Pollstar (12/28/18) Rendon, Francisco
The continuing decline of the traditional broker model was the most significant ticket industry trend in 2018. Major artists ran aggressive pricing operations and offered massive volumes of inventory, blocking scalpers by allowing supply to meet demand more closely. Inventory growth subsequently sparked tremendous sales numbers for stadium acts, boosting artists' grosses. Key mergers and acquisitions included TEG taking ownership of TicketWorld Down Under, Songkick partnering with FNAC, Vivendi acquiring Dutch ticketer Paylogic, Eventbrite buying Spain's Ticketea, DEAG obtaining a larger stake in MyTicket in Germany, CTS Eventim purchasing Venuepoint in Scandinavia, and Ticketmaster acquiring blockchain firm Upgraded. The launch of blockchain offerings by several companies promises to eradicate ticketing fraud, complementing safe, secure, and anonymous transactions with unprecedented insights into fan behavior. Ticketfly co-founder Dan Teree led this change with his new company, Big Neon.
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