Revenue / 07.15.20

Secondary Ticketing Market Sees Promise Beyond Treacherous Waters

Access Staff

Pollstar (07/10/20) Brown, Eric Renner

The coronavirus pandemic has hammered the secondary ticketing industry, and Project Admission CEO Stephen Glicken says the crisis has "exposed some glaring cracks in how fragile that system is and where the money sits." He adds that the response in some nations has been to legislate issuance of credits rather than cash refunds. The U.S. has no such regulation, but SeatGeek co-founder Russ D'Souza says many fans have opted to receive credit, even with refunds offered. Firms with some degree of leeway are using the pandemic to hone other aspects of their services, be it securing new deals or refining software. "Choosing a new ticketing vendor is a complex decision, but what we've found is that, during times like this, venues want to go with a very strong technology partner," D'Souza notes. Companies with some financial latitude can advance products without the daily headache of platform operation, which might be a welcome area to focus on from the unsettled future of the live events and ticketing industry. "For a long time, it's just been going up and up, and I think we're going to see it flattened or go down in a lot of markets and verticals, in a lot of respects," Glicken predicts. D'Souza, meanwhile, is optimistic that "people are going to have this huge desire to go out and do things, and once they have the opportunity, they're going to embrace it, full stop."

Read the full story from Pollstar. 

Tags: News , Secondary Ticketing