Who is better than Ticketmaster?

Therefore, the big question is: Who is better than Ticketmaster?

Ticketmaster has been the uncontested king of primary ticket sales for quite some time now; however, the company has been facing increasing criticism in the recent past due to high fees, among other reasons. Fans and event promoters have sought other means for primary event tickets as the use of Ticketmaster as their main ticket-selling platform has been declining. Some of the rivals that have appeared in the market have been advertising lower costs, higher freedom, and better technologies.

AXIS

AXS is one of the major secondary competitors competing directly with Ticketmaster in the primary event ticketing market. The company was started in 2011 under the joint partnership of entertainment company AEG, event promoter Goldenvoice, and the founding partner Comcast Spectacor.

The primary benefit highlighted being offered by AXS is the reduced charges compared to Ticketmaster. It also says that its average total fees are 17% lower when compared to other related companies. This is also evident in concentrated secondary services such as AXS, which offers non-standard ticket types such as “platinum tickets” with variable prices to capture more value for premium seating. Its technology is meant to give planners insights into ticket sales and customer activity.

The flip side is that AXS has residual fees that some deem predatory. Also, its tickets can only be sold and transferred through the AXS platform and the associated channels, it does not connect to the other secondary ticket marketplaces. However, AXS is accessed by more than 2,200 venues and event organizers, which classifies it as one of the alternatives.

SeatGeek

Originally, SeatGeek was designed as a search engine that specialized in ticket sales in the secondary market. Although it did not start as a primary ticketing player, it has over the last few years become very aggressive in this space through deals with teams, theaters, and festivals.

The company image is focused on presenting itself as a technological one that can assist event planners in improving their knowledge of ticket demand patterns. It also adopts suitable measures for offering optimal prices to increase revenue.

On the consumer side, SeatGeek wants to make ticket purchasing simple and easy, with a clear indication of all fees. The company also states that its average fees are half of Ticketmaster’s, which means 55%. It blends the primary and secondary ticket inventory to provide an array of options for fans.

The drawback is that while SeatGeek is getting closer to Ticketmaster, it is not qualified to compete directly with it in the primary market. However, it actively pursues major partnerships, signing contracts with clients such as the New Orleans Jazz Festival.

Songkick

The Songkick application was first designed to help find musicians and receive updates about their performances. It has recently ventured more directly into ticket sales, a strategy that has proven successful.

Songkick operates as a ticket marketplace where fans can buy tickets directly from the website for a constantly expanding list of concert venues and festivals. It deals with individual and small-scale organizations that want to sell tickets but do not want to go through Ticketmaster and, at the same time, eliminate scalping.

Based on this, the company is in a fan-first ticketing business that sells tickets to shows at some of the most affordable prices. It also allows artists to have a greater say in ticketing as well as in other aspects of the band’s activity. Songkick charges a smaller 5–15% commission, which is taken only on ticket sales actually completed through the platform.

Still, Songkick has not grown big enough to manage such large-scale arena tours, which are far beyond its reach at the moment. However, minor music events offer an attractive means of ticket sales that has been adopted by most event promoters.

Other Alternatives

While AXS, SeatGeek, and Songkick are leading the way, other players are entering the primary ticket sales market: While AXS, SeatGeek, and Songkick are leading the way, other players are entering the primary ticket sales market:

• Eventbrite: This was a digital platform that primarily dealt with the management of events and ticketing for comparatively smaller events; however, Eventbrite has started making forays into progressively larger music festivals and conferences, the tickets for which can be purchased directly through the site.
• Ticketfly: Currently a property of Eventbrite, Ticketfly is a primary ticketing solution specifically targeting venues and promoters, specializing in concerts and comedy performances.
• TicketSpice is a new-generation company dealing strictly with ticket sales for live performances that strives to provide more power and less commission to the venues.
• TickPick is a secondary ticket platform that does not charge any fees and is now trying the primary one after it worked on ticketing at the Bonnaroo music festival.

But still, Ticketmaster has significant benefits in terms of scope, recognition, and contracts for long-term cooperation with venues, It can be stated that there are numerous enthusiasts who wish to offer another option. While fans continue to become more annoyed by the high fees and lack of development in the Ticketmaster service, event organizers now have more options for partners in ticketing services. Although, yes, this would be akin to trying to pose a threat to ticketing giant Ticketmaster, it is somewhat of a victory to see other competitors entering the market, which has to be beneficial for venues, artists, and fans.