Amphitheater shows have been deemphasized in favor of arenas, and smaller venues are doing healthy business. Services like Songkick and Bandsintown weren’t active in 2008, but social media, email and various websites had already made it easier to stay informed on local shows.Īlthough ticket sales aren’t rising as customers are better informed, it appears the types of concerts they attend are changing. Concert ticket sales dropped in 2009 as a result of the expiration of Ticketmaster’s principal agreement for primary ticketing with Live Nation. Its 2009 annual report says the company actually sold fewer tickets in 2008 than in 2007 if acquisitions are taken into account. Ticketmaster’s financial statements also don’t indicate an increase due to a more informed public. Instead, the 4.2-million increase in concert tickets from 2010 to 2011 probably came from acquisitions (TGLP in the US, Serviticket in Spain), a 5.5% increase in events and a recovery from a weak 2010 concert season. Although the number of concert tickets sold by Live Nation increased to 71 million in 2011 from 66.8 million in 2010, the increase doesn’t appear to come from the type of organic growth associated with apps, social media and email marketing. Taylor Swift Announces Latin American Eras Tour Shows, Promises 'Lots More' International Datesīut anecdotal and publicly available evidence suggests overall ticket sales have not risen as consumers have become better informed through digital media.

Bandsintown & songkick