Amazon Prepares to Launch Ticketing Service, Take on Ticketmaster

Amazon, the “Walmart of the Web,” is preparing to monopolize the commercial landscape in yet another way. Last year the company soft-launched a new ticketing service in the U.K. called Amazon Tickets, and according to recode, it’s now considering expanding the program to the U.S., Europe and Asia.

To that end, Amazon has posted an array of new job listings, including one that describes an effort to “position Amazon Tickets as the world’s premier destination for purchasing tickets.” That rank is currently held by the 40-year-old company Ticketmaster, the employees of which must be getting nervous as Amazon edges forward in the market.

The initiative to expand Amazon Tickets is being led by Ian Freed, who launched Amazon’s Fire Phone and heads the company’s food delivery service (yep, that exists). This marks the second major music-related expansion Amazon has undertaken this year, after it launched a streaming service last month.

Another rather menacing job post reads, ”[O]ur vision goes beyond just selling tickets as we aim to disrupt the entire live entertainment experience, including what happens before, during and after the show.” What does that even mean? Amazon Beer? Amazon Hand-Stamp?

It’s Amazon’s world, and we’re all just living in it.