INTERNATIONAL PROFILES
GERMANY Languages: German | Population (millions): 80.7 | Currency: Euro | GDP/Capita (US$): 48,200 | Internet Users (millions): 70.8 | Smartphone penetration: 68.8% | Population % aged 15–24: 10.2 | Population % aged 25–54: 41.0 | PwC estimated 2017 live revenues US$millions: 2,135 | PwC forecast 2021 live revenues US$millions: 2,242
© Kai Markuske
FKP Scorpio uses its festival websites to sell tickets, or parent company CTS Eventim’s ticketing platform
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ventim still reigns supreme in Germany, and recently featured in the country’s main commercial journal Handelsblatt on its list of best German merchants. In the online retailer category, Eventim came in just behind Amazon in terms of service value. Due to its size, the anti-trust authority is constantly scrutinising the company, and therefore whether or not it can retain its ongoing strategy of acquisitions, remains to be seen. PRIMARY TICKETING During a recent enquiry into Eventim’s controlling stake in promoter FKP Scorpio, Germany’s anti-trust authority (Bundeskartellamt) stated that the company controls around 50-70% of Germany’s ticketing market, followed by Reservix/ AdTicket (10-25%), and Der Ticketservice (5-15%). All the other ticketing companies together, including Live Nation’s Ticketmaster, share less than 5% of the market based on turnover, according to the Bundeskartellamt. This ranking, however, is questionable, since Der Ticketservice uses Eventim’s systems and therefore forms part of Eventim’s stats. According to Musikwoche, Bundeskartellamt estimates also contradict claims made by Ticketmaster during its Ticketforum, held in Berlin in June, in which the company alleged that it held the second position in the ticketing market. Ticketmaster reported that its customer base had grown 27% since 2016, and that 2.6m tickets had been sold through affiliates and partnerships. Other industry professionals, however, suggest that Ticketmaster is the third
48 • INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2017
biggest retailer in Germany. Whatever the truth, Ticketmaster’s business is growing as it grabs allocations in music and sport. SECONDARY TICKETING There is a resale market in Germany but it’s not nearly as significant as in comparable territories, which is also why there are no concrete numbers available. The consumer culture in Germany means that secondary ticketing is looked upon unfavourably by most ticket-buyers, making it a less attractive region to enter for the big secondary players such as Viagogo, Seatwave, Stubhub and co. According to Arndt Scheffler, CEO of white label eCommerce GmbH, a functioning secondary market only really exists in the sports sector. The sports market is not only being served by the aforementioned secondary players but by the sports clubs themselves. “After initial attempts by the clubs to enter into co-operation with companies such as Viagogo against payment of high sums, the reaction of fans ensured that the clubs had to correct their adopted course. Since then, the clubs rely on their own solutions, which are realised with their ticketing partners (CTS Eventim/FanSale, SAP, GOB),” Scheffler explains. TAXES AND CHARGES Germany’s statutory tax rate is 19%. Whether an event is exempt from that depends on its cultural value, which is subject to attestation by authorities at federal state level. Tickets for theatres,