of our tickets are totally affordable. We have those tickets that are going to go for that [higher] price somewhere anyway. The ticket broker or someone is going to be taking that money. I’m going, ‘Hey, why shouldn’t that money go to the guys that are going to be up there sweating three hours a night for it?’

“If there’s any complaints on the way out, you can have your money back”

“It created an opportunity for that to occur. And so at that point, we went for it. I know it was unpopular with some fans. But if there’s any complaints on the way out, you can have your money back.”

Ticketmaster says that platinum tickets account for 11.2% of the total sold, stressing that the remainder of the allocation sold at fixed prices ranging from $59.50 to $399.

“You don’t like to be criticised,” adds Springsteen. “You certainly don’t like to be the poster boy for high ticket prices. It’s the last thing you prefer to be. But that’s how it went. You have to own the decisions you have made and go out and just continue to do your best. And that was my take on it. I think if folks come to the show, they’re going to have a good time.”

“We were getting pilloried for the price of those tickets”

Springsteen, who released his 21st studio album Only The Strong Survive last week, also discusses whether he will utilise dynamic ticketing again in the future.

“I don’t know,” he says. “We’ll be talking about it, of course. It changes from tour to tour. We will be coming back. I’m sure we’ll be playing outside somewhat. That’ll be a whole other discussion when that comes around. I don’t want to say anything now, but we’ll see what happens.”

Live Nation president and CFO Joe Berchtold previously addressed the furore at Goldman Sachs Communacopia & Technology Conference in September.

“I think 80% of what’s out there is just is a lack of understanding of how ticketing really works,” he said. “The recent noise with the Bruce Springsteen ticket pricing was a great example, where we were getting pilloried for the price of those tickets.

“A lot of people thought that Ticketmaster set the price for those tickets. And for one of the first times ever for us, we had a representative of the artist – his manager – come out and say, ‘No, no, no, we set those prices. We looked around and we looked at what other artists were charging, we looked at secondary. We think he is one of the, if not the most iconic American artists out there. He doesn’t come around very often. And we think those that ticket pricing is fair.’”

 


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TM captures $500m for event organisers from resale

Ticketmaster says its dynamic pricing model has captured over $500 million for artists and event organisers from resale markets in 2022.

The company revealed the figure in response to criticism from a US congressman over its dynamic pricing model for Bruce Springsteen’s 2023 tour.

Many fans reacted with uproar after individual tickets reached more than $5,000 via Ticketmaster’s market-based pricing when the first wave of The E Street Band’s US tour dates went on sale in July.

The backlash prompted Bill Pascrell, a representative in Springsteen’s home city of New Jersey, to demand answers from the ticketing firm’s parent company Live Nation.

“I write on behalf of my constituents and fans across the country that are excited for Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band’s 2023 tour,” said Pascrell in a letter to Live Nation boss Michael Rapino. “Hard-working Americans who are fans of Bruce and other popular entertainers should have the ability to enjoy live entertainment without ticket-sales practices that rip off consumers.

“To help fans better understand the frustratingly opaque process that leads to such high prices, I am inquiring about the veracity of the company’s statement, as well as the policies and prices the company has put in place for this tour.”

In a lengthy response reported by Celebrity Access, Ticketmaster reiterates that prices and onsale parameters are set by event organisers, the company.

“The recent Bruce Springsteen tour is a prime example of returning value to artists from the secondary market”

“Dynamic pricing is about capturing more value for the artist at the initial onsale, vs that value going to people reselling tickets on the secondary market,” it says.

“The secondary market sees over $10 billion in ticket sales and continues to grow rapidly. Through Ticketmaster, dynamic pricing has captured over $500 million for event organisers from resale markets in 2022 alone.”

“The recent Bruce Springsteen tour is a prime example of returning value to artists from the secondary market. Ticketmaster was not the only ticketing company selling primary tickets for the Springsteen tour, but the data is compelling.”

Detailing the cost of Springsteen ticket sales on Ticketmaster, the firm says 88.2% of tickets were sold at set prices, with 11.8% of tickets designated “Platinum” (dynamic).  The average price of all tickets sold on the platform was $262, with 1.3% of total tickets across the shows sold for more than $1,000.

In addition, 56% were sold for under $200, 11% between $150 and $200, 27% between $100 and $150, while 18% of all tickets sold were under $99.

Springsteen’s 2023 run begins on 1 February at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, before heading to Europe in April

Addressing the furore earlier this summer, Springsteen’s manager Jon Landau argued the pricing was in line with shows for acts of a similar stature.

“In pricing tickets for this tour, we looked carefully at what our peers have been doing,” Landau told the New York Times. “We chose prices that are lower than some and on par with others.

“Regardless of the commentary about a modest number of tickets costing $1,000 or more, our true average ticket price has been in the mid-$200 range. I believe that in today’s environment, that is a fair price to see someone universally regarded as among the very greatest artists of his generation.”

Springsteen’s most recent tour – 2016/17’s The River Tour – was the highest grossing worldwide tour of 2016, earning $268.3m over 76 shows. His 2023 run begins on 1 February at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, before heading to Europe in April.

 


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