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There comes a time when you have to dust yourself off, move out of your mom's basement and strike off into the wide, scary world on your own. For many people, this time is called "college," for others it's known as "canceling your World of Warcraft subscription." For plucky swashbuckler Ticketmaster, it's it's something along the lines of getting dumped.
The ubiquitous ticket vendor, perhaps most (in)famous for its often-inexplicable surcharges that end up doubling the cost of admission, was recently let go by its parent company LAC/InterActiveCorp, and has to operate independently, starting in 2009. Here's the catch: Ticketmaster is $750 million in the hole.
Ticketmaster says it'll take this opportunity to change its business model. Among the ideas on the to-do list include a bigger international presence, offering ticket resales to complete with StubHub and eBay, and helping to support and market artists who are increasingly turning to ticket sales as their main source of revenue.
Let's hope this moment turns downright Dickensian: Ticketmaster will fling open its window on Christmas morning, happy to be alive, ready to do good in the world of live music. Dream big.
Related links:
Ticketmaster.com
News: Ticketmaster to split with LiveNation
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Oh, I imagien they'll make up for the huge debt with "service fees"... gotta love that...
~Dan
http://jazzsick.wordpress.com/
With all the freakin' money they charge for everything, they are in debt? Talk about bad management!
It's going to be very difficult (like it already has been) for TM - mainly because they apparently have outrageous costs to cover. There are several smaller national ticket firms/methods that run exponentially more efficient operations and keep overhead waaaaay down.
Especially now that everyone and their mom are looking to earn a bigger piece of the performance payout.
Um... why am I finding it difficult to feel sorry for TicketBastard? Did they somehow squander the thousands of dollars of convenience charges (yeah, conveniently sucking my money outta my wallet), facility charges (must be the going-to-the-bathroom fee) and oxygen-use charges (in case I wanted to, y'know, breathe during the show) I and countless others have given to them over their years of quasi-monopolistic rule over the world of concert ticketing?
I'd shed a tear, but there'd prob'ly be a charge for that, as well.
(caveat: yes, I could've said "no" and not gone to those shows, but I enjoy concerts - and pointless whining - way too much)
Good. I hate you ticketmaster. I hate your 45%+ fee's, I hate the fact that you try to charge money for people to print there own tickets (which saves you resources!). Your a terrible company that has a MONOPOLY on many cites ticket sales and venues ticket sales. I wish the government would shut you down.
When suffering from a large debt, consider your alternatives, negotiate with your creditors and know the next steps in consolidating your credit. Thanks for the article!