Music

And Now, An Alternative to Ticketmaster

Alan Cross 0 Comments

When you want to go to a show, Ticketmaster is the big dog.  Even before the company merged with Live Nation, it held a de facto monopoly on selling concert tickets.  A Pearl Jam boycott, a scandal about re-selling and other attacks against the company have had exactly zero effect.

But now Ticketfly, a San Francisco-based ticketing and marketing platform, is coming to Canada.  It will be in charge of ticketing for a number of Canadian venues and promoters.  

This includes Union Events, which is big in the EDM world and Collective Concerts, the company responsible for booking gigs at the Horseshoe Tavern and Lee’s Palace in Toronto.  This adds to a list of clients that include The Troubadour in LA, the 9:30 Club in DC, Merriweather Post Pavillion in Baltimore and Austin City Limits Live.

The goal appears be to sign up as many clients as possible, right down to indie bands looking to get the world out on their shows.  Not only will Ticketfly sell tickets but also provide marketing and social networking solutions including mobile ticketing through smartphones.

 

Obviously Ticketfly has a long, long, long way to go to challenge the supremacy of Ticketmaster, but at least it’s some kind of alternative.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 38022 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

Let us know what you think!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.