INTERNATIONAL PROFILES USA
The Staples Center in Los Angeles.
a venue putting a show on sale, because of different pricing models, dynamic pricing and secondary channels. Today, face value is defined by the customer at the time of purchase, regardless of when and where they make that purchase.” Nonetheless, Grand View Research Inc issued a report that predicts the global online event ticketing market will reach approximately $68billion (€61.4bn) by 2025. Market researcher, Technavio, expects the secondary market to generate $15.2bn (€13.7bn) by 2020.
INTERNATIONAL/DOMESTIC SPLITS & GENRES The major genres in the United States are music, festivals, professional sports, college athletics, commercial and not-for-profit performing arts, as well as general admission entertainment, including clubs, fairs and museums. Gaming events are becoming incredibly popular, too, with large events centred around titles such as Fortnite and Overwatch. What remains to be seen is how regulation and state-bystate issues will inform and shape this entertainment trend. In addition to the blending of primary and secondary ticketing, we are seeing a combination of event types. The Metarama festival in Las Vegas is promoting a “first-of-its-kind experience” where gaming, live music, e-sports and comedy collide.
DISTRIBUTION OF SALES Digitisation is making huge inroads when it comes to ticket delivery in the United States. Both Ticketmaster SafeTix and AXS Flash Seats use dynamic barcodes as an added layer of security; the National Football League has gone fully digital at all stadiums, and colleges including Baylor, LSU, Michigan State, Ole Miss (University of Mississippi) and Georgia Tech; and Rutgers are going contactless. Ticketmaster has also announced that fans can now find and buy tickets using Amazon Alexa. Digital delivery has also made it possible for organisations to sell commemorative hard tickets to those who have a nostalgia for (or a collection of) ticket stubs. This is more evident in sports and live music, with performing arts moving forward more gingerly. Juniper Research expects mobile users to account for more than 50% of digital ticketing in 2019. Looking ahead, the research firm predicts that users of mobile ticketing will total 1.9bn by 2023, up from 1.1bn in 2019.
CULTURAL ANALYSIS There is a generational shift when it comes to consumer desires, technology and the leadership that is driving our industry into the future. Younger consumers and ticketing professionals have no patience for technology that doesn’t favour a digital experience. As these
74 • INTERNATIONAL TICKETING YEARBOOK 2019
technological advancements create positive change, boomers and Xers will wonder why we didn’t do it sooner. In today’s customer-centric world, the decades-old ‘no refunds, no exchanges, all sales are final’ policy just doesn’t work. “The digital age makes it easy for us to help our customers versus pushing them and their discretionary spending over to someone who will take care of them. The reality is that every ticket office will make a decision to take care of a customer, and this is particularly prevalent in the performing arts, so we should be more welcoming in our messaging, too,” says Andersen. “Ultimately, experience drives loyalty, so if you start the experience with the word ‘no,’ it is that much more difficult to foster long-term relationships.” Many organisations are partnering with refund protection vendors to offer additional flexibility for their customers. In sports and college athletics, there is an increasing emphasis on catering to children and the overall family experience. “Game attendance is suffering across the board, so sports business professionals must shift some of their focus to the long game and pay more attention to their youngest fans – kids aged 12 and under. Engaging with this demographic is achievable through the creation or advancement of a kids’ club. These kids’ club programmes can help develop fans for life as part of a cradleto-grave marketing strategy, but only if you create a great experience,” says Nick Begley, senior marketing manager for AudienceView. At Burning Man festival, kids 12 and under get in for free with their parent or guardian. This helps build the community for which the festival is known and fulfils millennials’ desire that their family must be included. “I’ve learned so much by participating in the event from such a young age,” Lulu Lurline, ticketing project manager for Burning Man Project, told INTIX’s Access. Lurline first went to Burning Man when she was six years old. “I think that, more than anything, Burning Man teaches children that anything is possible, and growing older doesn’t have to mean growing out of play, or exploration or taking risks.”
TAXES & CHARGES Tax on tickets continues to be established by state and/or municipal government, so the rate and/or regulator charge(s) vary widely depending on location. Quite simply, ticket fees and charges are a revenue stream for live entertainment organisations. They are accepted and understood by consumers but remain a hot-button issue. Fees and charges can be levied in various ways, including the add-on, per-ticket, per-order and/ or per-item costs that fans love to hate; inside or blended charges (hidden in the ticket price); and included charges (common way to collect taxes).