What would you like to see done differently with ticket sales? (I need answers)

[Chino]

Hello DTF. I am turning to you as a group of civilians, friends, hypothetical customers, and guinea pigs. I am doing a project in school where we are firm being asked by a start up company too provide a technology feasibility study including ICT strategy, business process innovation based on technology (e.g., new product or way to sell tickets), technology recommendations, etc, etc.

I'm looking at this for surveying and researching purposes, not to have you fine people do the project for me (I feel like it could be coming off that way). I personally don't buy a whole lot of tickets to things because I think most events have become so overly priced, I don't go out of principal.

This start up company is looking to sell tickets to all types of events, not just concerts, movies, plays, etc... They are looking to compete with the big dogs like Ticket Master and Stub Hub. So I propose the following questions. Feel free to say anything you want, even if it doesn't apply directly. Please answer them while taking into account real life events and experiences.

1) In your experience, what is something you've noticed when ordering tickets that you'd like to see done differently or improved upon?

2) Is there anything you wouldn't mind sacrificing in your shopping experience to bring ticket prices down?

3) Everyone hates those service fees, is there anything you wouldn't mind doing (surveys, being advertised to, etc...) that could help reduce those costs?

4) Would you be inclined to purchase tickets on stand alone kiosks strategically placed throughout large cities?

5) How do you currently go about buying tickets?

6) Do you have a preferred place to shop? Why do you shop there (experience, prices, availability, convenience)?

7) Was there ever something you would have bought  a ticket to, but didn't know it was in your area until after it had occurred? If yes, what would you have liked to see in place to make you aware of that? If no, how is it you never miss something you're interested in?

8) Do you ever buy tickets with a mobile app? If yes, do you print your ticket at home, at the venue, get them in the mail, have a digital ticket on your phone to scan, or other (please specify)?

9) Have you ever participated in group buying to get a discount on tickets?

10) Have you ever bought a ticket bundle to bring the cost of multiple events down?

11) Would you ever subscribe to a ticket site if it meant having tickets offered to you two days before the general public?

12) Do you think it is even possible for a new company to even come close to competing with the companies currently on top?


If you have any other comments, or anything to say at all, hit me!

[El Barto]

I know I'm going to be in the minority here, but I'm actually pretty cool with the current ticketing paradigm. I'm obviously not crazy about the sky-high prices, but that's on Live Nation and the artists rather than the ticketing agent. While I can think of a change or two to make things more fair, as somebody who's researched it and found out how to work the system, I'd just as soon see the current model remain.

As for the questions I have answers to:

3) the fees shouldn't exist at all. Since the actual customers of the ticketing agents are the promoter, and not the concert goer, the operating costs should be part of the initial contract. Furthermore, at least one of those fees is a kickback to the venue, which is also not my responsibility.

4) absolutely not. The internet is the ideal method. There's nothing to be gained and much convenience to be lost by going elsewhere.

7) on occasion. I don't listen to rock radio, so I don't have that outlet to inform me of upcoming road shows. 

9) on rare occasion. Starplex will occasionally sell 4-packs of lawn seats for cheap. Mainly it's for big rock shows that didn't sell very well. 

11) Doesn't make any difference. Buying from presales doesn't mean a better seat. Often times it's the opposite, in fact.

12) lots of companies are already competing with TM. The problem is that TM is now vastly superior to them. Better service all the way around. The bigger problem is that competition with TM doesn't really make any difference, since as previously noted, we're not TM's customers. Other ticketing agencies just give the promoters better options, which they use to get themselves a better deal. It's the promoters who see the benefits, we get hosed regardless.

[ich bin besser]

1) In your experience, what is something you've noticed when ordering tickets that you'd like to see done differently or improved upon?
Shipping costs are ususally way too expensive. I'm talking like 5 Euro for a ticket in an envelope.

3) Everyone hates those service fees, is there anything you wouldn't mind doing (surveys, being advertised to, etc...) that could help reduce those costs?
Guess not.

4) Would you be inclined to purchase tickets on stand alone kiosks strategically placed throughout large cities?
Won't ever happen where I live.

5) How do you currently go about buying tickets?
I try to get them from the venue's homepage.

8) Do you ever buy tickets with a mobile app? If yes, do you print your ticket at home, at the venue, get them in the mail, have a digital ticket on your phone to scan, or other (please specify)?
Nope.

9) Have you ever participated in group buying to get a discount on tickets?
Nope.

10) Have you ever bought a ticket bundle to bring the cost of multiple events down?
Nope.

11) Would you ever subscribe to a ticket site if it meant having tickets offered to you two days before the general public?
The concerts I go to (prog concerts...) are very unlikely to sell out - so: no need to.

12) Do you think it is even possible for a new company to even come close to competing with the companies currently on top?
In the beginning, maybe. But they will be the same soon after.


If you have any other comments, or anything to say at all, hit me!
Some venues offer print-at-home. That reduces the fees and you save shipping costs. Love that!

[Tick]

Logged on to Ticketmaster at 10 am yesterday for Rush tickets. The sale just underway, and no lower level seats available. Its bullshit. I'm not paying 112 bucks for upper level so you can sell good seats to ticket agencys and hold the rest to sell when sales are weak. I did not buy.

[Jaffa]

1. What Tick just said.  I check for tickets the day they go on sale, and there aren't any good seats.  More than once I've bought bad seats fearing that the event was going to sell out, only to have front row seats released later.  I'm not sure exactly how this could be fixed, because I'm not sure exactly why it happens in the first place, but I'd like to see the early bird get the worm.  Sometimes it seems like the only way to get decent tickets is to win them by calling in to a radio station giveaway.

2. Nothing springs to mind.  I think I'd be willing to make sacrifices, but I don't know what exactly they would be.  I'd need this to be a multiple choice question.   

3. Basically the same answer as I gave to question 2.  I certainly wouldn't mind taking some surveys if it meant lower prices, but I'm not clever enough to have any other suggestions here.

4.  Hmm.  I would be skeptical at first, worrying about malfunctions and duplicate tickets, but if the system was in place for a while and it seemed that most of the kinks were worked out, I think I would be open to it.  I might even prefer it to internet shopping, provided these kiosks printed actual physical tickets.

5. Usually I'll order them online and either have them mailed to me or pick them up at the box office.  Occasionally I'll print them at home, but I really don't like doing that (I like physical tickets as souvenirs). 

6. Not really.  It'll usually be Ticket Master, but there's no special reason for that. 

7. This has happened to me a couple of times, and it's annoying, but I don't think there's any solution to the problem.  Ultimately it's up to us as customers to keep our eyes open and pay attention to upcoming events we mgiht be interested in.

8. No.

9. No. 

10. No.

11. That would depend on the nature of the subscription.  If it's just a matter of signing up for a mailing list, sure.  If I have to pay for the subscription, no.  I don't really go to events often enough for a paid subscription to be worthwhile for me.  (All of this is assuming that I would get early access to DECENT tickets, by the way; if it's going to be upper level seats, I'm not going to bother.)

12. Er, probably not.  I'd be open to it, and I'd say that new companies could survive, but compete?  The cynic in me says it isn't likely. 


Don't know if any of this is helpful, but there you go.   

[Neon]

1) In your experience, what is something you've noticed when ordering tickets that you'd like to see done differently or improved upon?
-For on-sales or particularly large events, the Ticketmaster site can sometimes shit the bed and run very slowly or time out, thus preventing me from getting tickets. 
Also, it drives me crazy that there are "presales for this" and "presales for that."  I don't mind it so much when there are presales for the band's fanclub members, but I HATE that I can't buy my tickets until tomorrow, when someone with a Citibank card or an American Express card can buy them today.
And lastly, I hate hate hate hate hate that a show will be announced for 4 months from now, but TICKETS ARE ON SALE THIS FRIDAY (or this Thursday if you have an American Express card. ) And of course now that we're approaching summertime, we're entering the season of "30 bands you love are going to tour around the same damn time and the tickets are all going to go on sale on the same damn day...or within three weeks of each other.  I guess this is only a problem when you go to a lot of shows like me 

2) Is there anything you wouldn't mind sacrificing in your shopping experience to bring ticket prices down?
I'd be inclined to say that I'd willingly give my first-born child for cheaper concert tickets.  But in all seriousness, we all HATE those fees.  If there was some way to get them reduced, I'd be willing to try it out. 

3) Everyone hates those service fees, is there anything you wouldn't mind doing (surveys, being advertised to, etc...) that could help reduce those costs?
I wouldn't mind any of that stuff.  Like I said before, I'd be willing to do just about anything to reduce the cost of ticket prices.  I also wouldn't mind continuing to pay an additional few dollars per ticket if the money was going toward something meaningful, such as some local charity like a city food bank, to benefit sick kids, or something like that. 

4) Would you be inclined to purchase tickets on stand alone kiosks strategically placed throughout large cities?
Absolutely.  As long as 1) it was safe to use my credit card there and 2) it eliminated service fees.  Part of the reason I make the trek to venue's box offices and buy them directly is so that I can avoid Ticketbastard fees.  However, with my schedule it's not usually feasible for me to get to the venues randomly. I think a key to this might not neccessarily be just in large cities, but in some popular suburban areas as well (think local shopping malls, etc). 

5) How do you currently go about buying tickets?
I generally just order them online because of the convenience factor, although like I said in the prior answer, when I can I go directly to the venue to avoid fees.

6) Do you have a preferred place to shop? Why do you shop there (experience, prices, availability, convenience)?
The internet is all about convenience 

7) Was there ever something you would have bought  a ticket to, but didn't know it was in your area until after it had occurred? If yes, what would you have liked to see in place to make you aware of that? If no, how is it you never miss something you're interested in?
In my particular case, no.  I make it a point to keep up on what bands are coming to the area, and when.  When you can, check out www.pollstar.com.  This website is my concert bible.  You can search by artist, city, or by venue.  And as an added bonus, when you do a search by city, it will bring up all surrounding areas too.  That being said, I hear this complaint from people all the time.  I feel like for every show I go to anymore, I'm met with a symphony of people going "How come you didn't tell me about it, I would have went."  For the people who make it their lives, it's not an issue, but for the people who actually have real adult lives (mortgage, kids, etc. they've got more important shit to worry about then what band is in town tonight.  I guess it's just an issue of getting the word out more quickly so they have more time to plan, and more frequently so they don't forget about it.

8) Do you ever buy tickets with a mobile app? If yes, do you print your ticket at home, at the venue, get them in the mail, have a digital ticket on your phone to scan, or other (please specify)?
I'm new to the whole smartphone thing, only having recently gotten one within the last month or so.  However, I am 100% completely against web tickets and printing my tickets online.  I want the "hard copy" of the ticket in my hand.  And the geek in me will add it to my scrap book.   

9) Have you ever participated in group buying to get a discount on tickets?
I have not, but if it would save me money for something I want to do, and I could get a bunch of my friends in on it, then I'd definitely do it.

10) Have you ever bought a ticket bundle to bring the cost of multiple events down?
No, but I would...as long as I could pick the shows that were part of the bundle.  I would't be interested in doing it if I had to buy tickets to 4 shows but only actually cared about 3 of them. 

11) Would you ever subscribe to a ticket site if it meant having tickets offered to you two days before the general public?
I said previously that I hate all of this special "presale" stuff.  But I think my hatred toward it would be lessened substantially if the presale included ME.   

12) Do you think it is even possible for a new company to even come close to competing with the companies currently on top?
Absolutely.  Everyone hates Ticketbastard so much I think there might be some sort of mutiny soon anyway.  Also remember that it takes a lot of work to stay on top, so eventually someone else could give them a run for their money.  Why couldn't it be you?


Sorry if this is legnthy but I hope it helps you with your project.

[Neon]

1. What Tick just said.  I check for tickets the day they go on sale, and there aren't any good seats.  More than once I've bought bad seats fearing that the event was going to sell out, only to have front row seats released later.  I'm not sure exactly how this could be fixed, because I'm not sure exactly why it happens in the first place, but I'd like to see the early bird get the worm.  Sometimes it seems like the only way to get decent tickets is to win them by calling in to a radio station giveaway.

The reason for this is because there are a certain number of tickets for each show that are held for the performers, crews, managers, promoters, or whatever to distribute as they want for their families or whatever.  If the tickets aren't given away then they are put back up for sale to the public, and this often doesn't happen until around the day of the show. 

[kirksnosehair]

1) In your experience, what is something you've noticed when ordering tickets that you'd like to see done differently or improved upon?
I'd like more opportunities to get better quality seating before the agencies and insiders gobble them up.

2) Is there anything you wouldn't mind sacrificing in your shopping experience to bring ticket prices down?
I generally don't have a problem with ticket prices

3) Everyone hates those service fees, is there anything you wouldn't mind doing (surveys, being advertised to, etc...) that could help reduce those costs?
I don't have time for that.  I'll pay the fees
 
4) Would you be inclined to purchase tickets on stand alone kiosks strategically placed throughout large cities?
No, I prefer ordering online from the comfort of my office or home
 
5) How do you currently go about buying tickets?
Online
 
6) Do you have a preferred place to shop? Why do you shop there (experience, prices, availability, convenience)?
Online, where ever the tickets are available.  For me it's about availability and convenience
 
7) Was there ever something you would have bought  a ticket to, but didn't know it was in your area until after it had occurred? If yes, what would you have liked to see in place to make you aware of that? If no, how is it you never miss something you're interested in?
No, because the stuff I am interested in seeing comes to the same 3 or 4 venues and I am on their mailing lists.


8) Do you ever buy tickets with a mobile app? If yes, do you print your ticket at home, at the venue, get them in the mail, have a digital ticket on your phone to scan, or other (please specify)?
Haven't done that yet, no
 
9) Have you ever participated in group buying to get a discount on tickets?
No


10) Have you ever bought a ticket bundle to bring the cost of multiple events down?
No


11) Would you ever subscribe to a ticket site if it meant having tickets offered to you two days before the general public?
Maybe, if it meant I could get better seats


12) Do you think it is even possible for a new company to even come close to competing with the companies currently on top?
I don't know enough about the market to give a good answer. 

[robwebster]

1) In your experience, what is something you've noticed when ordering tickets that you'd like to see done differently or improved upon?

I hate how long it takes for tickets to arrive, the fact that I always seem to be buying terrible seats, and resent being charged for a service so faceless and bulky that I'd never consider tipping for it.


2) Is there anything you wouldn't mind sacrificing in your shopping experience to bring ticket prices down?

It feels like the bare minimum as it is. So, no!


3) Everyone hates those service fees, is there anything you wouldn't mind doing (surveys, being advertised to, etc...) that could help reduce those costs?

I hate surveys, and I loathe being advertised to, but what I'd be happy to do would be to do one of those social media things. Like, you buy a ticket, and if you want you can post to facebook or twitter that "I just bought tickets to see Dream Theater in Fife," or whatever, and that cuts the cost.

Honestly, my main irritation with the service fees is that I don't have a clue what they're being spent on. What service are they providing that's so great they need an extra fiver from every single person in the room? It just feels like they're trying to shake those last few coins out of my wallet.


4) Would you be inclined to purchase tickets on stand alone kiosks strategically placed throughout large cities?

No, because there are bugger all music venues in my entire county. Honestly - I live in the county town, and it's all local stuff.


5) How do you currently go about buying tickets?

Internet.


6) Do you have a preferred place to shop? Why do you shop there (experience, prices, availability, convenience)?

I shop wherever the artist's website links to, and I shop there because the artist's website links to it, and I therefore assume they're the only person selling the tickets.


7) Was there ever something you would have bought  a ticket to, but didn't know it was in your area until after it had occurred? If yes, what would you have liked to see in place to make you aware of that? If no, how is it you never miss something you're interested in?

No - and I manage never to miss something I'm interested in by not being interested in any of the things near me.


8) Do you ever buy tickets with a mobile app? If yes, do you print your ticket at home, at the venue, get them in the mail, have a digital ticket on your phone to scan, or other (please specify)?

Literally never.


9) Have you ever participated in group buying to get a discount on tickets?

Not specifically for that reason, but it's a nice bonus. I buy as many as possible whenever possible.


10) Have you ever bought a ticket bundle to bring the cost of multiple events down?

No.


11) Would you ever subscribe to a ticket site if it meant having tickets offered to you two days before the general public?

No. Not worth the investment. I don't go to gigs nearly frequently enough, much as I'd like to. Too distant and too expensive.


12) Do you think it is even possible for a new company to even come close to competing with the companies currently on top?

Quality will out. If it's better than what we've got now, it'll catch on - and branding is everything. I think a friendly, honest service, that puts the squeeze on touts and treats its customers like human beings would have Ticketmaster on the back foot. People buy from people when they've got the choice. If a new company can turn ticket sales into a joy, rather than a hassle, I think the big faceless entities would fossilise overnight. They'd be forced to either evolve or die. I'd be happy with either.


Exaggerated my discontent, but only very slightly. There are, I'm sure, very good reasons for a lot of the things I've picked at, but I'm a consumer filling out a survey. It's not my job to justify them, it's my job to demand better. I haven't bought a ticket since 2009, when I bought three, so some of the stuff I've moaned about might be a little out of date. I bet it's not, though. People should love ticket websites. It should be exciting, should be a pleasant experience, not a chore. A revolution is long overdue.

[rumborak]

I have not read the responses here really, but I think a cool idea would something like a Kickstarter for concerts.

[El Barto]

I have not read the responses here really, but I think a cool idea would something like a Kickstarter for concerts.

A friend of mine was working with some people down here for something very similar to that. Not sure what came about with it, though. The premise was that a promoter would offer up to bring band X to city Y if people would pledge to purchase Z number of tickets. That would remove the element of risk since nothing would move forward until he had enough tickets pledged to cover his costs.  Similarly, venues would make themselves available to promoters using the same system.

Next time I talk to him I'll find out what's going on with it.

Honestly, my main irritation with the service fees is that I don't have a clue what they're being spent on. What service are they providing that's so great they need an extra fiver from every single person in the room? It just feels like they're trying to shake those last few coins out of my wallet.

Most of them are just what TM charges you for their service, but broken up into different fees. There's a per ticket fee + a per order fee + a delivery fee (even if there's no delivery). I've got no problem with TM earning a profit, that's what they're in business for, but they split their fees up like that to obfuscate their margins. If they just charged a flat 25% fee, we'd bitch about it, but we'd also know what we're paying and others could compete with that.*

The facility fee is a different matter. That $2 goes straight to the venue, ostensibly for it's upkeep and maintenance. Realistically, it's the kickback that insures TM (or whatever other company) gets exclusive rights to sell their tickets.

*Truthfully, that competition wouldn't matter. As I mentioned before, the consumers aren't TM's customers, so we don't factor into the competition. We have no choice who to buy tickets from, so those fees aren't subject to market forces. They could personalize every ticket they sell you with a big red "FUCK YOU ROB WEBSTER!" printed across the face, and there's nothing you could do to hurt them financially.

[Ħ]

1) In your experience, what is something you've noticed when ordering tickets that you'd like to see done differently or improved upon? As far how it is done, I've never had any problems with the procedure.

2) Is there anything you wouldn't mind sacrificing in your shopping experience to bring ticket prices down?
Not sure.

3) Everyone hates those service fees, is there anything you wouldn't mind doing (surveys, being advertised to, etc...) that could help reduce those costs?
Sure, I wouldn't mind minor inconveniences like that.

4) Would you be inclined to purchase tickets on stand alone kiosks strategically placed throughout large cities?
That's an interesting idea. I have doubts about that getting off the ground, though.

5) How do you currently go about buying tickets?
Ticketmaster.

6) Do you have a preferred place to shop? Why do you shop there (experience, prices, availability, convenience)?
Ticketmaster. Mostly convenience and the variety of seating they offer.

7) Was there ever something you would have bought  a ticket to, but didn't know it was in your area until after it had occurred? If yes, what would you have liked to see in place to make you aware of that? If no, how is it you never miss something you're interested in?
No, because I'm not interested in much.

8) Do you ever buy tickets with a mobile app? If yes, do you print your ticket at home, at the venue, get them in the mail, have a digital ticket on your phone to scan, or other (please specify)?
No.

9) Have you ever participated in group buying to get a discount on tickets?
No.

10) Have you ever bought a ticket bundle to bring the cost of multiple events down?
No.

11) Would you ever subscribe to a ticket site if it meant having tickets offered to you two days before the general public?
Sure, if I was into going to concerts often.

12) Do you think it is even possible for a new company to even come close to competing with the companies currently on top?
Sure it's possible. I don't know how difficult it would be. I do think that more competition is the #1 way to lower prices.

[robwebster]

Honestly, my main irritation with the service fees is that I don't have a clue what they're being spent on. What service are they providing that's so great they need an extra fiver from every single person in the room? It just feels like they're trying to shake those last few coins out of my wallet.

Most of them are just what TM charges you for their service, but broken up into different fees. There's a per ticket fee + a per order fee + a delivery fee (even if there's no delivery). I've got no problem with TM earning a profit, that's what they're in business for, but they split their fees up like that to obfuscate their margins. If they just charged a flat 25% fee, we'd bitch about it, but we'd also know what we're paying and others could compete with that.

I think that's part of it. I'd be 100% okay with it if they had a notice up on the website, the second you enter the online store, saying "All sales come with an in-built 25% fee to cover administration, upkeep, and help our partner venues keep putting on brilliant gigs like this one." It would be significantly less galling than delivery fees appearing on tickets we're collecting from the box office, for instance. It'd be very easy to make a ticket service people actually like. Just a spot of transparency would make a world of difference.

*Truthfully, that competition wouldn't matter. As I mentioned before, the consumers aren't TM's customers, so we don't factor into the competition. We have no choice who to buy tickets from, so those fees aren't subject to market forces. They could personalize every ticket they sell you with a big red "FUCK YOU ROB WEBSTER!" printed across the face, and there's nothing you could do to hurt them financially.

I feared that might've been the case. The shit service is the clue, there. Cheaper than good service, so why bother? Start-up's the hardest thing, I agree, getting a deal for a high-profile gig in the first place. I'd like to think if a particular network were getting good PR - blog reviews, beat the touts, etc. etc. - they might make an impression on the venues, until eventually one of the bigger ones might go, "These guys sound all right."  All comes down to users eventually. Finding a business model that can combine customer happiness with venue happiness would, theoretically, annihilate everything. Think the social media thing might be part of the solution; means the users are doing (and want to do!) ground level marketing. Could fill the room quicker. Maybe too gimmicky. I'm sure changing ticket provider's far more complicated than I'm giving it credit for, though. And deliberately so. I can scarcely imagine the amount of paperwork.