x

The latest industry news to your inbox.


I'd like to hear about marketing opportunities

    

I accept IQ Magazine's Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy

AXS to sell tickets through Groupon, Goldstar, Costco

AEG-owned ticket agency AXS has announced a series of new partnerships as part of its ‘AXS Anywhere’ ticket distribution programme.

Customers of deals website Groupon, event discovery service Goldstar, last-minute mobile ticket seller Gametime and corporate travel/entertainment provider Entertainment Benefits Group (EBG) will be able purchase primary AXS tickets on those platforms, “expanding the awareness of events and the accessibility to purchase” while “streamlining the buying process for our fans,” says AXS business development SVP Blaine LeGere.

The new partnerships follow a similar tie-up with Spotify in June.

AXS and Eventbrite ink deals with Spotify

Billboard reports AXS has also secured a distribution deal with US retail giant Costco.

AXS Anywhere was first announced in 2013, and enables select partner websites to sell tickets using an AXS API. “For example,” said AEG at the time, “a person reading a story about a basketball team on ESPN.com would be able to purchase tickets to their next game through a widget in the story without ever having to leave the partner website, creating a more convenient experience for the consumer.”

Commenting on the new partnership, Goldstar CEO Jim McCarthy says: “We’ve been completing these integrations for one simple reason: more ticket sales should not translate to more work for our 5,000 venue partners. Venues come to a third-party channel like Goldstar to help them build awareness for and sell their shows to our nearly eight million members. These integrations are designed to be seamless, real-time and convenient.”

“We want to eliminate all friction for fans in discovering and attending live events,” adds Gametime’s Colin Evans. “The partnership with AXS gives us the opportunity to expand our supply to some of the best venues and events across the country. Our goal is to continue to offer fans the best mobile experience, and we’re excited about our new relationship with AXS.”

 


Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Kanye, Drake fans lead way in mobile ticketing

Despite the abrupt axing last month of the final 21 dates of his Saint Pablo tour, Kanye West was still the no1 choice for mobile ticket-buyers in 2016, new data suggests.

West – whose cancellation, due to stress and exhaustion, led to a loss of US$30 million in potential ticket sales – tops Gametime’s list of the ‘most mobile music fans of 2016’ by tickets sold on its app, followed by Drake and Future, Beyoncé, Skrillex’s show at Super City Fest in Oakland, California, and a country music tour co-headlined by Kenny Chesney, Miranda Lambert, Sam Hunt and Old Dominion.

Gametime is a last-minute mobile secondary ticketing platform for music and sporting events, on which resale prices fluctuate dynamically according to market demand. “Unlike other ticket providers that rely primarily on web-based platforms,” it notes, “Gametime is 100% mobile, revealing consumers who are on the go, largely Millennials (>75% of user base) and looking for a speedy transaction accompanied by great value.”

“A consumer behaviour shift is happening in the live event industry, with a migration toward the last-minute window”

The San Francisco-based company says its research – which correlates with previous predictions of 20% year-on-year growth for mobile ticketing until 2020 – shows that “a consumer behaviour shift is happening in the live event industry, with a migration toward the last-minute window – 7 days or less until the event – driven by a younger, more spontaneous and experienced shopping consumer”.

“For example,” it explains, “55% of concert tickets sold on Gametime are happening on the week of the event, and 30% on the day of the event. As events draw near, prices decline roughly 25% and buying activity spikes via mobile millennial fans.”

Gametime’s top 20, and the average US ticket price of each tour, is shown below:

Most mobile music fans of 2016, Gametime

 


Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.