Southern California (SoCal) is one of the most vibrant live-event regions in the world. But until recently, its ticketing professionals did not have a consistent, local way to meet, collaborate and learn together. Today, the Southern California Ticketing Organization — better known as SoCal Tix — is working to change that.
Led by volunteer organizer Garrett Nolan, SoCal Tix is steadily building its community across a vast geographic footprint, uniting ticket office professionals from Los Angeles to San Diego and throughout Orange County (OC). The group is informal, free to join and entirely powered by the passion of those who participate.
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Garrett Nolan
“Our goal is to have about three to four networking events a year, either in person or virtual,” Nolan says. “We surveyed members around the beginning of this year … My own personal bias was that the in-person events were more popular, but feedback showed it was a 50-50 split.”
Nolan continues, “The format is dictated by the presenter or where the event is going to be held.
We’ve held meetups at venues where we also get a tour and that's great. We went to SoFi Stadium a few years ago. It is a fantastic facility. Andrew Bragman was kind enough to bring our group around and show us all the different areas. Our most recent event was at Fever, which is a ticketing platform … They have a nice office right on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. They provided us with space to meet, snacks and drinks, and also tickets to the Titanic Virtual Reality experience, which is a client of theirs, so that worked out pretty well. We've done virtual events, too. Earlier this year, AudienceView, another great supporter of INTIX, joined us for a presentation on everybody's favorite topic in the industry, fraud, and what can be done to help prevent it.”
SoCal Tix tours So-Fi Stadium.
Attendance at SoCal Tix events varies, typically landing between 20-25 participants, while virtual sessions can draw more. Today, SoCal Tix has roughly 250 subscribers to its monthly newsletter and social channels, though Nolan notes that “member” is used in a loose, informal way. “I would love to see SoCal Tix get to the point of having either a dues-based membership or to the point where we can have events that we charge people to attend. I don't think that we are there yet, and I'm not sure exactly when that could happen — maybe another year or two down the road. BAPTA up the road in the Bay Area is a great example of a regional group that has been around for a long time, is very well established and is its own separate dues-based organization, so I think that is a goal to strive towards,” he says.
Nolan (top row, second from left) with other SoCal Tix members at the Fever office.
Nolan is ambitious, though, adding, “I would love to see this group get to the point where it’s 1,000 or 2,000 subscribers to our email newsletter, maybe more than that, and then we can have a few hundred paid members or we can do events, like a summer SoCal Tix conference, six months opposite of the INTIX annual conference.”
SoCal Tix traces its origins to around 2017, though the exact timeline is unclear. Before adopting its current name to represent the entire region post-COVID, the group cycled through earlier versions, including LOTTO and Orange County Los Angeles Ticketing (OCLA Tix). Nolan laughs as he recalls discovering the earliest acronym in old materials. “I don’t know exactly what that stands for. Maybe somebody will comment on this story and say, ‘Oh yeah, I remember that, and here is what it meant.’”
What hasn’t changed is the desire for community. Right now, SoCal Tix is predominantly comprised of traditional ticket office professionals, with about 75% working in performing arts, theaters, arenas or sports facilities. Nolan says the typical member is a mid-career professional in their 30s, though participation spans a wider range. Professionals from all other areas of ticketing and live events, including vendors and third-party apps, promoters, agencies, freelancers and festivals, are encouraged to reach out and join the group.
The combination of perspectives makes for lively conversations. At the Fever meetup, for example, attendees found themselves in a spontaneous discussion about major international events and the challenges of serving global audiences. With the World Cup and the Olympics heading to Los Angeles in 2026 and 2028 respectively, attendees explored everything from foreign credit card acceptance to the impact of international tourism on transportation and hospitality.
“What are ticketing systems doing to help facilitate sales from 40 different countries?” Nolan says, reiterating that foreign credit card acceptance was a hot topic for discussion. Attendees from the San Diego area described challenges for Mexican fans whose cards aren’t always accepted, forcing some to pay cash. Those real-world pain points, Nolan says, highlight the importance of understanding the fan experience firsthand. “If you do work in a venue or have an opportunity if you're out at a festival site, walk around and try to envision it as a member of the general public trying to access your event. Think about making it as smooth a process as possible, both from a ticketing standpoint and in general, including signage, operations, all that good stuff.”
SoCal Tix visits The Bellwether in Los Angeles.
For Nolan, regional groups have always played a vital role in connecting him with others in his area. Before moving to California, he was part of DC Box Office Management Roundtable (BOMR) in Washington, D.C., which is now DMV RTA covering Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Virginia. He was also active in CaRTA when living in Charlotte. Those experiences helped shape his understanding of how powerful a regional group can be. “I found both of those groups very useful, sometimes almost more so from a networking standpoint, because it's that regional tie, and you feel like you're all on the same team, even though you work for different organizations. It's kind of like everyone rooting for that same sports team, in a sense.”
One of SoCal Tix’s most significant benefits, according to both informal feedback and member surveys, is the job postings the group shares. “It is a good place to be able to promote jobs, and we can help fill positions with local folks … Everybody [has] somewhat of a network within this group. If that can give you a leg up on being able to gain a position in the industry, at a job that you want to work at, I think that's fantastic. That is probably the biggest asset that we can bring to the table, other than just general networking.”
A standout personal moment for Nolan came at his very first SoCal Tix event, back when the group was still known as OCLA Tix. It was at the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach, shortly after he moved to California. “I didn’t know anybody ... It was great to meet a group of people. Everybody was super nice and welcoming,” he says. And Nolan is still in touch with several of the people he met that night. “If you are in the live event industry and you’ve just moved to the area, I would encourage you to reach out. If for nothing else, I'll go grab a coffee with you. We would love to get you out to an event and help you learn and meet some folks in the business.”
Running SoCal Tix is currently a one-person operation, and Nolan is candid about the challenges that creates. “You can’t do it all by yourself,” he says. “When I first became a part of this, I had the same sentiments that I do now, that, interestingly, this group isn't as big as it could be. I had all these grand ideas in my head, like I'm going to do events, and there are going to be 80 people who want to come out … and I'm going to start a newsletter, and there's social media. I will fully admit that our social media is kind of lacking, just because I'm trying to do everything. Even sitting down and writing the newsletter is not as easy as you think. We get decent open rates, which is good, but in general, it is good to be able to delegate and have a team and have people to be able to help out there … Basically, if you're interested in helping out, let me know.”
SoCal Tix also maintains a strong connection with INTIX, promoting industry stories, conference updates, awards and grants, Wednesday Wisdom sessions and more through its monthly newsletter. The group helped co-promote the INTIX On the Road program when it came to Los Angeles last December. Nolan also sees SoCal Tix as part of an ecosystem that helps members grow into the broader INTIX community. “If getting involved with us gets one person to sign up for a membership or go to the conference, that is one more than we had before, and now you’ve got somebody who hopefully becomes an advocate for the industry there.”
Looking ahead, Nolan hopes SoCal Tix evolves into a more structured organization — perhaps even a 501(c)(3) with dues, elected leadership and paid events. Basically, to be like an INTIX Junior for the Southern California area. He also imagines room for additional regional groups as participation grows. “Maybe the geography narrows as well and we end up focusing more on Los Angeles County, and San Diego and down to the OC have their own thing as well. It’s not like we have to have a monopoly on 20 million people in Southern California. There’s definitely room for others to be involved as well.”
For now, Nolan’s goals are clear: expand the subscriber list, build a small leadership team and strengthen programming consistency. Above all, he wants SoCal Tix to be a welcoming and accessible home for ticketing professionals across the region.
“Regional groups are a great way to get involved, not only with INTIX, but to network with other people in the live event ticketing industry in your area,” he says. “There is great value in what regional groups offer, and I would encourage everybody to participate.”
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