Original article published in Pollstar (01/03/18) by Francisco Rendon
The past year was one of turbulence in the ticketing industry, with new technology, major acquisitions, and changes in how actors manage the secondary market setting the tone for 2017. The North American market continued to be dominated by Ticketmaster and AXS, with the former's Verified Fan system making its public debut, spurring fans to register for a chance at event tickets ahead of onsales. Verified Fan currently is Ticketmaster's primary countermeasure against bots and secondary market scalpers. Meanwhile, Ticketfly's merger with Eventbrite, which also acquired Ticketscript and integrated Twickets in 2017, was major news. When Ticketfly's partnership with fan-to-fan ticket exchange company Lyte earlier in the year was added to the equation, Eventbrite gained status as the premier independent ticketing vendor. Technology behemoths also enlarged their role in the ticketing sector, with AXS recently announcing Facebook as a part of its AXS Anywhere ticket distribution program, using the Flash Seats app to fight scalpers and help disabled fans find seats in a Colorado arena, and forging an agreement with Playster, an online entertainment platform that provides access to music, film, TV, games, and books. Also shaking up the business was New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's May announcement that six ticket resellers were ordered to pay $4.2 million to settle allegations of bot use. In Ontario, Canada, a ceiling of 50 percent above face-value ticket prices was imposed while bots were banned.
Read the full story on the Pollstar website.